The Nice Guy
2025 South Korean television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Nice Guy (Korean: 착한 사나이) is a 2025 South Korean television series starring Lee Dong-wook, Lee Sung-kyung, and Park Hoon. It aired on JTBC from July 18, to August 29, 2025, every Friday at 20:50 (KST). It is also available for streaming on Disney+ in selected territories.
| The Nice Guy | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Also known as | The Good Man |
| Hangul | 착한 사나이 |
| RR | Chakhan sanai |
| MR | Ch'akhan sanai |
| Genre | |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by |
|
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | JTBC |
| Release | July 18 – August 29, 2025 |
Synopsis
The Good Man depicts the struggles of Seok-cheol, the eldest grandson of a three-generation gangster family, to protect his family, job, and love.
Cast and characters
Main
- Lee Dong-wook as Park Seok-cheol[1]
- The eldest grandson of a third-generation gangster family.
- Lee Sung-kyung as Kang Mi-young[2]
- An ambitious girl who dreams of becoming a singer.
- Chairman of Samjon Construction, a competitor of Myungsan Industries.
Supporting
Park's Family
- Cheon Ho-jin as Park Sil-gon[4]
- Seok-chul's father, once a notorious gangster across the country, now lives in the wilderness, cultivating a vegetable garden. Sil-gon regrets his past that led his son into the world of gangs.
- The eldest sister of Seok-cheol and the eldest of the three Park siblings.
- Ryu Hye-young as Park Seok-hee[6]
- Seok-cheol's upright younger sister.
- Park Myung-shin as Jo Mok-son
- Park Seok-cheol's mother.[4]
- Choi Yi-jun as Hyung-geun[4]
- Seok-gyeong's son, a sweet and affectionate little boy who misses his mother who ran away from home.
Myeongsan Industry
- Lee Moon-sik as Kim Chang-soo[4]
- Han Jae-young as Oh Sang-yeol[4]
- Park Du-sik as Son Heung-man[4]
- Cha Si-won as Lee Du-sik[4]
- Oh Seung-baek as Woo-seok[4]
Samjun Construction
- Kim Min-gwi as Im Bok-cheon[4]
- Han-min as Cheon-ho[4]
Others
- Yoo Seung-mok as Sak Dae-ki[4]
- Park Won-sang as Kim Jin-ho[4]
- Lee Jung-hyun as Young-ji[7]
- Moon Tae-yoo as Jang Ki-hong[4]
- Park Mi-hyeon as Yoon Hye-sook
- Mi-young's mother.[4]
- Kim Do-yoon as Yoon Byung-soo[4]
- Park Sung-yeon as Go Jeong-nim[4]
Production
Development
The Good Man is directed by Song Hae-sung, Park Hong-soo and written by Kim Woon-kyung and Kim Hyo-seok. It is co-produced by SLL, Hive Media Corp and HIGROUND.[8][2]
Casting
On September 29, 2022, Starship Entertainment told Newsen that Lee Dong-wook had been offered to star in the series and was in discussions.[9] In August 2024, it was reported that Lee had confirmed his appearance in the series.[10] On March 3, 2023, Newsen reported that Ryu Hye-young was in discussions to appear as Seok-cheol's upright younger sister, Park Seok-hee.[11][12] The same news outlet reported that Lee Sung-kyung had received an offer and was reviewing it on November 15, 2023.[13] On January 24, 2024, according to Joy News 24, Oh Na-ra had confirmed her appearance in the series.[5] On August 27, Hankook Ilbo reported that Park Hoon had joined the series.[14]
Filming
Filming was already in progress on May 28, 2024.[15] The Good Man wrapped up filming at the end of August 2024.[8]
Release
Viewership
| Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |||
| 1 | 660 | 732 | 445 | 665 | 439 | 569 | 436 | 514 | 444 | 530 | 384 | 551 | 545 | 721 | 545 | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Nielsen Korea)[18] | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | |||
| 1 | July 18, 2025 | 3.039% (3rd) | 2.489% (3rd) | |
| 2 | 3.225% (2nd) | 2.694% (2nd) | ||
| 3 | July 25, 2025 | 2.178% (4th) | 2.024% (3rd) | |
| 4 | 2.838% (2nd) | 3.490% (2nd) | ||
| 5 | August 1, 2025 | 1.879% (6th) | 1.940% (4th) | |
| 6 | 2.588% (2nd) | 2.281% (3rd) | ||
| 7 | August 8, 2025 | 2.153% (4th) | 2.162% (3rd) | |
| 8 | 2.328% (3rd) | 2.273% (2nd) | ||
| 9 | August 15, 2025 | 2.006% (4th) | 1.615% (4th) | |
| 10 | 2.311% (3rd) | 2.046% (3rd) | ||
| 11 | August 22, 2025 | 1.672% (9th) | 1.557% (4th) | |
| 12 | 2.368% (2nd) | 1.741% (2nd) | ||
| 13 | August 29, 2025 | 2.405% (3rd) | 2.350% (3rd) | |
| 14 | 3.082% (1st) | 2.788% (2nd) | ||
| Average | 2.434% | 2.246% | ||
