‘Tempest’: Political unrest at every turn

Filipinos are no strangers to dirty politics, so Disney+’s latest K-drama hits home.

Assassinations, political games, conspiracies and spies collide in the Korean thriller Tempest. Set in modern-day Korea, the show follows Seo Munju (Jun ji Hyun of My Love from the Star, Legend of the Blue Sea), a highly accomplished diplomat and former ambassador to the United States; and Park Sanho (Gang Dong Won of Broker, Peninsula, A Violent Prosecutor), an international special agent, as they race to uncover the truth behind an attack that threatens the future stability of the Korean peninsula.

Munju is a career diplomat who turns her razor-sharp intellect to uncovering the reason for her husband’s murder, a presidential frontrunner. She runs for the position in his place and soon is catapulted further into the Korean political arena.

Sanho, meanwhile, is an elite mercenary whom Munju has built great trust in. With little background on him, Munju hires Sanho as her bodyguard to uncover his secrets.

“I really wanted to work with Gang Dong Won before it got too late, so I chose this project. Honestly, I’ve been a longtime fan of Dong Won. That was one of my reasons for joining this project — I really wanted to work with him. During filming, I admired his physical presence, but more importantly, I got to know him as a person. That made me an even bigger fan. His performance as Sanho brought extra synergy to my role as Munju,” Ji Hyun said during the show’s recent press conference.

Dong Won could say the same about his co-star. “While filming, I was completely drawn into Ji Hyun’s charm. She always brought so much joy to the set, which made me really happy while shooting. Throughout, I kept thinking, ‘Wow, she’s truly amazing. I was really glad for the chance to be working with her now,’” he said.

With only five episodes in, the show is already named the streaming platform’s most viewed K-drama of 2025. The story keeps you on edge, because you never know who to trust in every episode.

If you are a fan of political thrillers, Tempest is worth the shot. Tempest is now streaming on Disney+. There is always something to get hooked on: The political unrest in the Korean Peninsula, talks of reunification of the North and South, the US government’s interference, nuclear threats and the impending airborne and marine strikes.

Tempest is directed by Kim Heewon (Queen of Tears, Little Women, Vincenzo) and co-directed by Korea’s leading martial arts director Heo Myunghaeng (The Outlaws 4) and is written by Chung Seokyung (Decision to Leave, The Handmaiden, Little Women).

Tempest is the latest Korean drama to be announced as part of the ever-growing collection of unmissable Korean storytelling available on the app. Other titles include the award-winning series Moving, about a group of South Korean special agents working to protect their super-powered children from harm and exploitation at the hands of malicious government agencies; and The Worst of Evil, about an undercover police officer who infiltrates a Korean crime organization, looking to bring them down from the inside.