Woo Do-hwan (Bloodhounds) plays Baek Ki-hyun, Baek Kitae’s younger brother, who joins the Joint Investigation Headquarters and stands against his own brother in Made in Korea Season 2.
That means the season’s core fight is a family split: Hyun Bin’s Kitae runs the KCIA side, and his younger brother is now on the other table.
This post covers who plays whom, the two genuinely new characters, where each returning character stands nine years later, and the full episode schedule.
Contents
- Woo Do-hwan as Baek Ki-hyun
- What new characters join in Season 2?
- Hyun Bin and Jung Woo-sung in Season 2
- Release schedule: episode dates
- Nine years later: where Season 2 picks up and who is hunting whom
- Where to watch Made in Korea Season 2 by region
Woo Do-hwan as Baek Ki-hyun
Woo Do-hwan of ‘Bloodhounds’ plays Baek Ki-hyun, Baek Kitae’s younger brother, who in Season 2 joins the Joint Investigation Headquarters and stands directly against his brother.
Nine years after Season 1, Ki-hyun holds a position that puts him fully at odds with Kitae, and Jung Woo-sung’s Geonyoung pressures him from inside the Joint Investigation Headquarters with one line: ‘Here it’s one of two — die and disappear, or live and walk out.’
Kitae is still the brother who raised him after their parents died, so Ki-hyun is torn between duty and family — that conflict is the point of his casting.
The two actors wrote the brothers as more than brothers.
Woo Do-hwan said at the September 2 press conference that he and Hyun Bin also played them as father and son, with Ki-hyun beginning to clash with his father’s way of thinking.
Hyun Bin added that Kitae keeps watching Ki-hyun go in a different direction and feels internal conflict, because he firmly believes he must protect his family.
If you only know Woo Do-hwan from ‘Bloodhounds’, expect a colder, more restrained character here; the loyalty-vs-duty split does the acting work.
| Wednesday, September 9, 2026 | Episodes 1–2 |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | Episodes 3–4 |
| Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | Episodes 5–6 (final) |
What new characters join in Season 2?
Only two faces are genuinely new in Season 2: Jang Hye-jin as Madam Shin and Heo Jung-do as Hwang Dae-sik.
Madam Shin is a new face of the KCIA faction appearing for the first time this season, and Hwang Dae-sik’s teaser line is ‘I take responsibility for you to the end, as much as you did for me.’
Everyone else in the ten-character poster lineup released September 1, 2026 is a returning character, changed by nine story years.
Here is what each returning character is doing when Season 2 opens:
- Seo Eun-soo as Oh Yejin — now Korea’s first female prosecutor in the narcotics division; she swapped the Season 1 curly perm for a Princess Diana-style wave and gained weight for a sturdier look.
- Won Ji-an as Ikeda Yuji — the adopted daughter of yakuza leader Ikeda Osamu (Lily Franky), aiming for the kumicho seat with new action scenes.
- Jung Sung-il as Cheon Seokjung — the president’s advisor now weighs what to do about a Baek Kitae grown too big to control.
- Noh Jae-won as Pyo Haksoo — Kitae’s classmate, now head of the KCIA Busan branch.
- Cha Hee as Baek Soyoung — Kitae’s sister, 180 degrees different, now running his illegal operations.
When a K-drama adds cast before a new season, the first thing to check is whether the role is genuinely new or a returning character with a new actor — here, Madam Shin and Hwang Dae-sik are the only new faces, so anyone else you recognize is the same character, aged and rearranged.
If you want to track loyalties on screen, the ten character posters from September 1 give each character’s hidden desire in one teaser line.
Hyun Bin and Jung Woo-sung in Season 2
Hyun Bin returns as Baek Kitae, now richer and more isolated, and Jung Woo-sung returns as Jang Geonyoung, a man consumed by revenge.
Kitae rose through the KCIA while running an off-hours drug empire; in Season 2, blocked by forces trying to stop his solo run, he becomes lonely and makes bolder choices.
His teaser line sets the tone for the whole season: ‘This is war now.
It only ends when one side dies.’
Geonyoung spent nine story years out of the picture after hitting rock bottom in Season 1.
Jung Woo-sung described him as a man who falls into self-rationalization while trying to bring Kitae down, without even recognizing his own desire for revenge — a transformation from someone pursuing justice into someone consumed by it.
If you watched Season 1 for the Kitae–Geonyoung duel, Season 2 widens it: the fight is no longer one man against one man, but the KCIA against the Joint Investigation Headquarters, and Ki-hyun is the hinge between them.
Release schedule: episode dates
Made in Korea Season 2 premieres September 9, 2026 with 2 episodes, then 2 more each on September 16 and September 23 — 6 episodes total, Wednesdays only on Disney+.
| Drop date | Episodes |
|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2026 | Episodes 1–2 |
| Sep 16, 2026 | Episodes 3–4 |
| Sep 23, 2026 | Episodes 5–6 (finale) |
It is the final season, written by Park Eun-kyo and directed by Woo Min-ho, the same team as Season 1.
