Cha Tae-hyun's New Drama Makes History as First Series Invited to Jecheon Music Film Festival

Cha Tae-hyun's upcoming drama Gaeinjeogin Taxi has been selected as an official invitee to the 22nd Jecheon International Music Film Festival (JIMFF), according to producers BiginSquare and Studio Flow. It is the first time in the festival's history that a drama series has been included in its lineup.

The festival, held annually in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, has built its identity around the intersection of music and cinema. Bringing a drama series into that space reflects a gradual blurring of the line between streaming television and festival programming, a shift other Asian film festivals have also begun to navigate. Four of the drama's eight episodes will be screened in advance at the event, ahead of the show's full release later this year. A distribution channel has not yet been confirmed.

What the show is about

Gaeinjeogin Taxi centers on a mysterious taxi that only accepts reserved passengers, with each episode following a different rider whose ordinary but quietly significant story unfolds alongside a song request. The format sits at the crossroads of anthology drama and music variety, which likely explains the festival's interest. The cast includes Cha Tae-hyun alongside Lee Jae-in, Im Se-mi, Hyun Bong-sik, Lee Yeon-hee, Kim Do-hyun, MIMI, Joo Jong-hyuk, Ye Ji-won, Lee Kyu-hyung, Ahn Ji-ho, Im Ha-ryong, and Ye Su-jung.

The variety show aside

While the festival news positions Cha Tae-hyun on more serious ground, his appearance on the SBS variety program Teukmanyamyeon on the 25th offered a more familiar version of the actor. He joined the show alongside his agency co-star Jin Ki-joo, the first actress signed to Basecamp Company, the management firm he co-founded with actor Jo In-sung.

Jin Ki-joo has been receiving considerable attention following her role in the Netflix series Chamedu, and Cha Tae-hyun wasted no time claiming some of that reflected warmth. When congratulations came her way, he quipped, "I must be destined to be lucky for the rest of my life." He went on to explain how she came to join the agency: her former agency head had previously worked as Jo In-sung's manager, and when the two companies merged, she came along with the arrangement.

What followed was something the other guests seemed to find both charming and exhausting. Cha Tae-hyun talked at length while Jin Ki-joo mostly reacted, prompting host Yoo Jae-suk to step in: "Let's hear Gi-joo's voice, not yours." Even when Yoo Jae-suk and co-host Yoo Yeon-seok tried to open up space for Jin Ki-joo to discuss Chamedu, Cha Tae-hyun found a way back in, noting that casting offers had flooded in for her since the series ended. Yoo Jae-suk eventually had to tell him plainly to stop talking, while Yoo Yeon-seok advised Jin Ki-joo, with a laugh, not to leave any gaps in her sentences.

Cha Tae-hyun also reflected on his reputation for good fortune on the show, recalling that PD Choi Bo-pil had described him as something of a good-luck charm. "He says I'm the show's ritual offering," Cha Tae-hyun said, referencing a Korean ceremony tradition. Previous appearances on Teukmanyamyeon had seen him successfully complete three-round game challenges, a run that Yoo Yeon-seok acknowledged with a straightforward "Tae-hyun hyung really is lucky." Whether that streak continues will play out in the episode itself.