GIVING WING TO INCLUSIVE SPIRIT

Producer and star Daniel Dae Kim on bridging Korean, American cultures in 'Butterfly,' his new thriller series

- BY TRACY BROWN

ARIANA DREHSLER For The Time DANIEL Dae Kim calls his new spy series, which was filmed in South Korea and features Korean and American stars, his dream project.

“Butterfly” is actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim’s love letter to Korea and America.

Launching Wednesday, Prime Video's South Korea-set spy thriller follows David Jung (Kim), a former U.S. intelligence operative who comes out of hiding to reunite with his daughter Rebecca (Reina Hardesty), a deadly agent who grew up believing he was dead.

“It’s been my dream because it represents the two major parts of who I am,” says Kim during a video call in late July. “I’m a Korean who was raised in America, and these are the two countries that I love. Why not try and bridge the two cultures? I'm uniquely suited to do that.”

Kim describes the show, based on the graphic novel series created by Arash Amel, as “a relationship drama” where “the action and the conflicts come out of an emotional place.”

“One of the things that was really important to me about the conception of David is that I didn’t want him to be someone that was not without flaws,” says Kim, who also serves as an executive producer on the series. “A lot of his actions come from a place of pain. A lot of Rebecca’s character are emanates from a place of pain.”

“Butterfly” includes plenty of action such as hand-to-hand fights and shootouts, but it’s the central family drama, as well as how it is reflected in the action scenes, that the show’s co-creators Ken Woodruff and Steph Cha also tout. Rebecca’s story in particular was one of the elements Woodruff immediately responded to when he first read the original comic book series.