Alchemy of Souls (Korean: 환혼) is a South Korean television show featuring actors Lee Jae-wook, Jung So-min, Go Youn-jung, and Hwang Min-hyun. Written by the Hong sisters, the series tells the story of young magic users who face challenges related to heaven and earth. It was shown on tvN from June 18, 2022, to January 8, 2023, every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 p.m. KST for 30 episodes. It is also available to watch online on TVING and Netflix in some areas.
The series was split into two parts: Part 1 was shown from June 18 to August 28, 2022, for 20 episodes, while Part 2 (Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow) was shown from December 10, 2022, to January 8, 2023, for 10 episodes.
Synopsis
The story takes place in a made-up country named Daeho. It follows young mages who learn to love and grow stronger as they try to fix the problems caused by a forbidden magic called the "Alchemy of Souls," which lets souls move into different bodies.
The story centers on Nak-su, a skilled warrior whose soul is accidentally placed inside the weak body of Mu-deok. Nak-su becomes connected to Jang Uk, a member of a wealthy family, and takes on the role of both servant and teacher. She helps Jang Uk learn her skills, and the two develop feelings for each other.
Three years after a terrible event caused by Jin Mu, which led Mu-deok to harm innocent people, Jang Uk returns from death because of a powerful object called the Ice Stone inside his body. He becomes a hunter who targets people whose souls have changed bodies. He grows more alone because of the pain from losing Mu-deok. Later, he meets Jin Bu-yeon, a mysterious woman from the Jinyowon family, whose words often sound like those of Nak-su.
Cast
- Lee Jae-wook plays Jang Uk, and Park Sang-hoon plays young Jang Uk
- Jung So-min plays Mu-deok, Nak-su (after the alchemy of souls), and Jin Bu-yeon (Mu-deok's birth name)
- Go Youn-jung plays Naksu (before the alchemy of souls), Cho Yeong (real name), and Jin Bu-yeon (in part 2). Gu Yoo-jung plays young Nak-su
- Hwang Min-hyun plays Seo Yul, and Moon Seong-hyun plays young Seo Yul
- Oh Na-ra plays Maidservant Kim Yeon
- Joo Sang-wook plays Jang Gang
- Bae Gang-hee plays Do-hwa
- Jang Tae-min plays Servant Lee
- Do Sang-woo plays Seo Yun-oh
- Yoo Jun-sang plays Park Jin
- Yoo In-soo plays Park Dang-gu
- Lee Ha-yool plays Sang-ho
- Lee Do-kyung plays Heo Yeom
- Hong Seo-hee plays Heo Yun-ok
- Jung Ji-an plays Soon-yi
- Kim Yong-jin plays Physician Seo
- Jo Jae-yoon plays Jin Mu
- Choi Ji-ho plays Gil-ju
- Cha Yong-hak plays Yeom-su
- Lee Ji-hoo plays Cha Beom
- Lee Bong-jun plays Gu Hyo
- Joo Min-soo plays Han Yeol
- Park Eun-hye plays Jin Ho-gyeong
- Joo Seok-tae plays Jin Woo-tak
- Arin plays Jin Cho-yeon
- Yoon Hae-bin plays young Jin Bu-yeon
- Shin Seung-ho plays Go Won
- Choi Kwang-il plays Go Soon
- Kang Kyung-hun / Shim So-young plays Seo Ha-sun
- Park Byung-eun plays Go Seong
- Lee Ki-seop plays Eunuch Oh
- Jeong Ji-sun plays Eunuch Kim
- Park So-jin plays Joo-wol
- Im Chul-soo plays Lee Cheol (Master Lee)
- Seo Hye-won plays So-yi
- [Name not provided] plays Yong-pil
- Woo Hyun plays Monk Ho-yeon
- Jeon Hye-won plays Ae-hyang
- Yoon Seo-hyun plays Cho Chung
- Shim Jae-hyun plays a thug
- Kim Cheol-yoon plays Byeong-gu
- Yeom Hye-ran plays a mysterious middle-aged woman
- Yegyul Band [ko]
- Kim Hyun-sook plays Maidservant Park
- Jang Sung-beom plays Master Kang
- Lee Jun-hyeok plays a merchant
- Kim Dae-gon plays a merchant
- Lee Chae-min plays a merchant
Production
Preparations for the series and discussions with tvN began in 2019. The series had a temporary name, Can This Person Be Translated (이 사람 통역이 되나요; I saram tongyeogi doenayo).
In January 2021, Park Hye-su’s agency shared that she tried out for the role of Alchemy of Souls. In June, actor Joo Sang-wook was offered a role in the series.
The female lead was first confirmed to be played by Park Hye-eun. However, in July 2021, she left the series after an agreement with the production team. Park was a new actress who worked hard but felt too much pressure playing the main character. The role was later given to Jung So-min. Jung and director Park Joon-hwa had previously worked together on the 2017 TV series Because This Is My First Life.
On March 3, 2022, tvN officially announced the lead actors: Lee Jae-wook, Jung So-min, Hwang Min-hyun, Shin Seung-ho, Yoo Jun-sang, Oh Na-ra, and Jo Jae-yoon. On March 21, Yoo In-soo, Arin, Park Eun-hye, Lee Do-kyung, and Im Chul-soo were added to the cast.
After the first part of the series ended in August 2022, Jung So-min was replaced by Go Youn-jung for the second part. Jung had previously appeared briefly as the original version of her character in the first part.
In August 2021, production companies Studio Dragon and High Quality signed a deal with Mungyeong to build a filming site in Maseong-myeon worth ₩5 billion for Alchemy of Souls.
Filming locations included 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 near the Geumgang River in Garimseong Fortress, Buyeo County. Post-production began when filming started in the summer of 2021.
On October 6, 2021, it was announced that filming was canceled for that week after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 on October 5. All crew members then took PCR tests. Some staff who were close contacts of the infected person went into self-quarantine, even though they tested negative.
It was reported that filming for the second part of the series began in July 2022 and was completed on October 6.
Original soundtrack
The album reached number 18 on the weekly Circle Album Chart. By September 2022, 8,906 copies were sold.
Viewership
From January 1 to December 22, 2022, the TV show "Alchemy of Souls" was ranked second in the Korean TV show streaming category on Netflix Korea, tied with "Our Blues" in streaming viewership.