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Late Produce 101 season 2 contestant Lee Jihan’s last drama will be aired posthumously next year in January 2023.
On October 31, 2022, an official from the production team of the MBC drama The Season of Kkokdu stated that Lee Jihan's final piece of work has been put on hold for the time being and will resume at a later date.
The talented idol actor died a tragic death in Itaewon’s Halloween tragedy which has claimed 154 lives, as per the numbers quoted by leading media publications. The report of Lee Jihan’s death was confirmed by his agency, 935 Entertainment, in an official statement.
The idol's final drama, in which he plays a brief but significant role, will air early next year, in January 2023.
Lee Jihan will play the female lead’s ex-boyfriend in his last drama The Season of Kkokdu
Lee Jihan, a former Produce 101 Season 2 contestant, was just getting started when he was killed in the Itaewon human stampede tragedy on October 29. The Season of Kkokdu will be his final appearance.
The Season of Kkokdu is MBC's newest fantasy-romance drama, starring Kim Jung-hyun as Kkokdu, a grim reaper who visits Earth every 99 years to punish humans for their transgressions. He meets Dr. Han Gye-jeol, Im Soo-hyang, a mysterious doctor with strange powers, and the two become friends.
It is reported that Lee Jihan was roped in to play Dr Han Gye-jeol’s ex-boyfriend Jung Yi-deun in the drama and has shot most of his parts. However, due to his tragic death, filming on the drama has been temporarily halted, with the production team deciding on a replacement actor to complete his scenes.
Most Korean channels and production companies have canceled work commitments in light of the Itaewon human stampede tragedy.
The production team also plans to pay their respects to Lee Jihan at his funeral, which will take place on November 1, 2022, at Myongji Hospital's funeral hall. Fans also took to social media to post their heartfelt condolences to the former Produce 101 contestant and will tune in to watch his last piece of work.
The late idol actor's agency also revealed that his family is in great distress.
His cast members from Produce 101 season 2 Park Hee-seok, Kim Do-hyun, and Cho Jin-hyung also posted their heartfelt condolences on Instagram.
The Korean Government has announced that the country will be in mourning till November 5, 2022, and any non-urgent activities will be canceled and postponed to a later date. In addition, major general entertainment channels such as KBS and SBS tvN have canceled their shows and music programs in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Several artists like BTS’ Jin and EXO’s Chen have pushed their solo promotions to a later date to respect the tragic gravity of the unfortunate incident.
Korean actors Nam Joo-hyuk, So Ji-sub and Ma Dong-seok have also canceled their film promotions and press events in light of the Itaewon tragedy.
MBC, the network that will air his final show next year, has also canceled today's official press conference for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
More about Lee Jihan
Lee Jihan debuted as a contestant on the popular Korean survival show Produce 101 season 2 in 2017.
He had covered EXO’s Overdose and INFINITE’s Be Mine. However, despite his best efforts, he was eliminated in the fifth episode of the survival show.
Two years ago, he debuted as an actor with the web drama Today Was Another Nam Hyun Day in 2019.
Ex-contestants of Produce 101 season 2 have expressed their heartfelt condolences for the late Idol actor, who was only 25 years old at the time of his passing.
