Song Kang Returns With 'Four Hands,' Leading tvN's New Piano Drama

Actor Song Kang is off to a strong start with his post-military return in the new tvN drama "Four Hands." The Saturday-Sunday series has climbed the ratings in just two weeks and is dominating early buzz charts.

In "Four Hands," Song Kang plays Kang Bi-oh, a perfectionist student pianist. Kang has real talent and a long list of competition wins, but he pushes himself relentlessly to earn the approval of his grandfather Kang Seung-woon (played by Jung Jin-young), a world-class conductor.

Kang Bi-oh makes his presence known from the start, picking up a school commendation for a recent competition win. At school, though, he keeps his distance from almost everyone except his childhood friend Hong Jae-in (played by Jang Gyu-ri). What matters most to him is proving his worth to his grandfather.

But Kang Seung-woon tells his grandson bluntly that he has no talent. Crushed, Kang Bi-oh eventually kneels in front of him and vows to prove his skills on a bigger stage.

He then goes directly to Do Hyun-soo (played by Kim Joo-heon), a pianist his grandfather respects and a teacher at Korea Arts High School. Do gives him an assignment: complete a four-hands piece with Choi Jung-yo (played by Lee Jun-young), a recent transfer student recommended as a gifted talent.

Kang Bi-oh is already aware of Choi before they start playing together. He recognizes Choi as the only person who ever beat him to first place, and he begins quietly watching his playing and his behavior. When Choi gets caught up in bullying by troublemakers at school, Kang Bi-oh does not look away. He steps in to help, quietly.

Once the two become four-hands partners, Kang Bi-oh starts to change. When he learns that Choi avoids performing because of stage fright, he lights candles across a small auditorium to stand in for the eyes of an audience, creating a practice space designed just for him.

Kang Bi-oh, who rarely makes time for anyone, spends full days rehearsing with Choi and even gives up his weekends to set up a busking spot. The goal is to give Choi real experience in front of a live crowd.

The closer he gets to Choi, the more Kang Bi-oh softens. A character once fixated only on proving himself is slowly learning to play with someone else, and to enjoy the piano for its own sake.

His obsession with staying in first place, though, has not gone away. Since Choi is also someone he will eventually have to face as a rival, the shift in their relationship is shaping up as one of the show's central threads.

"Four Hands" opened at 3.4 percent in nationwide paid-platform household ratings, then climbed to 5.9 percent in its second episode. The drama also took the top spot on the TV-OTT buzz rankings released by Good Data Corporation's Fundex. In the cast buzz category, Lee Jun-young and Song Kang ranked first and second, respectively. On FlixPatrol, the show sat at No. 6 in Netflix's TV shows category.

Song Kang was discharged from the military last year and resumed full acting work with "Four Hands." He recently appeared on the web variety show "Salon Drip," where he shared stories from his time in service. Afterward, people who said they had served alongside him posted online about his work ethic and everyday attitude, adding to a string of positive stories around his return.

"Four Hands" airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 p.m. KST.