IU, Byeon Wooseok Join MBC’s 2026 Drama Lineup
Apr 21, 2025
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After all-rounder IU and popular Byun Woo-suk confirmed their appearance in MBC's Friday-Saturday drama '21st Century Grand Prince Lady', Roh Sang-hyun, who impressed with his unconventional performances in 'Pachinko' and 'How to Love the City', and Gong Seung-yeon, who showed solid acting and three-dimensional character digestibility through 'Akyeon' and 'Police Station Next to the Fire Station', confirmed their appearance as other main characters. The four actors appear in MBC dramas for the first time '21st Century Grand Prince Lady', and expectations are high for the chemistry they will create.
MBC's new Friday-Saturday drama 「21st Century Grand Prince」 (planned by Kang Dae-seon, scripted by Yoo Ah-in, director Park Joon-hwa, produced by MBC and Kakao Entertainment) is a romance that breaks down the fate of Prince Lee, a man who is a chaebol with everything against the backdrop of the 21st century constitutional monarchy in Korea, but who is annoying because his status is a commoner and a son of a king, but is sad because he can't have anything.
'21st Century Grand Prince Lady' was selected with overwhelming support from the judges in the 2022 MBC Drama Playbook Contest, and both male and female characters are progressive and attractive, and the solid story from the strong desires of the main characters to romance has been praised for its dramatic fun. After developing MBC's drama planning know-how for about three years after being elected, actors IU, Byun Woo-suk, Noh Sang-hyun, and Gong Seung-yeon joined the production together, emerging as the best anticipated film of 2026.
IU plays Sung Hee-joo, the second son of a chaebol family, who is a talented manager with outstanding beauty, intelligence, and competitive desire to win. Sung Hee-joo, who will be presented by IU, who is a top singer-songwriter and has established a solid position as an actor with excellent character digestibility and solid acting skills, is a bold character who chooses to marry Lee Wan (Byeon Woo-seok) in order to gain the only thing he does not have. Sung Hee-joo faces a turning point in her life when she meets Prince Ian, who is in a similar situation to her, but has lived with different choices.
Byun Woo-suk plays the sad Prince Ian 'Ewan' because he can't have anything but his royal status. He has lived a fiery mind as the second son of the royal family, who is not allowed to shine or make sounds, but he is considered one of the 'people's most beloved royalty' due to his natural dignity and charm. He, who was always used to hiding himself, undergoes a new inner change when he meets a different 'Sung Hee-joo' as if he were the same as him as his partner in a contract marriage.
Byeon Woo-seok, who captivated fans around the world with his exciting romance through his previous work Bounce With Sunjae, is turning into a modern-day royal this time, attracting expectations on how he will portray Prince Ian, a cold and hot prince.
Roh Sang-hyun is from a prestigious political family and is in charge of the prime minister 'Minjeongwoo', a friend of Prince Ian and the number one member of the administration. Min Jeong-woo is considered the number one groom with a perfect family as well as a clear brain and striking appearance.
In particular, he is close to Bae Dong (the crown prince or Daegun's childhood playmate), and Sung Hee-joo is a senior and junior at the Royal School, and he is agitated by Lee Ian and Sung Hee-joo, who became contract marriage partners. Min Jeong-woo, which Noh Sang-hyun will portray, will stimulate women's hearts with a different charm than Byun Woo-seok's Prince Ian.
Gong Seung-yeon plays a woman born on the 'Queen's fate'Yoon Yi-rang. Yunirang comes from a family that has produced four queens and has never questioned her becoming a queen. He is a person who constantly struggles to protect his fate under any circumstances because he chose the fate of the queen rather than the individual of 'Yu-lang'. Gong Seung-yeon, who has shown irreplaceable charm through a number of works, will perfectly portray the elegant and hard queen through this work.
Directed by Young-ae, let's eatDirector Park Jun-hwa, who directed 'What's Wrong with Secretary Kim' and 'Welcome'. Director Park Joon-hwa, who has been praised for his delicate directing and trendy visual beauty by maximizing the charm of actors and works, is looking forward to the sophisticated and beautiful romance drama he will show.
MBC's Kang Dae-sun EP is a 2022 MBC script contest, featuring three beats of fresh material, attractive characters and solid stories. After improving the completeness of the work through the planning and development process that maximizes its strengths over the past three years, IU, Byun Woo-suk, Noh Sang-hyun, and Gong Seung-yeon alone are with strong actors, so I literally feel like I have wings."
Just as the works presented on the small screen through the MBC drama script contest, such as 'Black Sun' and 'You're such a close traitor', were loved by viewers, it is expected that a very meaningful work will be created with Yoo Ah-in's rejuvenating script and director Park Joon-hwa's directing skills for romance production", showing strong confidence in his work.
The 21st Century Grand Prince's Romance '21st Century Grand Duchess', starring IU, Byun Woo-suk, Noh Sang-hyun, and Gong Seung-yeon, confirms the programming of MBC's Friday-Saturday drama in the first half of 2026, and begins filming soon.
rightlight@sportschosun.com
