Filming Begins For Kim Jaejoong's 'Spy'

Filming has begun for Kim Jaejoong's new drama "Spy." Reports from the set say that the singer-actor had no problem embracing the role and quickly personified his character on the first day of shooting.

In this drama JYJ's Jaejoong plays Sun Woo. In Sun Woo's work for the NIS, South Korea's national intelligence agency, his specialty is analyzing information. He is particularly good at understanding documents from North Korea and analyzing why events took place there. What he does not know is that his mother is a spy for North Korea.

Bae Jong Ok, last seen in "Wild Chives and Soybean Soup," plays his mother, a woman who lives in the South as a North Korean sleeper agent. Her loyalty is conflicted when she is asked to capture her son and bring him to North Korea. It's hard to say whether the mother-son interactions in this drama will be tragic or comic or maybe a little bit of both. Either way this family should have some interesting interactions.

The fictional story of "Spy" begins after an execution modeled on that of the real-life North Korean general Jang Sung Taek. The real general, who served as an advisor for both North Korean dictators Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, was executed for treason earlier this year. Generations of his entire family were reportedly also killed.

The execution serves as a starting point for the plot of "Spy" because the event makes Sun Woo's analytic skills an important asset.

The KBS drama is modeled on an Israeli series known as "MICE," with the conflict being shifted to North and South Korea. "MICE" is also being adapted for American television, using the title "Allegiance." The Korean version will air first, as its first episode is scheduled for January, while the American series debuts in February. The heightened interest in Israeli series was inspired by the success of "Homeland," which was also adapted from the Israeli television series "Prisoners of War."

Go Sung Hee plays Yoon Jin, Sun Woo's girlfriend. She's an office worker. Yoo Oh Sung plays a North Korean operative.

"Spy" is set to air on January 9, 2015 and will be shown in two-hour installments.

Are you excited to see this drama? Kim Jaejoong's self-confident performance in "Triangle" demonstrated what a fine actor he has become. Do you think he can handle the role of a spy tortured by family conflicts? Let us know.