''On Air'' () is a 2008

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n television series, starring

Kim Ha-neul Kim Ha-neul (; born February 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress. After starting her career as a model, she rose to fame by starring in romantic-comedy films ''My Tutor Friend'' (2003) and ''Too Beautiful to Lie'' (2004) and the action-comedy f ...

Park Yong-ha Park Yong-ha (Korean: 박용하, August 12, 1977 – June 30, 2010) was a South Korean actor and singer. Career At seventeen, Park was noted for his acting and musical skills, as well as his good looks which earned him popularity with fans. A ...

Lee Beom-soo Lee Beom-soo (born January 3, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is well known for his role in ''Singles'', ''Giant'', '' On Air'', '' Surgeon Bong Dal-hee, ''as well as in'' History of a Salaryman.'' Lee enrolled in the Department of Theater ...

and

Song Yoon-ah Song Yoon-ah (Korean: 송윤아, born June 7, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for starring in the film '' Jail Breakers'' (2002), as well as the television dramas ''Hotelier'' (2001), '' On Air'' (2008), ''Mama'' (2014), ''The ...

. The series is a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

, revealing details about what normally goes on behind a TV drama production. It aired on SBS from March 5 to May 15, 2008 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 21 episodes.

Synopsis

Jang Ki-joon (

) used to be a top manager in the business but he went bankrupt as he couldn't compete with other powerful agencies. He was 'rescued' by Oh Seung-ah (

), a top star who agreed to join his agency after breaking off with her former one. Lee Kyung-min (

) is a drama PD who gets his first chance at being a director. Seo Young-eun (

) is a much sought-after scriptwriter who is divorced and has a young son. ''On Air'' revolves around these four entertainment industry figures - a director, a writer, an actress, and her manager - as their personal and professional lives intertwine during the shooting of a drama. It also portrays how the whole production team and performers complete a project in a tight schedule as well as how actors, actresses, and entertainment agencies handle rumors surrounding them.

Cast

Main

as Oh Seung-ah *

as Lee Kyung-min *

as Jang Ki-joon *

as Seo Young-eun

Supporting

Lee Hyung-chul Lee Hyung-chul (born February 19, 1971) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in television dramas, notably in ''Scent of Man'' (2003), '' Sisters of the Sea'' (2005), '' On Air'' (2008), '' City Hall'' (2009), ''Pas ...

as Jin Sang-woo (SW Entertainment president) *Han Ye-won as Cherry *Hong Ji-min as Lee Hye-kyung *Yoo Seo-jin as Yoon Hyun-soo *Choi Sang-hoon as Kang Ho-sang *Lee Won as Kwon Oh-suk * Lee Sung-min as Song Soo-chul *Lee Dal-hyung as Park Bong-shik *Yeo Ho-min as Hong Seo-gyu *Kim Dong-gyun as Noh Yong-chul *Park Joo-ah as Park Hyung-ja * Shin Dong-woo as Kim Joon-hee *Lee Chul-min as Kim Hak-seon *Kang Joo-hyung as Ahn Da-jung *Jin Sung as Lee Won *Im Hyun-sung as Kim Beom-rae *Sung Woo-jin as Ra Seok-hyun * Ricky Kim as Aidan Lee *Lee Chae-won as Seung-ah's makeup artist *Lee Kyung-jin as Kwak Wook-shim *Min Seo-hyun as Yang So-eun *Seol Ji-yoon as Writer Kwon *

Kang Rae-yeon Kang Rae-yeon is a South Korean actress and model. She is known for her roles in dramas such as '' The Time We Were Not in Love'' and '' Gogh, The Starry Night''. Early life Kang was born an only child and a third-generation South Korean; her f ...

as travel guide *Maeng Bo-hak as movie producer *Yoon Seol-hee as room salon girl *

Lee Seung-hyung Lee Seung-hyung is a South Korean actor. He is best known as a supporting actor in television dramas, notably in '' Brilliant Legacy'' (2009) and ''Prosecutor Princess ''Prosecutor Princess'' () is a 2010 South Korean television series starri ...

