Disney+ K-drama 'Grid' is a story about protecting the Earth, says director

Khan Lee, the director of Disney+ latest original Korean series Grid, has described the upcoming K-drama as a tale about protecting the Earth.

During an online press conference held yesterday (February 16), Lee shared his vision for the series and what his intentions were for it regarding the show’s overarching message. The director also touched on why he signed up for the series, despite being unsure when initially approached.

“It wasn’t easy to make up my mind to lead this series,” he said, per The Korea Times. “What struck me was the series’ theme, which is ‘we should protect our planet Earth.’ Until now, I have actually been questioning why there are no series or films in Korea that talk about saving Earth. So I joined hands with [writer Lee Soo-yeon].”

He then explained that Grid has been made to be a subtle sci-fi-genre series with limited visual effects, instead focusing on establishing the fictional universe. “There are a lot of sci-fi elements but our series doesn’t put forth the visual effects of those,” he explained.

“It develops different stories that the writer wanted to unfold, anchoring on reality. As the plot is rather unfamiliar, we put in a lot of effort to convincingly develop the fictional universe,” Lee said.

Elsewhere during the press conference, actor Kim Mu-yeol (who plays Song Eo-jin in the series) described the plot of Grid as one that’s “heavily based on the findings of actual research”. He added: “I’ve heard that the writer scripted the story from a library. That’s how impressive and surprising the story is.”

Grid is one of seven new original Korean titles that Disney+ had previously announced as part of its expansion into Asia-Pacific content. Among these are Snowdrop starring  BLACKPINK’s Jisoo and Jung Hae-in and Rookie Cops starring singer Kang Daniel.