Director Lee Byeong-heon's Drama World: From 'Alice, the Final Weapon' to 'Chicken Nugget'

Director Lee Byeong-heon's drama productions are gaining attention in Korea. His Watcha original drama 'Alice, the Final Weapon' has been particularly noted, with many believing it would have achieved greater success if aired on Netflix, drawing buzz for its unique premise and characters. Furthermore, after the hit Netflix series 'Chicken Nugget', Director Lee Byeong-heon ventured into the short-form drama 'My Dad is My Guy Friend', demonstrating his directorial prowess on new platforms.

'Alice, the Final Weapon' is an 8-episode high school action romance drama released on Watcha on June 24, 2022, rated 19+. It tells the story of 'Alice' (Park Se-wan), raised as a killer from a young age, and 'Seo Yeo-reum' (Song Geon-hee), a unique male student who enjoys being hit. Viewers who watched summarized versions found the drama fresh and entertaining, though opinions were divided among those who watched the full series. Director Lee Byeong-heon has established his distinct style, having directed the 10-million-viewer film 'Extreme Job' and dramas like 'Be Melodramatic' and 'Chicken Nugget'.

Director Lee Byeong-heon shared the challenges of directing the short-form drama 'My Dad is My Guy Friend', which differed from longer productions. Originally planned for 40 episodes, it expanded to 47, emphasizing the importance of tightly structured narratives within short segments and creating cliffhangers for each episode. He overcame directorial hurdles with strong, appealing characters amidst limited budgets and spaces, and effectively utilized his signature 'tiki-taka dialogue' optimized for vertical screens, leveraging the characteristics of short-form content.