Difference between revisions of "Big Issue"

Latest revision as of 19:51, 21 May 2026

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Drama: Big Issue
Revised romanization: Bigishoo
Hangul: 빅이슈
Director: Lee Dong-Hoon
Writer: Jang Hyeok-Rin
Network: SBS
Episodes: 32
Release Date: March 6 - May 2, 2019
Runtime: Wed. & Thur. 22:00 (35 minutes / 2 episodes per day)
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Plot Synopsis by AsianWiki Staff ©

Set within the frenzy world of the paparazzi media. Due to a photograph, Han Seok-Joo (Joo Jin-Mo) loses everything, including his job as a photographer for a top newspaper and his family. Ji Soo-Hyun (Han Ye-Seul) is the notorious chief editor of a paparazzi group. She hires the man to become a paparazzi photographer.

Notes

"Big Issue" takes over SBS' Wednesday & Thursday 22:00 time slot previously occupied by "The Last Empress and followed by "My Absolute Boyfriend" on May 15, 2019.
First script reading took place December 17, 2018 at SBS Ilsan Production Center in Tanhyun, South Korea.
Filming for the drama series begins December, 2018.
First still images of Joo Jin-Mo in SBS drama series "Big Issue."
Character posters for SBS drama series "Big Issue."
Ep. 17-18 & ep.19-20 will air on April 10th and 11th, 2019, which is one week later than originally scheduled. The delay is to allow better production for the following episodes. Summary clips of "Big Issue" will air in its place on April 3rd and 4th, 2019.

Cast



Joo Jin-Mo	Han Ye-Seul	Kim Hee-Won	Shin So-Yul	Choi Song-Hyun
Han Seok-Joo	Ji Soo-Hyun	Jo Hyung-Joon	Jang Hye-Jung	Bae Min-Jung



Seo Yi-Soo	Kim Si-Hyun	Kim Kyu-Seon	An Se-Ha	Kang Sung-Jin
Se-Eun	Seo Young-Mi	Lee Myung-Ja	Hong Tae-Woo	Im Duk-Hoon



Shim Eun-Jin	Danny Ahn	Park Ji-Bin	Park Shin-Ah	Oh Tae-Kyung
Oh Chae-Rin	Kang Shin-Woo	Baek Eun-Ho	Choi Seo-Hee	Nam Jin-Suk



Cha Soon-Bae	Choi Sung-Won	Song Kyung-Cheol	Oh Gwang-Rok	Lee Kwan-Hoon
Cha Woo-Jin	Kim Myung-Jin	Doo-Cheol	Doctor Go	Kim Sun-Soo



Yang Hye-Ji	Park Han-Sol	Shin Woo-Hee	Lee Kyu-Seop	Na Seok-Min
Moon Bo-Young	Jang Mi-Rae	Seo Hye-Joo	black suit man	club security

Additional Cast Members:

Jo Deok-Hyeon - Kim Young-Se
Kim Dong-Gyun - Kong Sung-Pil
Heo Hyeong-Gyu - Choi Kyung-Sik
Lee Seung-Hyeong - Kim Sang-Cheol
Lee Hyun-Geol - Kyung Ho-Won
Kim Ji-Wan - Park Ji-Wan
Cho Hye-Joo - female assistant manager
Jang Hae-Song - Baek Eun-Ho's manager
Song Hoon - reporter
Hwang Hee-Jung - female reporter
Lee Gyoung-Ho - Reporter Na-Ra
Sim Jae-Hyun - Man-Suk
Seo Hyun-Bin - Sun-Young
Han Sung-Soo - stakeout police officer
Park Mi-Ri - waitress
Lee Tae-Yoon - detective
Seo Dong-Oh - gangster
Lee Soo-Yong - loan shark
Kim Yeon-Seo - playground girl
Lee Moo-Nyoung - beggar
Yang Joon-Myung - club owner
Park Woo-Jae - waiter
Kim Mi-Ji - nurse
Ju Su-Min - coordinator
Kam Rye-In - foundation staff
Yang Ji-Woo - playground kid
Lee Hye-Jo - Hae-Yeon
Kang Jung-Woo - male reporter (ep.5-6)
Lee Jae-Woo - troublesome passenger (ep.32)
Lee Kan-Hee
Jo Hye-Ryung
Kang Moon-Kyung
Kim Seo-Yeon
Yoon Jong-Won
Moon Hak-Jin
Kim Woo-Bin
Kim Wang-Yong
Lee So-Geum
Yoon Se-Eun
Park Sang-Nam
Baek Sang-Hee
Lee Jun-Hee
Kim Dong-Won
Gu Yun-Hoi
Lee Jung-Bin
Seo Han-Gyeol
Choi Nak-Kwon

