Netflix has confirmed production of a new Korean crime drama called Paper Man, with a cast that includes some of the most recognizable names in Korean-language television and film.
According to Variety, Cho Jung-seok, Park Hae-soo, and Claudia Kim will lead the series under director Lee Il-hyung. The show is described as a working title for now.
The story centers on Cha Myung-jo, a meek worker at a company that produces imitation character stickers. Despite nominally heading his household, he lives in the shadow of his far more capable wife. His life changes when he accidentally produces a counterfeit banknote so convincing that it cannot be distinguished from the real thing, pulling him into a criminal world beyond anything he has known before.
Cho Jung-seok, whose credits include Hospital Playlist, Pilot, and Exit, plays Myung-jo. Park Hae-soo, best known internationally for Squid Game, as well as Narco-Saints and Karma, plays Oh Seung-eop, the First Deputy Director of the Anti-Counterfeiting Division at the Korea Mint. His character is a relentless investigator set on Myung-jo's trail. Claudia Kim, who appeared in Gyeongseong Creature, The Atypical Family, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, plays Ko Hye-seok, Myung-jo's wife. She is described as an elite judge whose seemingly perfect life conceals real pressures and difficult choices.
Lee Il-hyung previously directed Karma and A Violent Prosecutor. Both films established him as a director drawn to morally complex protagonists navigating institutional and criminal systems.
Paper Man joins a growing Netflix Korea slate for 2026 that also includes The Art of Sarah, starring Shin Hye-sun and Lee Jun-hyuk, and Mousetrap, with Ryu Jun-yeol and Sul Kyung-gu.
