Last year from February to April, the Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company (JTBC) aired one of the funniest K-dramas to ever grace the Korean small screen, Welcome to Waikiki.
Also known as Laughter in Waikiki and Go-Go Waikiki, the K-drama stood out for utilizing slapstick, a form of comedy usually seen only in certain Korean variety shows like Running Man. Needless to say, the concept was very popular thus resulting in JTBC airing a second season.
In a couple of months, the second season of Welcome to Waikiki will air. The only cast member from the first season to return is Lee Yi-Kyung. He recently shared some insight on his upcoming role.
Waiting for Lee Yi-Kyung
Reportedly, Lee Yi-Kyung is a pivotal part of the second season of Welcome to Waikiki. He will jump right into the K-drama once his role in Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) series Children of Nobody concludes. Also from what the reports show, filming for the second season has already begun and he’ll be coming in after the debut episode.
“Filming has already begun and they’re waiting for me. I’ve already met the new cast, our most recent meeting was yesterday. We went over the script and shared many conversations. We haven’t had a lot of opportunities to meet yet, but we have fun when we do.”
Lee Yi-Kyung
Despite Lee Yi-Kyung being the primary male lead in which he reprises the role of Lee Joon-Ki, the initial episodes will focus more on introducing the new cast.
They include Kim Sun-Ho (100 Days My Prince), Shin Hyun-Soo (My Golden Life), Mun Ka-Young (Jealousy Incarnate), Ahn So-Hee (Entourage), and Kim Ye-Won (Rich Man, Poor Woman).
Also, Lee Yi-Kyung’s character will not be a central figure either. He shall “ease the new cast in” for viewers. Initially, Yi-Kyung was saddened by this but he understood the direction his character was going after reading the script. Also, it would help prevent him from being typecast, something Yi-Kyung wanted to avoid being re-cast in Welcome to Waikiki season two.
“At first, I was a little worried that I might solidify a comical image and get typecast in the future. People at my agency also asked if I was sure I wanted to return to a character that has such a strong personality. But I think this can be a chance to make my own brand.”
Lee Yi-Kyung
When will Welcome to Waikiki Season Two release?
The second season of Welcome to Waikiki is expected to release sometime in March 2019 on JTBC. It will air after The Light In Your Eyes concludes, taking over its day and time slot of Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. KST.
Presently, there is no word which streaming site will air the second season of Welcome to Waikiki. However, Netflix has exclusive viewing license of both Clean with Passion for Now and Sky Castle, the two currently-airing JTBC K-dramas. Ergo, it is plausible Netflix might be the ones to air the second season of Welcome to Waikiki.
As for the first season of Welcome to Waikiki, it used to be a DramaFever exclusive and it hasn’t been picked up by any streaming sites as of yet. Fortunately, the official JTBC YouTube channel has numerous video clips of the first season.