Alchemy of Souls (Korean: 환혼) is a South Korean television series starring Lee Jae-wook, Jung So-min, Go Youn-jung, and Hwang Min-hyun.
Written by the Hong sisters, it depicts the stories of young mages dealing with heaven and earth. It aired on tvN from June 18, 2022, to January 8, 2023, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:10 (KST) for 30 episodes. It is also available for streaming on TVING and Netflix in selected regions.
Alchemy of Souls | |
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Also known as | Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (part 2) |
Hangul | 환혼 |
Hanja | 還魂 |
Revised Romanization | Hwanhon |
Genre | |
Written by | Hong Jung-eun Hong Mi-ran |
Directed by | Park Joon-hwa |
Starring | |
Music by | Nam Hye-seung |
Country of origin | South Korea |
Original language | Korean |
No. of episodes | 30 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Ahn So-jeong |
Running time | 60–70 minutes |
Production companies |
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Budget | ₩40 billion |
Original release | |
Network | tvN |
Release | June 18, 2022 January 8, 2023 | –
The series was divided into two parts: Part 1 aired from June 18 to August 28, 2022, for 20 episodes, while Part 2 (Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow) aired from December 10, 2022, to January 8, 2023, for 10 episodes.
Part | Episodes | Originally aired | Average viewership (in millions) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | ||||
1 | 20 | June 18, 2022 | August 28, 2022 | 1.619 | |
2 | 10 | December 10, 2022 | January 8, 2023 | 1.887 |
Set in a fictional country called Daeho, the series is about the love and growth of young mages as they overcome their twisted fates due to a forbidden magic spell known as the "alchemy of souls", which allows souls to switch bodies.
It follows the story of an elite warrior named Nak-su whose soul is accidentally trapped inside the weak body of Mu-deok. She becomes entangled with Jang Uk who is from a noble family, becomes his servant and master, and teaches Uk her skills as they both fall in love with each other.
Three years after a tragedy, engineered by Jin Mu, that led Mu-deok to run wild and kill innocent people, Jang Uk, who returned from the dead as a result of the powerful Ice Stone inside his body, becomes a ruthless hunter of soul shifters and becomes increasingly isolated due to his heartbreak over the death of his love—Mu-deok. He then meets the mysterious heiress of Jinyowon, Jin Bu-yeon, whose words frequently echo those of Nak-su.
Preparations for the series, as well as program discussion with tvN, started in 2019 under the working title Can This Person Be Translated (이 사람 통역이 되나요; I Saram Tong-yeog-i Doenayo).
In January 2021, Park Hye-su's agency revealed that the actress auditioned for Alchemy of Souls. In June, it was announced that actor Joo Sang-wook was offered a role in the series.
The female lead role was first confirmed to be played by Park Hye-eun
. However, in July 2021, she decided to leave the series after a mutual agreement with the production team. It was stated that although Park is a rookie actress, she prepared hard for the series, but felt a lot of pressure about playing the main character of a big project. The role was then offered to actress Jung So-min. Jung and director Park Joon-hwa previously worked together in 2017 TV series Because This Is My First Life.Line-up for the lead stars consisting of Lee Jae-wook, Jung So-min, Hwang Min-hyun, Shin Seung-ho, Yoo Jun-sang, Oh Na-ra and Jo Jae-yoon was officially announced by tvN on March 3, 2022. On March 21, Yoo In-soo, Arin, Park Eun-hye, Lee Do-kyung and Im Chul-soo were announced to have joined the cast.
After the end of part 1 in August 2022, the female lead actress Jung So-min was replaced by Go Youn-jung for part 2, after she previously portrayed the original identity for Jung's character in a cameo in part 1.
In August 2021, production companies Studio Dragon and High Quality signed an agreement with Mungyeong City to build a filming site in Maseong-myeon worth ₩5 billion for the production of Alchemy of Souls.
Filming locations include Nongwoljeong Pavilion in Hwarim-dong Valley, Hamyang County, Goseokjeong Pavilion in Cheorwon County, and CJ ENM Studio Center in Paju. The tree shown in the fictional place called Danhyanggok is located on the lower reaches of the Geumgang River in Garimseong Fortress, Buyeo County. Post-production began as filming began in the summer of 2021.