Trailers

Episode Ratings

Date	Episode	TNmS		AGB
Date	Episode	Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide	Seoul
2019-03-06	1	3.7%	-	4.1%	4.5%
2019-03-06	2	4.3%	-	4.8%	5.0%
2019-03-07	3	3.5%	-	3.7%	3.8%
2019-03-07	4	3.7%	-	4.1%	4.3%
2019-03-13	5	-	-	3.7%	3.9%
2019-03-13	6	-	-	4.5%	4.9%
2019-03-14	7	-	-	3.7%	-
2019-03-14	8	-	-	4.0%	-
2019-03-20	9	3.3%	-	4.3%	4.4%
2019-03-20	10	3.6%	-	4.6%	4.9%
2019-03-21	11	4.3%	-	3.7%	-
2019-03-21	12	4.1%	-	4.1%	-
2019-03-27	13	2.8%	-	3.0%	3.4%
2019-03-27	14	3.3%	-	3.7%	4.0%
2019-03-28	15	3.6%	-	3.3%	NR
2019-03-28	16	3.6%	-	3.6%	NR
2019-04-10	17	2.5%	-	2.6%	NR
2019-04-10	18	2.8%	-	2.9%	NR
2019-04-11	19	-	-	2.4%	NR
2019-04-11	20	-	-	3.3%	NR
2019-04-17	21	2.9%	-	2.5%	NR
2019-04-17	22	3.1%	-	2.8%	NR
2019-04-18	23	-	-	2.6%	NR
2019-04-18	24	-	-	2.8%	NR
2019-04-24	25	-	-	2.9%	NR
2019-04-24	26	-	-	3.6%	NR
2019-04-25	27	-	-	3.0%	NR
2019-04-25	28	-	-	3.3%	NR
2019-05-01	29	-	-	2.1%	NR
2019-05-01	30	-	-	2.8%	NR
2019-05-02	31	-	-	2.9%	NR
2019-05-02	32	-	-	3.7%	NR

Source: TNS Media Korea & AGB Nielson

NR denotes not ranked within the Top 20 TV programs (including news, sports, variety, etc.) for that specific day according to TNS Media Korea and AGB Nielson.

Comments

Park Min Feb 27 2024 8:49 am The drama had an interesting and enjoyable premise. The first episode on the train, despite being an obvious green-screened and cgi mix, served as a good gripping introduction to the drama. However, the drama went overboard in forcing us to suspend our disbelief without needing to do so at all, subsequently, the writing got much weaker and lazier as the drama went on. Apparently all the involved parties were super hackers running an advanced intelligence agency that is able to pull anything and everything. At the beginning of the drama, we had actual real paparazzi work with risky and challenging shots, which I really liked, but later on the drama became a mix of a power play and high-tech game, ditching what made it good in the first place. At this point, I've became too used to watching shows ditching their original premise for something cheap and lazy. Anyway, this was another drama where the romance was really out of place and did more harm than good to the story. It just couldn't work in this setting. No matter how they might spin it, it wouldn't have been a successful romance.

doomvox Aug 17 2021 9:54 am I'm inclined to agree with Diya that this one has very high quality but low ratings because it's very unusual. Specifically the main characters are not really The Good Guys, they're just (usually) not as bad as the other scum. The male lead has some pretty extreme motivations for getting involved with them, so we feel sympathetic to him, but as the female lead comments to herself "Welcome to hell."

The various other comments here about this show "glorifying" the papparazi (really, blackmail) operation, or even the comments on how his ex-wife is a terrible person kind of miss the point. Everyone here is a terrible person, though some are a little more reluctant about it than others. No wonder the usual kdrama fans don't quite know what to make of this one.

I recommend this one pretty highly, though there's a bunch of plot issues here and there you'll need to overlook. There's a secret trove of blackmail information the female lead has (and how it ended up in her hands is just sketched in, not really explained) but it disappears from the plot after a while. And the writer needs to look up the term "hypothermia".

Tish Jul 24 2021 10:21 am Underrated for sure. I bit cliche for sure and certainly not thr best drama. But I finishes it unlike Vincenzo were I still have 4 episodes to finish. Doom witch I finished and wished I had not. All these Dramas that we are supposed to forget their fucked up plot because the actor is so handsome is soooo pathetic.