as advertiser *Son Hwa-ryung *

Kim Sung-oh Kim Sung-oh (born September 15, 1978) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles ''Supporting Roles'' ( es, Papeles secundarios) is a 1989 Cuban drama film directed by Orlando Rojas. The film was selected as the Cub ...

as SW manager *Yoon Gi-won as fake manager (ep 1-2) *Kim Ki-soo as Young-eun's tango teacher (ep 1)

Special appearances

Lee Sun-kyun Lee Sun-kyun (born March 2, 1975) is a South Korean actor. After beginning his career in musical theatre, for many years Lee was relegated to minor and supporting roles onscreen, only getting to play lead characters in one-act dramas on KBS '' ...

as himself (ep 1) *

Bae Jong-ok Bae Jong-ok (born May 13, 1964) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a TV actress after she was recruited by KBS, and has since been active in both film and television. While concurrently maintaining an acting career, Bae completed a doct ...

as herself (ep 1) *

Park Jin-hee Park Jin-hee (born January 8, 1978) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the television series ''Please Come Back, Soon-ae'' (2006), ''War of Money'' (2007), and ''Giant'' (2010), as well as for the film ''Shadows ...

as herself (ep 1) * Choi Min-hwan as himself (ep 1) *

Lee Hong-gi Lee Hong-gi (; born March 2, 1990), also known mononymously as Hongki, is a South Korean singer, actor, and media personality. He is best known as the front man of rock band F.T. Island. In 2015, Lee debuted as a solo artist with the release ...

as himself (ep 1) * Lee Jae-jin as himself (ep 1) *

Lee Hyo-ri Lee Hyo-ri (; born May 10, 1979) is a South Korean singer, record producer, activist, actress and television presenter. Dubbed as the "Nation's Fairy" during her ''Family Outing'' days, she debuted as a member of South Korean girl group Fin.K. ...

as herself (ep 1) *

Ji Il-joo Ji Il-joo (born November 7, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his role in the drama series ''Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo'' (2016–2017) and '' Hello, My Twenties!'' (2016) Directing In 2018, Ji is making his debut as a direc ...

as Lee Hyo-ri's manager (ep 1) *

Jeon Do-yeon Jeon Do-yeon (; born February 11, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She won Best Actress at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, making her the second Korean actress to win an acting award at a prestigious film festival, and Best Performance by an Ac ...

as herself (ep 2) *

Park Si-yeon Park Si-yeon (born Park Mi-seon on March 29, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She joined the Miss Korea pageant in 2000, and using that as a springboard to an acting career, she made her acting debut in China in 2004, appearing in minor roles in ...

as herself (ep 3) *

Lee Chun-hee Lee Chun-hee (born February 19, 1979) is a South Korean actor. Career Lee Chun-hee made his acting debut in the movie '' A Good Lawyer's Wife'' in 2003 and has since starred in several big screen roles such as '' The Aggressives'' (2005), ''Thr ...

as himself (ep 3) *

Jeon Hye-bin Jeon Hye-bin (; ; born September 27, 1983), also known as BIN, is a South Korean actress, singer and model. In 2002, she began her career as singer of the short-lived, three-member girl group LUV. However, the group disbanded the following year ...

as herself (ep 3) * Kim Min-jun as himself (ep 4) *

Kang Hye-jung Kang Hye-jung (born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut in arthouse film ''Nabi'' (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim in Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thriller '' Oldboy''. A rising star early in her c ...

as herself (ep 5,12) *

Uhm Ji-won Uhm Ji-won (born December 25, 1977) is a South Korean actress. Career Uhm Ji-won made her acting debut in the late 1990s, and after an early role in the Korean tokusatsu series ''Vectorman'', went on to appear in a number of films and televi ...

as herself (ep 5) *

Lee Seo-jin Lee Seo-jin (born January 30, 1971) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for the reality shows ''Three Meals a Day'' and '' Grandpa Over Flowers''. As an actor, he came to prominence with his leading roles in television series '' Damo'' (2 ...

