Hyun Bin revealed that every cigarette he smoked on the Disney+ series "Made in Korea" was an herbal prop.
At a Season 1 wrap interview held Jan. 27 in Seoul’s Samcheong-dong, the actor addressed the show’s many smoking scenes. “It was tough,” he admitted. “I quit after only smoking briefly years ago, then picked it up again for the film 'Harbin.' For 'Made in Korea' I had to smoke on camera again, but the cigarette is a crucial prop in this story. Thankfully, everything I used on set was herbal.”
He added, “The ending, where Gi-tae lights up, carries real weight. Sitting there with a cigar was something only Cheon Seok-jung (played by Jung Sung-il) would dare do ― a symbol of power. But Gi-tae is the one who does it. That’s how Season 1 closes.”
Set in the 1970s ― when smoking indoors and out was commonplace ― "Made in Korea" frequently uses cigarettes as visual shorthand for masculinity and authority, especially among the KCIA and the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office.
As KCIA section chief Baek Gi-tae, Hyun Bin smokes with calculated flair, culminating in the finale’s showpiece sequence: at the height of his wealth, he swaps cigarettes for a cigar to toast his ascent. The transition from black-and-white to color makes it one of the series’ most striking, artful images.
Reuniting with director Woo Min-ho after "Harbin", Hyun Bin turns in one of the most arresting performances of his career, signaling another leap forward in his filmography.
"Made in Korea" unfolds in a turbulent-yet-ascending 1970s Korea, following Baek Gi-tae (Hyun Bin), a man bent on turning the state into his business model to climb to the pinnacle of wealth and power, and prosecutor Jang Geon-young (Jung Woo-sung), who hounds him with relentless resolve. Season 1 recently wrapped, and Season 2 is now in production.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)