Hong Jong-chan

Hong Jong-chan is a South Korean television director whose documented credits include dramas for MBC, SBS, tvN and Netflix. His television work includes The King 2 Hearts, Arang and the Magistrate, Master's Sun, Doctor Stranger, Dear My Friends, Live, Juvenile Justice and Our Blues. These productions range across romantic comedy, fantasy, medical intrigue, ensemble drama and legal drama. Master's Sun paired So Ji-sub with Gong Hyo-jin in a ghost-seeing romantic-comedy premise on SBS. In 2016, he directed tvN's Dear My Friends, written by Noh Hee-kyung. The series places an older group of friends at its center and follows the relationships surrounding them, including writer Park Wan, played by Go Hyun-jung. Its cast includes Kim Hye-ja, Go Doo-shim, Na Moon-hee, Youn Yuh-jung and Kim Young-ok. In contrast to a conventional youth-focused romance, the drama gives substantial attention to ageing, friendship, family ties and late-life love. The 16-episode drama aired on tvN from May 13 to July 2, 2016. Noh later wrote two further series directed by Hong: Live and Our Blues, also for tvN. Hong reunited with Noh on Live, a 2018 tvN drama about police officers at Hongil Patrol Division. The story includes rookie officers Han Jung-o, played by Jung Yu-mi, and Yeom Sang-soo, played by Lee Kwang-soo, alongside their colleagues and supervisors. By focusing on calls, investigations and pressures inside a local station, Live presents police work through an ensemble rather than a single detective hero. In 2022, he directed Netflix's Juvenile Justice, written by Kim Min-seok. Kim Hye-soo stars as Shim Eun-seok, a juvenile-court judge known for her hostility toward young offenders. The ten-episode series examines cases involving minors while setting her against the realities of youth crime and institutional responsibility. Our Blues, released by tvN in 2022, is another Noh Hee-kyung collaboration. Hong directed its omnibus-style narrative, which interweaves stories of people connected to Jeju Island and the sea. Its large cast includes Lee Byung-hun, Shin Min-a, Cha Seung-won, Lee Jung-eun, Uhm Jung-hwa, Kim Woo-bin and Han Ji-min. The series follows different characters across episodes, including truck seller Lee Dong-seok, freediver Min Sun-a, and boat captain Park Jeong-jun. This structure lets the drama move among romance, parent-child conflict, friendship and community without reducing Jeju to a backdrop. Across these credits, Hong's record shows a director trusted with ensemble casts and writer-led television narratives. It ran for 20 episodes from April 9 to June 12, 2022, on tvN's Saturday-and-Sunday schedule.