‘Tempest’ Producer Alicia Hannah-Kim On Bringing Hollywood To K-Dramas

Alicia Hannah-Kim

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Since its debut on September 10th, Hulu/Disney+’s Korean political thriller, Tempest, has topped the charts in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, New Zealand, and Turkey, earning a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It stars popular Korean actors like Gang Dong-won, in his return to television after 21 years, and Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Misook, and Park Haejoon, as well as Hollywood actors: John Cho, Christopher Gorham, Michael Gaston, Spencer Garrett, Alicia Hannah-Kim, Jacob Bertrand, Joel de la Fuente, Brooke Smith, Tom Lenk, Romy Rosemont, and Sebastian Roché.

The series follows former diplomat Seo Mun-ju (Jun) after the assassination of her presidential candidate-husband (Park Hae-Joon). She finds herself embroiled in an international conspiracy between South Korea, North Korea, and the U.S. government. She must rely on her closest allies, including her loyal assistant (Lee Sang-hee), controlling propagandist mother-in-law (Lee Mi-sook), and her mysterious bodyguard, Baek San-ho (Gang). Mun-ju will do whatever it takes to find out what happened to her husband, even if it requires her to take his place as a presidential candidate against her former boss, the current president of South Korea (Kim Hae-sook).

With the series heavily focused on international characters, including a U.S. president and his staff, Tempest aimed to differentiate itself from other K-dramas that have featured similar characters by casting professional Western actors in these roles. Although having Hollywood actors cameo in Korean dramas is not new, Tempest is the first Korean series to have received approval from SAG/AFTRA, with multiple Hollywood actors involved in its production. This entire project came to life thanks to consulting producer and actress Alicia Hannah-Kim.

Hannah-Kim, who is Korean-Australian-American, had been introduced to several Korean directors and producers through mutual acquaintances in the past few years. She became close with Ju Yeon Park, the executive producer of Tempest. While Hannah-Kim was filming her Netflix series, Cobra Kai, she received a text from Park asking for recommendations on some Hollywood actors who might be interested in appearing in a K-drama. She was delighted to help, thinking she would refer actors for the parts, but it ended up being much more, resulting in her receiving a producing credit.

“It started with recommending a few actors for a handful of roles and then snowballed into eight months of work,” Hannah-Kim says, as she drinks her green tea. “I brought 11 American actors on board and was running between the logistics of what that entails – translating, casting, coaching, consulting, liaising with SAG/AFTRA. I was the lone American producer on the ground and learning everything on the job.”

It’s been two weeks since the series premiere, and Hannah-Kim is thrilled with the positive reception from fans, particularly the praise for the American actors’ performances. We meet for tea in Koreatown, where she’s excited and proud to talk about her experience working on the show.

It has been her life’s dream to be in a Korean drama. Although she plays a small part as part of the White House staff, she is grateful to be part of it and contribute even more as a consulting producer for the series.

“It’s been super educational,” she shares. “Joyful. The absolute culmination of my dream came true. I have so much respect for Korean artistry and storytelling, so it was deeply meaningful to get to contribute in a small way.”

It was also an opportunity for her to work alongside several renowned Korean talents whom she had long respected and admired. She mentions being excited to work with many involved in the project, including Award-winning director Kim Hee-Won (Crash Landing On You, Vincenzo, Queen of Tears), Award-winning screenwriter Jeong Seo-Kyung (The Handmaiden, Decision to Leave), renowned martial arts director Heo Myeong-haeng (The Roundup, Badland Hunters), and actors Gang Dong-won and Jun Ji-hyun.

“The calibre of the whole team [drew me into this project],” Hannah-Kim explains. “[Production companies] Imaginus and Showrunners are such leaders in the industry. Geopolitical thrillers are also an unusual genre for Korean dramas, and I knew that they were striving for something new and unexplored.”

