The actors are reportedly set to play a married couple leading double lives as spies in the Korean remake of ‘The Americans’
Lee Byung-hun (left) and Jun Ji-hyun (right). Photo: Netflix, courtesy of Han Cinema.
Lee Byung-hun and Jun Ji-hyun, two of South Korea’s finest actors, have been offered roles in the Korean remake of the popular American period spy drama, The Americans (2013-2018).
Koreans, a working title for the Korean adaptation, will feature the two superstars in the lead roles, marking their first time on screen since their television series Happy Together in 1999.
The remake brings the original’s thrilling Cold War spy story to South Korea’s 1980s military dictatorship period, following a married couple who pose as ordinary citizens while spying for their country.
Lee Byung-hun and Jun Ji-hyun will star in the espionage drama as the married spy couple caught in the crossfire – just like in the original, where a pair of Russian spies living in Washington D.C. with their kids convincingly played the part of an American family while spying on the U.S. government.
Koreans is a high-budget drama to be helmed by director Ahn Gil-ho, who has a string of hit K-dramas to his credit—notably, Stranger (2017), Memories of the Alhambra (2018), Record of Youth (2020), Happiness (2021), The Glory (2022-2023), and Marry My Husband: Japan (2025). His upcoming titles also include Kim Woo-bin and Bae Suzy’s highly anticipated fantasy rom-com Genie, Make a Wish, releasing on October 3.
According to Soompi, neither actor has given their approval for the project, but they are reviewing it. Lee Byung-hun’s recent works include the final season of Squid Game and the movies KPop Demon Hunters (2025) and No Other Choice, which premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 29 to widespread critical acclaim and is set for a theatrical release on September 24. Jun Ji-hyun, meanwhile, is set to make her comeback in the K-drama series Tempest, an espionage romance that will be released on September 10, co-starring Gang Dong-won, following her last series Jirisan in 2021.