With her excellent directing skills, there’s no doubt Hwang Da Seul created BL masterpieces.
(Image: Hwang Da Seul)
Hwang Da Seul is a 29-year-old scriptwriter and director who graduated from the Department of Film at the Korea National University of Art. She has written a web drama, ‘Love In Your Taste’ (2019), and is the director of, ‘Where Your Eyes Linger’ (2020) and the short film ‘Inner Me’. She is a rookie director who has been recognized for her skills, winning the 5th Catholic Film Festival Excellence Prize for her 2018 short film ‘Spring That Summer’.
Here are the four Korean Boys’ Love (BL) web dramas that she directed.
1. Where Your Eyes Linger (2020)
(Image: W-Story)
The story is about Tae Joo (Han Gi Chan), the 18-year-old only successor to the TB Group. He is blessed with a wealthy family, good looks, and no troubles to worry for often described as a handsome guy in the spotlight. His 18-year-old bodyguard, Goo Koo (Jang Eui Soo), has been trained in all different types of martial arts and is physically trained to have a strong body. He is also very thoughtful, and Tae Joo is his only friend, while Goo Koo is the only person Tae Joo feels as though he can trust and feels relieved around him.
Binge-watch ‘Where Your Eyes Linger’ on WeTV and Rakuten Viki.
2. To My Star (2021)
(Image: iQIYI)
It tells the bittersweet love story between actor Kang Seojun (Son Woo Hyun), who wants to escape from his daily life, and chef Han Jiwoo (Kim Kang Min), who wants to live a peaceful life. The talented actor Kang Seo-jun has never seen a decline since his debut. He shines like a star in the sky, but due to an incident, he enters Han Ji-woo’s world and experiences subtle emotional changes. The warm chef Han Ji-woo has been silently advancing toward his goal tenaciously, but he falls into chaos due to Kang Seo-jun’s intrusion.
Binge-watch ‘To My Star’ on iQIYI, GagaOOLala (Taiwan), WeTV, and Rakuten Viki.
3. Blueming (2022)
(Image: KENAZ)
“Blueming” is a drama adaptation based on BL manhwa produced by MOVIE & NEW and KENAZ Comics. “Blueming” is adapted from KENAZ Comics’ popular manhwa “Who Can Define Popularity?” It talks about the Cha Siwon, who managed everything well just to gain unanimous popularity, meeting Hyeong Da Un, who was born with an aura that attracted favor, causing his popularity to slide. This is the campus romance between the two film students.
Cha Siwon (played by Kang Eun Bin) has always been mocked for being ugly growing up. Thanks to that, he is determined to change himself. After growing up, he became a handsome young lad who is very conscious of his popularity and hopes he can get everyone’s attention at any time. After entering university, he thought he would become the absolute popularity king, but what he was met with, was the real popularity king – Hyeong Da Un (played by Hyuk Jun Cho) who has it all from visuals, personality, family background, and even studies.
After his career took a steady turn for the worse, one of South Korea’s brightest stars, Kang Seo Joon, was afraid he might never be happy again. But after a chance meeting brings the talented chef Han Ji Woo into his life, Seo Joon was certain his luck was about to change.
Despite their differences in personality, the chef and the celebrity found themselves unable to resist the other’s charms. Head-over-heels for each other, Seo Joon and Ji Woo believed they had finally found their happily ever after. But their happiness turns out to be short-lived when one of them disappears, leaving nothing but a note behind.
Lost without the other, will these two star-crossed lovers find a way back to each other, or has their fairy tale romance truly come to an end?
Binge-watch ‘To My Star 2: Our Untold Story’ on GagaOOLala and Rakuten Viki.
After all the success of her BL works, fans wonder: will Hwang Da Seul direct more BL in the coming years?
