Lee Min-ho, BLACKPINK’s Jisoo, and Ahn Hyo-seop to Star in ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’
The story deftly weaves fiction with a flurry of apocalyptic, suspenseful, and mystery-solving elements to create a singular action-fantasy film
From left to right: Lee Min-ho, Jisoo (BLACKPINK), and Ahn Hyo-seop at the script reading session for ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.’ Photos: Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, more commonly referred to as Omniscient Reader, is currently underway and features some of the more exciting names in Korean television, film, and entertainment—Lee Min-ho, Ahn Hyo-seop, BLACKPINK’s Jisoo, Chae Soo-bin, Shin Seung-ho, Park Ho-san, Nana, and Choi Young-joon—all under the scope of this sprawling opus directed by Kim Byung-woo based on Sing Shong’s hit action fantasy webtoon of the same name.
From what I’ve read of the webtoon, its key element is how action and fantasy come together into a cohesive whole. It deftly weaves fiction with a flurry of apocalyptic, suspenseful, and mystery-solving elements to create an episode where the dichotomy between fiction and reality fades and the impending doom is palpable.
Ahn Hyo-seop stars Kim Dok-ja, an office employee obsessed with the web novel Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. He is the only one who has read it all the way through and knows the outcome. The fiction abruptly comes true soon enough. Yoo Joong-hyuk (Lee Min-Ho) enters the scene as its hero, who can rise from the dead and boasts unparalleled combat skills. He begins with misgivings about Dok-ja, but as Dok-ja endeavors to alter the narrative and the imminent catastrophe, the two end up together.
Joong-hyuk and Dok-ja head off on a risky quest and there are other key players in how the events unfold including Yoo Sang-a (Chae Soo-bin), Lee Hyeon-seong (Shin Seung-ho), Gong Pil-doo (Park Ho-san), Jung Hee-won (Nana), Han Myeong-o (Choi Young-joon), and Lee Ji-hye (Jisoo).
Jisoo’s Ji-hye is a young woman who fights under Joong-hyuk’s tutelage in Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World before ultimately joining him and Dok-ja on their mission in the real world.
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint heralds Jisoo’s feature film debut. In addition to her sophomore K-drama Influenza, a forthcoming action horror thriller K-zombie, she previously co-starred with Jung Ha-in in the action-romance black comedy Snowdrop (2021). Parallel to this, it’s the debut picture of Ahn Hyo-seop, best known for his lead roles in popular K-dramas such as Still 17 (2018), Abyss (2019), Dr. Romantic 2 (2020), Lovers of the Red Sky (2021), Business Proposal (2022), Dr. Romantic 3 (2023), and A Time Called You (2023).
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, in the same vein, marks Lee Min-ho’s return to the big screen since his last film, Bounty Hunters (2016). His earlier film credits include Public Enemy Returns (2008), Our School’s E.T. (2008), and Gangnam Blues (2015). Lee is additionally making his K-drama comeback this year with Ask the Stars, where he co-stars with Gong Hyo-jin. The plot revolves around a momentous experience between Gong Ryong (Lee), a conscientious obstetrician-gynecologist, and Eve Kim (Gong), a Korean-American astronaut when he enters her space station as a visitor.