Molly Dash Apr 05 2021 12:56 am I just watch it, now I'm in 6th eps

Usually I write a comment when I'm finished watching, but this drama make me so exciting that I really want to say it before I'm finished .. LOL ...

CLIFFHANGER !!

Great movie !!!

Chan Rasjid Jan 21 2020 2:46 pm Watch till ep 5 (Cantonese). Very special and interesting story line. Worth watching.

Radian Dec 31 2019 10:01 am There was the latest transformer movies right now in a local tv. I haven't watched it yet. But i choose to watch this korean drama instead. Good decision. Totally different genre. Love this drama.

Diya Oct 18 2019 10:57 am not a mainstream drama, and it sad how that impacts low viewership. starts off simple enough but it has a certain charm in character development which kept me hooked until the end. i recommend the drama for being different from mainstream and for really pulling through with the characters, w/o great characters there cannot be great plot. I love romance dramas, but did not miss it at all, that is how quirky this drama was. Kudos to the actors and the whole team.

Zulaiqah Aug 14 2019 6:34 am Ok i'll watch this drama

Ez Jul 09 2019 10:51 am I dont care about the ratting.... !!!!!! Really great drama in 2019... dark, sweet, funny, sad and romance... i love han ye seul and jo jin mo have great chemistry... ❤❤❤❤

Indra Jul 03 2019 1:56 pm Another underated drama.. Don't let that rating stop you!!! Just watch it!!!

klover May 22 2019 12:22 am There's something seriously sexy about dark Han Ye-Seul.

Savitha Choudhary May 10 2019 11:07 pm I love this drama. The story is gripping and interesting. The actors are very natural.

Savitha

Hyperborea May 04 2019 11:08 am An excellent and exciting action drama with deep content and humor. Same level as City Hunter and Healer and it is better than K2. Very good actors! Now I watch only Korean series already 2 years, I have given up European and US films, the Korean ones are more interesting.

Sorry for my bad English and so much love to Rakuten Viki for subtitles.

scarletsungrok May 04 2019 9:49 am this drama was so good! whenever i watch dramas, theres a point at which i start falling out of it or get bored of it. this is the first drama where i've been on edge throughout the whole 16 eps, im so sad it ended :((( joo jin mo and han ye seul were two of my favorite rom-com actors so it was so cool to see them together in a more thriller type drama. the storyline was very realistic and really shed light on the truth behind the paparazzi and other issues depicted. i would definitely recommend this drama to anyone because it has everything: romance, comedy, thriller, realism, deep meaning, action, wholesomeness, an amazing plot, and a brilliant cast. im kind of angry the korean tv ratings on this drama aren't good, the drama is actually so incredible, i could watch it again and again ! my respect for both ye seul and jin mo has definitely grown 1000 times more and i'll definitely be looking forward to their next projects!!

Migthy Thor May 03 2019 5:58 am I feel so sorry for Joo Jin-Mo that this drama did not do well in the Korean ratings (",)

Migthy Thor May 03 2019 5:53 am My impression of this drama is that it glorifies and justifies the wrong doings of the paparazzi. The paparazzi are NO different from the other criminals = extortionist, blackmailing, fabrications of evidence, obstruction of justice etc. etc. etc.

This drama also brings me back the issue of Lady Dianne, it was mentioned that the paparazzi triggered and provoked the car accident leading to Lady Dianne's death. Come to think of it, all the paparazzi present and mentioned in Lady Di's tragic death were all assassinated.

How I wish that writer Jang Hyeok-Rin did not sugar coat the story. Then it would have been really GREAT ...

Astrid Apr 27 2019 7:46 pm Awesome drama and sizzling chemistry from the two leads. Depicts the fictionalized version of cruel competition in South Korean media business.

Ferra Apr 26 2019 11:51 am I love this drama.

Inki Apr 25 2019 5:12 pm Don't let the ratings fool you!! Awesome drama, lots of twists and backstabbing, the main couple is smoldering hot as they dance around each other.... It's the best drama in it's slot. I don't understand why it isn't big in Korea!!!

Joybeev Apr 25 2019 1:23 am I started to watched this drama because of Joo Jin-Mo and it's good drama and his co actors are good also --- all episodes are worth watching no boring scenes

Livia Apr 21 2019 2:30 pm Best running drama. Finally a good drama of JJM I missed him badly. Also like the leading actress, they are great together and both can act. Plot also a good one. Thank you for this drama.