The table above lists all three drop dates, so you can set a reminder for the Wednesday that works for you.
Season 1 arrived in December 2025, so the gap between seasons is about 9 months.
Two dates are worth putting on a calendar: September 16, when Episodes 3–4 land, and September 23, when the final two episodes end the series.
If you are catching up, finish Season 1 before September 16 — the first two episodes of Season 2 assume you know how Season 1 ended, and the nine-year jump only lands if you know who fell.
Nine years later: where Season 2 picks up and who is hunting whom
Season 2 picks up nine years after Season 1, and the story runs from the October 26, 1979 assassination to just before the December 12 coup.
Director Woo Min-ho frames the scale in one line: ‘Season 1 was children fighting, Season 2 is adults fighting’ — the story expands from one man’s ambition into a war between the KCIA and the Joint Investigation Headquarters.
Unlike ‘The Man Standing Next’ or ‘12.12: The Date’, the fictional characters here never directly participate in the real 1979 events, so you can watch it without knowing Korean political history in detail.
Season 1 ended with Kitae winning the KCIA director general’s chair, building a drug empire, and ruining a prosecutor’s career — Season 2 opens on that victory (per season recaps, so treat the scene-by-scene details as recollection, not scripture).
Season 1 was the most-watched Korean Disney+ original of 2025 worldwide, per Disney+ performance figures, which is why the cast details got this much press coverage.
If you are new to the series, start from Season 1 — the character relationships are the plot, and nine years of grudge only pays off if you saw Season 1.
Where to watch Made in Korea Season 2 by region
In Korea, Made in Korea Season 2 streams exclusively on Disney+, starting September 9, 2026.
In the US market it is positioned as a Hulu title, since Hulu carries Disney+ Korean originals there.
The exact dates for every other market have not been confirmed in recent sources, so check the Disney+ or Hulu app in your region rather than an article — that is the only page that reflects your catalog.
One caution: the US Hulu release date is often reported as if confirmed, but recent sources do not confirm it, so treat any specific date you see as unverified.
Likewise, the roughly 60-minute episode runtime you will see on fan wikis does not come from an official Disney+ page, so do not plan a viewing schedule around it.
If you are in a region where neither app shows the title yet, wait for your local Disney+ listing to update on September 9 KST rather than assuming a same-day drop.
If I were catching up, I’d finish Season 1 before September 16, because the first two episodes of Season 2 assume you already know how Season 1 ended.
👉 Episode-by-episode Made in Korea Season 2 guide with story and ending notes
👉 Marie Claire’s Made in Korea Season 2 cast breakdown with cast interviews
👉 Wikitree’s Season 2 report covering the premiere schedule and new cast additions
Related posts
Sources
- No confirmed per-episode runtime found in 6-month window (kdramaworlds.com)
- wikitree.co.kr
- Woo Do-hwan as Baek Ki-hyun in Defense Security Demand, brot (marieclaire.com)
Summary
- Woo Do-hwan plays Baek Ki-hyun, Kitae’s younger brother, now inside the Joint Investigation Headquarters and against his own brother.
- The only new cast members are Jang Hye-jin (Madam Shin) and Heo Jung-do (Hwang Dae-sik); everyone else is a returning character.
- 6 episodes, 2 per Wednesday: September 9, 16 and 23, 2026, on Disney+ in Korea.
- Finish Season 1 before September 16 to follow the nine-year jump.
- Spoiler pieces about the ending published before September 23 are guesses — the final two episodes air that day.
FAQ
Q. Who plays Baek Ki-hyun in Made in Korea Season 2?
Woo Do-hwan, known for ‘Bloodhounds’, plays Baek Ki-hyun, Baek Kitae’s younger brother. In Season 2 he joins the Joint Investigation Headquarters and stands directly against his brother.
Q. What new characters join Made in Korea Season 2?
Jang Hye-jin joins as Madam Shin, a new face of the KCIA faction, and Heo Jung-do plays Hwang Dae-sik. All other characters are returning from Season 1, nine years older.
Q. How many episodes does Made in Korea Season 2 have?
6 episodes in total, released 2 at a time on Wednesdays: September 9, September 16, and September 23, 2026.
Q. Where can I watch Made in Korea Season 2 outside Korea?
It streams on Disney+ in Korea and is positioned as a Hulu title in the US. Exact dates for other markets were not confirmed in recent sources, so check the app in your region.
Q. Do I need to watch Season 1 first?
Yes. Season 2 opens nine years after Season 1’s finale, and the first two episodes assume you know how Kitae’s rise ended.
What to watch next
Cover photo: AI-generated illustration (vintage television set) — AI-generated image, illustrative only
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