On October 6, 2021, it was announced that filming of the series was canceled for that week after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 on the morning of the 5th. All production crew members subsequently underwent PCR tests. Some staff members who were classified as close contacts went into self-quarantine, even though they tested negative for the contagion.
It was reported that filming for the second part of the series had started by July 2022, and was completed on October 6.
Alchemy of Souls ranked second, tied with Our Blues, in streaming for Netflix Korea TV show category from January to December 22, 2022.
Part | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | |||
1 | 1.294 | 1.516 | 1.275 | 1.760 | 1.321 | 1.632 | 1.347 | 1.804 | 1.416 | 1.817 | 1.305 | 1.769 | 1.564 | 1.926 | 1.680 | 1.926 | 1.815 | 2.359 | 1.984 | 2.410 | 1.696 | |
2 | 1.648 | 1.933 | 1.812 | 2.126 | 1.676 | 1.967 | 1.518 | 2.054 | 1.871 | 2.267 | – | 1.887 |
Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Nationwide | Seoul | |||
Part 1 | ||||
1 | June 18, 2022 | 5.205% (1st) | 4.833% (1st) | |
2 | June 19, 2022 | 5.872% (1st) | 6.047% (1st) | |
3 | June 25, 2022 | 5.288% (1st) | 5.315% (1st) | |
4 | June 26, 2022 | 6.841% (1st) | 6.878% (1st) | |
5 | July 2, 2022 | 5.352% (1st) | 5.253% (1st) | |
6 | July 3, 2022 | 6.639% (1st) | 6.880% (1st) | |
7 | July 9, 2022 | 5.311% (1st) | 5.158% (1st) | |
8 | July 10, 2022 | 6.826% (1st) | 6.694% (1st) | |
9 | July 16, 2022 | 5.204% (1st) | 5.329% (1st) | |
10 | July 17, 2022 | 6.958% (1st) | 6.835% (1st) | |
11 | July 23, 2022 | 4.989% (1st) | 4.908% (1st) | |
12 | July 24, 2022 | 7.091% (1st) | 7.032% (1st) | |
13 | July 30, 2022 | 6.290% (1st) | 6.008% (1st) | |
14 | July 31, 2022 | 7.600% (1st) | 7.484% (1st) | |
15 | August 6, 2022 | 6.610% (1st) | 6.710% (1st) | |
16 | August 7, 2022 | 7.453% (1st) | 7.544% (1st) | |
17 | August 20, 2022 | 7.566% (1st) | 7.767% (1st) | |
18 | August 21, 2022 | 9.295% (1st) | 9.793% (1st) | |
19 | August 27, 2022 | 7.915% (1st) | 8.121% (1st) | |
20 | August 28, 2022 | 9.218% (1st) | 9.903% (1st) | |
Part 2 | ||||
21 | December 10, 2022 | 6.719% (1st) | 7.852% (1st) | |
22 | December 11, 2022 | 7.743% (1st) | 8.808% (1st) | |
23 | December 17, 2022 | 7.176% (1st) | 8.236% (1st) | |
24 | December 18, 2022 | 8.458% (1st) | 9.366% (1st) | |
25 | December 24, 2022 | 7.134% (1st) | 7.665% (1st) | |
26 | December 25, 2022 | 8.237% (1st) | 9.206% (1st) | |
27 | December 31, 2022 | 6.644% (1st) | 6.654% (1st) | |
28 | January 1, 2023 | 8.605% (1st) | 10.078% (1st) | |
29 | January 7, 2023 | 8.218% (1st) | 8.853% (1st) | |
30 | January 8, 2023 | 9.651% (1st) | 10.603% (1st) | |
Average | 6.665% | 7.099% | ||
Special | August 14, 2022 | 3.225% (1st) | 3.446% (1st) | |
Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Asia Model Awards | 2022 | Asia Special Award | Lee Jae-wook | Won | |
Rising Star Award, Actor Category | Arin | Won | |||
Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Screenplay – Television | Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran | Nominated | |
Korea Drama Awards | 2022 | Best Director | Park Joon-hwa | Won | |
Global Excellence Award | Lee Jae-wook | Won | |||
Top Excellence Award, Actress | Jung So-min | Nominated | |||
Scene Stealer Festival | 2023 | Scene Stealers of the Year | Oh Na-ra | Won | |
Im Chul-soo | Won |
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