MN16 Apr 19 2019 1:26 am Oh my pls. I Think 32 episodes are so LIMITED! Make it 48. Is this A Shortcut sad finale drama?

sf Apr 18 2019 7:58 am Don't ruin the drama with romantic bs.

yram Apr 18 2019 2:29 am soo hyun has feelings for seokjoo and now she can't stop and hide it. the tension is there . mahh god

Ferra Apr 17 2019 1:55 am Love this drama . Very nice plot.

qa.ida Apr 13 2019 11:36 pm Great drama, media and action! <3

stan apink Apr 05 2019 8:19 am tell me i am not the only one think tht Soo Hyun has feelings for Seok Joo . Love the plot , cast , acting & everything !!

sungrokssmile Mar 30 2019 2:39 pm it looks like Soo Hyun has feelings for Han Seok Joo but isnt completely ready to accept them. The way she looked at Han Seok Joo when he put his arms around the rookie actress to help her up in episode 8 was actually so hilarious. I'm still doubting if she likes him but I think because she felt guilty for initiating the fall of his career, she helped him regain his title and also developed feelings while working with him :') I hope this is true because it'll help make the dark and depressing plot of the drama feel a little brighter, exciteddd

Kat Mar 29 2019 6:05 am Wow... I almost gave up the drama last week...and am glad i didn't. Such a twist on the plot! Well... Im not going to be the spoiler here. Watch for yourselves, fans! ^_^

Olivia Mar 27 2019 5:06 am I really hate the wife of Seok Joo, she doesn’t even deserves him. I just hope the child will be fine and with her dad.

kdramafighter Mar 23 2019 4:56 pm i can't stop after watch ep 1 .really a good drama.. really recommend! plus the storyline & casting so amazing..

Rusbina Mar 21 2019 10:05 pm Dropped this after watching 4 episodes

Mazei Mar 21 2019 6:25 pm This drama in itself is quite riveting. I love how dark han ye seul is in this role and the way she portrays it is very convincing however the role that she was given is a character that is not redeemable at all. Still watching for han ye seul and hoping that her character gets what is coming at her, a hell lot of karma.

Holy Mar 19 2019 10:34 am @Brunette Say that again.I will never feel sorry for her.If they try to put them together will just stop watching

Brunette Mar 17 2019 3:52 pm The woman destroys his life making him an alcoholic bum because of greed and while defending a literal rapist and we're supposed to feel empathy for her? Nah, I'll pass.

Neea Mar 14 2019 6:45 am Han Ye Seul just gets better and better, and more gorgeous by the second!

Sakura Mar 09 2019 4:02 am Han Ye Seul unnie <3

A.C.E CHOICE Mar 07 2019 7:09 am I'm so proud of our baby JUN!! [A.C.E]

Lee min hoo Mar 06 2019 8:12 am Jo jin moo one of my favorite actor along with ji jin hee & lee jin wook, 3 handsome mature ajusshi. Fighting

grm Feb 28 2019 11:01 am even though he'll only be a cameo in this drama but actor park junhee from a.c.e lezz geddit!!!! XD

CHOICE Feb 27 2019 6:28 am Can't wait for A.C.E Park Junhee cameo appearance! ㅠㅠ

Dilu Feb 13 2019 8:17 pm I look forward to this drama. The synopsis sounds interesting and I like the casting. Hope it will be a success!

Dwi Dec 25 2018 9:36 pm Wah I am the first, I hope the kru and the artist have a good job, fighting

Dwi Dec 25 2018 9:34 pm Have a nice rating

Dwi Dec 25 2018 9:34 pm I hope it will have a good respons and, have a nice rating

External Links

Official Website

@@ Line 152: / Line 152: @@
 * [[Gu Yun-Hoi]]
 * [[Lee Jung-Bin (1992)|Lee Jung-Bin]]
+* [[Seo Han-Gyeol (1986)|Seo Han-Gyeol]]
+* [[Choi Nak-Kwon]]
 ==Trailers==

Difference between revisions of "Big Issue"

Latest revision as of 19:51, 21 May 2026

Contents

User Rating

Profile

Plot Synopsis by AsianWiki Staff ©

Notes

Cast

Trailers

Episode Ratings

Comments

Leave a Comment

Comments

External Links