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Han Hyo-joo, left, and Ju Ji-hoon at the press conference for the South Korean series 'Blood Free,' April 8, 2024. Photo courtesy of Disney

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Korean series ‘Blood Free’ tackles lab-grown meat in ‘near future’ setting

Jaehwa Bernardo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1712564907569Blood Free - Ju Jihoon &amp; Han Hyojoo 2.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Han Hyo-joo, left, and Ju Ji-hoon at the press conference for the South Korean series &#x27;Blood Free,&#x27; April 8, 2024. Courtesy of Disney"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Han Hyo-joo, left, and Ju Ji-hoon at the press conference for the South Korean series &#x27;Blood Free,&#x27; April 8, 2024. <em>Courtesy of Disney</em></span></span></span>MANILA — Until recently, the idea of eating meat that isn&#x27;t from animals seemed confined to the realm of science fiction.</div><p>But new science has <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/22/23/us-approves-lab-grown-meat-for-sale" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>unlocked ways of cultivating real meat products</strong></a> without slaughtering any animals.</p><p>The South Korean series “Blood Free,” which drops April 10 on Disney Plus, tackles the contentious issue of lab-grown meat, set in a not too distant future where such products have dominated the market.</p><p>And while the topic may appear quite lofty and complex for viewers, actor Ju Ji-hoon holds a contrary belief, considering how the show approaches the matter.</p><p>“It could be a very heavy topic that people need to think hard and long about, but we put it more lightly. I guess the entry barrier is lower for the show. It’s like a casual way of saying, ‘Why don’t we think about this topic?’” Ji-hoon said via an interpreter at an online press conference on Monday.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5BLv7WMJ8As?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong> </strong></div><p>In “Blood Free,” Ji-hoon plays Woo Chae-woon, a former elite soldier whose investigation on a terror attack that he experienced leads him to BF Group, a biotechnology company that produces cultured meat.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/3/5/ju-ji-hoon-han-hyo-joo-s-blood-free-coming-to-disney-1244" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>READ: Ju Ji-hoon, Han Hyo-joo&#x27;s &#x27;Blood Free&#x27; coming to Disney+ in April<br/></strong></a></div><p>Chae-woon ends up becoming the bodyguard of BF Group CEO Yoon Ja-yu (portrayed by Han Hyo-joo), who deals with numerous life-threatening challenges.</p><p>“When I was reading the script for the first time, I thought this was so timely, this is a show we need at this moment. It was such an intelligent script and smart subject material. So it was a total page-turner for me,” said Hyo-joo, who recently gained attention for Disney’s superhero series “Moving.”</p><p>For his part, director Park Chul-hwan said he aimed at making the series look as realistic as possible despite being set in a technologically-advanced time that is not too far from the present.</p><p>“This is not very far ahead into the future, but a very near future, about one or two years from now. I think all I was trying to focus on was to make it feel realistic and grounded as possible,” he said.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1712565457768Blood Free - Ju Jihoon &amp; Han Hyojoo 1.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Ju Ji-hoon pretends to be Han Hyo-joo&#x27;s bodyguard during the &#x27;Blood Free&#x27; press conference. Courtesy of Disney+"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Ju Ji-hoon pretends to be Han Hyo-joo&#x27;s bodyguard during the &#x27;Blood Free&#x27; press conference. <em>Courtesy of Disney+</em></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Among the advanced technologies fictionalized in the show is a body suit that supposedly tests its user’s physical abilities.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“So the setup is because I am a bodyguard and before my final round of interview, I’m getting tested on my physical, combat abilities and it’s done in VR (virtual reality),” Ji-hoon shared.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“There’s really [no pain]. I just have to be there on my own, trying to imagine things while doing action and combat. So that was a very new [acting] experience for me,” he said.</span></div><p>Much thought was also put into the action scenes, most of which involved Ji-hoon. “Because it’s set against the near future, it shouldn’t be too futuristic,” said Ji-hoon, who is also known for starring in the romance drama “Princess Hours” and zombie horror “Kingdom.”</p><p>“There could be very tightly choreographed [action] scenes but there could also be scenes with less choreography which looks more rash and realistic,” he explained.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1712564944973Blood Free - Group 2.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="From left to right: Lee Mu-saeng, Han Hyo-joo, Director Park Chul-hwan, Ju Ji-hoon and Lee Hee-joon at the press conference for &#x27;Blood Free.&#x27; Courtesy of Disney"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">From left to right: Lee Mu-saeng, Han Hyo-joo, Director Park Chul-hwan, Ju Ji-hoon and Lee Hee-joon at the press conference for &#x27;Blood Free.&#x27; <em>Courtesy of Disney</em></span></span></span>Apart from Ji-hoon and Hyo-joo, “Blood Free” also stars Lee Hee-joon (“Badland Hunters” and “A Killer Paradox”) and Lee Mu-saeng (“The World of the Married” and “Thirty-Nine”).</div><p>Asked what drew him into the project after reading the script, Hee-joon answered: “I love the subject of lab-grown meat. Someone would create this technology and people would want to dominate that and some people would try to stop it.</p><p>“So that power struggle was very fun for me and that made my heart pound,” he said.</p><p>Mu-saeng, meanwhile, said the script pushed him to look into the ethical, political and economic issues surrounding lab-grown meat. “It was definitely a good food for thought and I guess the viewers will feel the same way too,” he said.</p><div><em>For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the </em><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/kcontents" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Hallyu Corner </em></a><em>microsite.</em></div>

<p>Disney's upcoming Korean series 'Blood Free' tackles the contentious issue of lab-grown meat, set in a not too distant future where such products have dominated the market.</p>

Disney's upcoming Korean series 'Blood Free' tackles the contentious issue of lab-grown meat, set in a not too distant future where such products have dominated the market.