as himself (ep 9) *

Song Chang-eui Song Chang-eui (born January 24, 1979) is a South Korean actor. Though better known as a musical theatre actor, notably in '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' and ''Gwanghwamun Love Song'', Song has also starred in television dramas such as ''The Sc ...

as himself (ep 11) *Lee Dong-gyu as health center employee (ep 14) *

Shin Dong-wook Shin Dong-wook (born Shin Hwa-shik on September 14, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in ''Soulmate'' and ''Cloud Stairs'' (both in 2006), and his supporting role in ''War of Money'' (2007). Career In Novembe ...

as drama actor (ep 14) *

Kim Je-dong Kim Je-dong (born 3 February 1974) is a South Korean comedian, variety and talk show host on television. He is best known for hosting the talk show ''Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy'' on SBS. Background Kim is also famous for being one of ...

as himself (ep 15) *

Kim Jung-eun Kim Jung-eun (born March 4, 1976) is a South Korean actress best known for her roles in the film ''Marrying the Mafia'' (2002) and the television series ''Lovers in Paris'' (2004), '' I am Legend'' (2010) and '' Make a Woman Cry''. In 2008, Kim ...

as herself (ep 16) *

Yoon Se-ah Yoon Se-ah (born January 2, 1978) is a South Korean actress best known for her roles in '' The City Hall'', ''Wife Returns'', '' A Gentleman's Dignity'', '' Stranger'', ''Sky Castle'', and ''Snowdrop''. Yoon was paired with Korean-French-Canadian ...

as screenwriter (ep 21) * Kim Sung-min as manager (ep 21) *

Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American football coach and former wide receiver of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ...

as himself (ep 21)

Production

The series features 27

cameo appearances A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

, among them are

, Kim Min-jun and

, who had previously worked with writer

Kim Eun-sook Kim Eun-sook (Korean: 김은숙, born 1973) is a South Korean screenwriter. She wrote the popular television dramas ''Lovers in Paris'' (2004), '' On Air'' (2008), '' Secret Garden'' (2010), '' A Gentleman's Dignity'' (2012), ''The Heirs'' (2 ...

and director Shin Woo-chul on ''

Lovers in Paris ''Lovers in Paris'' () is a 2004 South Korean television series starring Kim Jung-eun, Park Shin-yang and Lee Dong-gun. It aired on SBS from 12 June to 15 August 2004 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:55 for 20 episodes. The series is the first ...

'', ''

Lovers in Prague ''Lovers in Prague'' () is a 2005 South Korean television drama series starring Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Joo-hyuk, Kim Min-jun and Yoon Se-ah. It aired on SBS from September 24 to November 20, 2005 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:45 for 18 episodes. I ...

'', and '' Lovers''.

also asked her celebrity friends to appear on the show, namely

Lee Hyori Lee Hyo-ri (; born May 10, 1979) is a South Korean singer, record producer, activist, actress and television presenter. Dubbed as the "Nation's Fairy" during her ''Family Outing'' days, she debuted as a member of South Korean girl group Fin.K.L ...

, and comedian

. Parts of the series were filmed on location in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, where the character Lee Kyung-min goes in search of Seo Young-eun, who went to Taiwan on vacation.

Soundtrack

;Information *Title: 온에어 OST Part 2 / On Air OST Part 2 *Artist: Various Artists *Language: Korean, English *Release Date: 2008-Apr-29 *Number of Tracks: 11 *Publisher: ''Unknown'' *Agency: Sony Music ;Track Listing

Awards and nominations

International broadcast

The series aired on Mnet Japan beginning July 30, 2008.

and

visited Japan to promote it in a showcase attend by 800 VIP guests at Toho Cinema in

Roppongi Hills is a List of development projects in Tokyo, development project in Tokyo and one of Japan's largest Real estate development, integrated property developments, located in the Roppongi district of Minato, Tokyo. Constructed by building tycoon Mi ...

, Tokyo.

References

External links

''On Air'' official SBS website
* {{Kim Eun-sook Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas 2008 South Korean television series debuts 2008 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows South Korean romance television series South Korean comedy-drama television series Television shows written by Kim Eun-sook