The battle for power is far from over in Made in Korea, with the Korean political thriller returning for its second season on Disney+ on 9 September 2026.
Picking up nine years after the events of Season 1, the new season jumps forward to 1979, placing its characters in one of the most turbulent periods of modern Korean history. Baek Kitae now finds himself at the height of his influence, while old enemies and new ambitions threaten everything he has built.
Season 2 will consist of six episodes, with two new episodes released every Wednesday.
Nine Years Later, Baek Kitae Is More Powerful Than Ever
After manipulating his underworld connections, drug trafficking operation and political influence to overcome his enemies in Season 1, Baek Kitae has risen to become Deputy Director of the KCIA.
Nine years of success have brought him considerable wealth and influence, but they have also fuelled an even greater appetite for political power.
Hyun Bin, who returns as Kitae, explained that the character’s growing status changes not only his ambitions but also the way he interacts with the people around him. Unlike the seemingly unstoppable Kitae of the first season, however, Season 2 begins to place him in situations even he cannot fully control.
As conflicts between government departments intensify and his usual strategies begin to unravel, viewers will get to see a more pressured and volatile side of the character.
Jang Geonyoung Is Back for Revenge
Kitae isn’t the only one who has changed.
Former prosecutor Jang Geonyoung returns after being framed for multiple crimes and brought down by the very system he attempted to challenge in Season 1.
Played once again by Jung Woosung, Geonyoung enters Season 2 as a dramatically different man. With his former career effectively taken away from him, he returns with one clear objective: revenge against Baek Kitae.
Director Woo Minho describes the nine-year gap as crucial to Geonyoung’s transformation, with the new season exploring what years of resentment and limited options have done to the once-principled prosecutor.
His return puts the two men on another collision course, but this time the balance of power may not be quite as straightforward.
Baek Kihyun Steps Out of His Brother’s Shadow
The power struggle expands further with Baek Kihyun, who has spent years building a very different kind of influence.
A graduate of the Korea Military Academy, Kihyun has risen through the ranks to become a lieutenant colonel at the Defense Security Command. His growing position also brings him further out of his brother Kitae’s shadow.
Woo Dohwan, who portrays Kihyun, approached the character as a considerably more mature figure this time around. While Season 1 presented him as a young soldier who still had plenty of growing up to do, the decade-long time jump sees Kihyun return with greater authority, responsibility and confidence.
That evolution also changes the relationship between the two brothers, with their ambitions creating an increasingly deep divide between them.
A Faster and More Connected Season
Beyond its characters, Season 2 is also changing the way Made in Korea tells its story.
According to director Woo Minho, Season 1 often treated its episodes almost like individual films, with different events and characters taking centre stage throughout the series.
Season 2 takes a more continuous approach.
Rather than six largely distinct stories, its six episodes have been structured to feel closer to parts of a single film. The result is expected to be a tighter and faster-paced narrative as the conflicts between Kitae, Geonyoung, Kihyun and the surrounding political forces increasingly overlap.
The established world also means Season 2 can jump more quickly into its central conflict instead of spending as much time introducing its characters and relationships.
1979 Sets the Stage for the Conflict
The choice to move the story forward to 1979 is significant too.
Director Woo Minho describes the year as one of the most chaotic periods in modern Korean history, making it an ideal backdrop for characters whose ambitions are rapidly growing beyond their control.
Against that political uncertainty, Kitae and Geonyoung begin setting their respective plans in motion, while Kihyun’s rise introduces another source of power into an already volatile situation.
The season will ultimately build towards a confrontation between Kitae and Geonyoung, with the sixth and final episode bringing their competing plans to a head.
With nearly a decade having passed in its world, Made in Korea Season 2 looks set to explore just how much power, resentment and ambition can change a person — and what happens when three men determined to shape their own futures inevitably collide.
Made in Korea Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on 9 September 2026, with two episodes released every Wednesday.