The Full Cast Revealed for 'Omniscient Reader', the First Film Finance… 2024-01-26

■ Star-studded cast featuring Min-ho Lee, Hyo-seop Ahn, Soo-bin Chae, Nana, Ho-san Park, Young-joon Choi, and Jisoo

■ First film investment by Smilegate, with plans to continue expanding in the entertainment industry

Smilegate announced on January 24 that the first film the company has invested in and produced, ‘Omniscient Reader’, has finished casting and begun shooting.

‘Omniscient Reader’ will feature a star-studded cast including Min-ho Lee, Hyo-seop Ahn, Soo-bin Chae, Nana, Ho-san Park, Young-joon Choi, and Jisoo (Black Pink). It will be directed by Byung-woo Kim, who has been praised for ‘The Terror Live’ (2013) and ‘Take Point‘ (2018).

Min-ho Lee will play the role of the main character, Joong-hyuk Yoo, who has the ability to return to life after death. In the story, Joonghyuk Yoo is a handsome man who survives through the apocalypse due to his fierce spirit. Hyo-seop Ahn will be making his movie debut in the role of Dok-ja Kim, the only character that knows the conclusion of the ‘Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse’ Soo-bin Chae will play the role of Sang-ah Yoo, a former co-worker and partner of Dokja Kim in the apocalypse.

In addition, Seung-ho Shin will play the role of Hyunsung Lee, a former soldier with defensive prowess, and Nana will play the role of Heewon Jung, who embraces her role as the goddess of justice. Jisoo (Black Pink) will play the role of Jihye Lee, a comrade to Junghyuk Yoo throughout the crisis.

‘Omniscient Reader’ is the first film developed by SmilegateRealies, a joint venture between global IP powerhouse Smilegate and film production company REALIES Pictures. REALIES Pictures has opened a new horizon for Korean franchise films with such productions as the ‘Masquerade’ and ‘Along with the Gods’ series, which recorded over 30 million in box office numbers. Smilegate has actively participated in production from the initial planning phase, including securing publication rights for the source web novel, scenario development, and casting. 

CEO Min-jung Paek of SmilegateRealies stated, “Smilegate has continued its efforts to bring IPs and contents that can entertain people. The cinematic adaptation of ‘Omniscient Reader’ is one of our many efforts coming to fruition, and it will signal Smilegate officially expanding its business into the entertainment industry.” She added, “We will develop ‘Omniscient Reader’ into a mega-value Korean franchise in the global market.”

‘Omniscient Reader’ is a story about an epic journey featuring Dokja Kim (Hyo-seop Ahn), who is the only person that knows the conclusion of a novel published 10 years before depicting the apocalypse in reality. Dokja partners up with the main character Joonghyuk Yoo (Min-ho Lee) to embark on a journey to save the world. The film was developed based on the Naver Web Novel of the same title, and the original source work recorded 200 million total views since being published as a Naver Series in 2018.