Netflix's 'The WONDERfools' cast and crew reunite, address Cha Eun-woo's ...

Netflix's 'The WONDERfools' cast and crew reunite, address Cha Eun-woo's controversy ahead of release

Published: 12 May. 2026, 17:13

Updated: 12 May. 2026, 17:36

KIM JU-YEON

[email protected]

The director and cast of Netflix series ″The WONDERfools″ pose at a press conference at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 12. From left are actors Choi Dae-hoon, Im Seong-jae, Park Eun-bin, director Yoo In-sik, actors Kim Hae-sook, Son Hyun-joo, Jeong E-suh, Bae Na-ra and Choi Yoon-ji. [YONHAP]

Netflix’s superhero comedy television series “The WONDERfools” looked unstoppable when its cast and crew were first announced in late 2024.

The series reunites actor Park Eun-bin with director Yoo In-sik following their breakout success with “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” (2022) and pairs them with the screenwriter of the action-comedy hit “Extreme Job” (2019). The star-studded ensemble also comprises veteran actors and one of Korea’s hottest stars, Cha Eun-woo.

But then came scandal. Public outrage erupted after allegations surfaced earlier this year, claiming that Cha, his family and his agency used a shell company to pay less taxes. The singer-actor initially denied any wrongdoing before apologizing in April and confirming that he had settled the dues and penalties related to the case.

Cha, who is currently completing his mandatory military service, was absent from Tuesday’s press conference for “The WONDERfools,” which took place ahead of the series’ release on Friday. But his presence could still be felt — in terms of both marketing and on screen, with director Yoo explaining that he kept Cha’s scenes intact for the sake of the show’s overall quality.

Actor Cha Eun-woo as Lee Woon-jung in the Netflix series ″The WONDERfools″ [NETFLIX]

Actor Cha Eun-woo, left, as Lee Woon-jung in the Netflix series ″The WONDERfools″ [NETFLIX]

“The editing and postproduction processes were already almost complete when I first learned about [the tax scandal] through the news,” Yoo said at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul.

As a result, the team ultimately prioritized “the overall quality of the series” in postproduction, given the effort that the rest of the cast and crew had poured into the project.

“This show had long been a dream of mine, and everyone involved worked incredibly hard for every second of every shot,” he said, noting that the series was demanding even by the standards of supernatural dramas.

Actors Park Eun-bin, right, and Cha Eun-woo in the Netflix series ″The WONDERfools″ [NETFLIX]

On working with Cha, Yoo said the actor “exceeded his expectations” with the subtlety of his performance and the physical quality he brought to the role.

“The WONDERfools” is set in the fictional city of Haeseong — which also means “comet” in Korean — in 1999, when doomsday paranoia ahead of the new millennium ran rampant.

Cha plays Lee Woon-jung, a civil servant who hides his powers of telekinesis for reasons related to his mysterious past. After Woon-jung accidentally reveals his powers to a few misfits, he and the group investigate a series of missing people in Haeseong.

Actor Park Eun-bin speaks at a press conference for the Netflix series ″The WONDERfools″ at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 12. [NEWS1]

Park, who played a brilliant rookie lawyer with autism spectrum disorder in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” returns to Netflix as Eun Chae-ni in “The WONDERfools.” Cha-ni is a brash, lifelong Haeseong resident who suffers from heart disease and works at her grandmother’s restaurant.

She, Son Kyung-hoon (Choi Dae-hoon), a father overlooked by his family after losing his job due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and Kang Ro-bin (Im Seong-jae), Chae-ni’s kindhearted friend, make up the gaggle of misfits-turned-heroes who find themselves having to fight against evil after unexpectedly gaining superpowers.

Chae-ni becomes able to teleport, and Kyung-hoon and Ro-bin become super sticky and strong, respectively.

Still from the Netflix series ″The WONDERfools″ [NETFLIX]

Actor Son Hyun-joo, far left, as Ha Won-do in the Netflix series ″The WONDERfools″ [NETFLIX]

Park first heard about the series from Yoo while filming “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” and thought it would be a “very fun project [...] with big potential.”

“I chose this project because I wanted to have fun,” she said. “Of all the characters I have played, Chae-ni seems to be the most simpleminded.”

“I think we’ll be able to show off the great chemistry between the team,” she added.

“She’s an actor with great comic instincts; she’s daring and brave,” Yoo said when asked about working with Park. “While filming ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo,’ I thought she was the kind of actor who could pull off anything. [...] I knew I could trust her with this role.”

Director Yoo In-sik poses at a press conference for the Netflix series ″The WONDERfools″ at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 12. [NEWS1]

The director, a longtime fan of the superhero genre, said he tried to insert the same childlike wonder that he felt while watching similar movies as a kid into the show, as he fulfilled his “dream” of creating an action series.

“There are those movies that you watch in the theater when you’re young, and you can‘t get up after they end [because you‘re so riveted],” Yoo said, giving “The Goonies” (1985) and the “Indiana Jones” franchise (1981-2023) as examples. “I thought this could be something a little different and special that also gives viewers a sense of the excitement that I felt as a child.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [

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