Bringing in professionally trained Hollywood actors to a Korean project was essential to Hannah-Kim, not just as an actress and producer, but also as a fan of the genre. She had watched many Korean shows that feature foreign actors, who failed to be believable in their roles. That’s when she called up Gorham, Gaston, Garrett, Bertrand, de la Fuente, Smith, Lenk, Rosemont, and Roché, asking if they’d be interested in filming in Korea.

“I was just really passionate about bringing in great actors because it’s often the one part of a K-drama that can be less than stellar when we have Caucasian and international actors that aren’t trained,” she says. “Juyeon Park, the executive producer of Tempest, was really ambitious in the right way about wanting to elevate the series and look at casting from U.S. actors.”

Production began last summer, but Hannah-Kim had been working on SAG/AFTRA relations for the Korean project. She recalled the struggles of the 2023 SAG/AFTRA strikes and wanted to solidify her commitment to the union. She had several meetings and phone calls with SAG/AFTRA to secure approval for Tempest as a SAG-AFTRA signatory in time for filming.

“Chris Gorham was serving on the local Los Angeles board, and we just opened the conversation of what a deal would look like to structure the intricacies of a Korean production with American SAG/AFTRA actors,” she recalls. “SAG/AFTRA were really responsive about how to make this work, as was the Korean production. It’s a great example of how international co-pros could look in the future. In a divisive world, it gives me hope to find new ways for us to work together.”

Among her fellow actors, Hannah-Kim was the only one who spoke Korean fluently (the Korean crew provided translators on set), so she took great care of each of them, ensuring they felt welcome and had a fun experience. She relates their time together as a “summer camp,” which was fun for everyone, even during filming. She reflects on their time together and thinks about the actors’ hard work when she watches the episodes.

“I’m just really proud every time I see one of our actors onscreen and in this world,” she reflects. “I’m definitely watching this in a different and more aerial way than if I were just an actor on the show, just having been privy to so much with each actor and knowing the process behind everything. I feel a bit like a proud mother hen.”

Although Hannah-Kim has remained positive throughout this experience, it was surprising to learn that the series production coincided with a vulnerable time in her life. Her father had just passed away weeks before she was due on set with the other American actors. In the midst of grieving, she continued to work, setting up production schedules, attending meetings to review plans, and preparing her own lines, while also assisting the other actors.

“Tempest came to me at a hugely difficult time in my life,” she says. “I was grieving my father’s passing and found myself in Seoul working in this capacity, which made me reflect on his journey immigrating to Australia. It was like a reverse experience for me and, ultimately, a gift that held me through a lot of pain. It was deeply comforting to be around this cast and crew. It helped me feel less alone.”

Her mother was able to join her during filming, which meant a lot to her. As they were both mourning the loss of their loved one, they found joy in each other’s company. Her mother enjoyed watching the action and how filmmaking works.

“Having my mum on set was pretty meaningful and comedic,” Hannah-Kim laughs. “She was fascinated by all the moving parts, but then inevitably became bored by the repetition of multiple takes.”

Since then, she’s caught the “producer bug,” working on more projects that she can’t disclose just yet. She plans to work with more Korean studios, as well as some American ones, learning a great deal from working on Tempest. She has recently become one of the spokespersons for the K-drama streaming service Rakuten-Viki and is featured in ads alongside actors Will Poulter and Victoria Justice.

“Oh, it was so fun [to film!],” Hannah-Kim shares. “We filmed in Los Angeles. Will, Victoria, and I talked about all my favorite K-dramas with the Viki team. I’m a huge fan of the platform, so this was a very natural partnership.”

With the success of Tempest and the popularity of K-dramas, she is excited for the future possibilities between Korea and Hollywood. She just wants to work with good people and on smart, innovative projects.

“It’s made me really hungry to keep going,” Hannah-Kim says. “I’ve never felt such a sense of home and was always trying to figure out where I fit in in ‘Hollywood.’ My horizons have broadened, and I feel very empowered and expansive about global possibilities.”

Tempest is streaming now on Hulu / Disney+.