The Olympic figure skater to appear in Tving’s 2027 original sitcom 'The Gungjeon Land'
Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan will star in a new sitcom, marking his return to scripted television for the first time in 18 years.
Korean streaming platform Tving announced Wednesday that its original sitcom “The Gungjeon Land” is slated for release in 2027.
The series follows part-time workers struggling to make ends meet behind the glitzy facade of an amusement park. Cha will play Seong Dae-han, a part-timer who newly joins the park staff.
The casting news arrives a day after Cha announced he would step away from competitive figure skating for the upcoming season. In a social media post on Tuesday, he stated, "After finishing last season, I spent a great deal of time thinking about and reflecting on my future activities. After much deliberation, I decided not to continue competing for the national team or participating in competitions this season."
He also noted that his contract with Seoul City Hall had ended following extensive discussions with the city.
Cha’s decision effectively rules him out of two Grand Prix events scheduled for this season, which consist of the Cup of China and Japan’s NHK Trophy.
He made his acting debut as a child actor in the 2006 MBC series “Miracle” and continued acting until 2009, before turning his focus to figure skating. He debuted in the junior division at the 2011 South Korean Figure Skating Championships.
At the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February, Cha finished fourth in the men's singles event with a total score of 273.92 points — the highest Olympic placement ever recorded by a Korean male figure skater.
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