Kim Woo-bin’s ‘Black Knight’ Is Coming Soon!                      

The 2023 K-drama lineup on Netflix includes a diverse array of intriguing stories. The science fiction, action-drama Black Knight, helmed by director Cho Ui-seok and modeled on Lee Yoon-gyun’s webtoon Delivery Knight, is one of the more sought-after items on the list. A recently unveiled poster for the upcoming drama is indeed garnering considerable attention.

The webtoon’s premise follows delivery people, who have an essential role in society, in what seems like a dystopian future where air pollution has taken a turn for the worse. “While most people avoid the suffocating pollution covering the world, deliverymen press on, so the citizens can get the packages they desperately need. They are known as the Delivery Knights!”

In keeping with the webcomic, the drama takes place in 2071, when drastic air pollution makes survival difficult without a breather. Delivery men are thus essential to the continued existence of residents on the Korean peninsula, as a large percentage of it is now desolate and only a meager portion of the native population remains. Around this time, 5-8 (Kim Woo-bin), a famed delivery man with extraordinary fighting prowess, meets Sa-wol (Kang Yoo-seok), a refugee with aspirations to become a delivery driver himself. Is it possible for these two characters to compete with the Cheonmyeong Group, a colossal establishment that now dominates all of humanity?

The ensemble also includes Esom as Seol-ah, a military intelligence officer who saved Sa-wol; Song Seung-heon as the villain Ryu Seok, the sole heir to the Cheonmyeong Group; in addition to Kim Eui-sung, Jin Kyung, Lee Hak-joo, Lee Sang-hee, and Yu Seong-ju in key roles.

The poster for Black Knight has a picture-perfect display that blends seamlessly with the dystopian narrative. The only object in the foreground is an oxygen mask, which effectively conveys the emptiness of the landscape. The device is vividly highlighted, emphasizing how important it is in an epidemic-ridden world. The hazy, fuzzy background with the high-rise building debris perfectly captures the post-apocalyptic mood. What I appreciate most about the poster is the positioning of what appears to be a delivery van and the rider coming up behind it with a package in hand. The character is masterfully positioned at a distance against the veil of dust and is seen moving toward the viewer, evoking a wonderful metaphor for life amidst a fading civilization.

I’m really looking forward to the drama, largely because of Kim Woo-bin. I think he is an absolutely phenomenal actor who draws me in with his intuitive portrayals and gets ahead purely through his awesomeness, irrespective of the person he is playing. I envision he’ll be fantastic in a fabulous Black Knight, slated to release soon on Netflix.