The plot revolves around two best friends from the 707th Special Mission Group recruited into a secret South Korean black ops agency known as the National Security Service.

With a budget in excess of ₩40 billion (US$34.97 million), Iris along with its spin-off Athena: Goddess of War, share the record for the most expensive Korean dramas ever produced.

Two best friends who are so close that they are like brothers, Kim Hyun-jun (Lee Byung-hun) and Jin Sa-woo (Jung Joon-ho), train under the Republic of Korea Army's 707th Special Mission Group until they are scouted by NSS (National Security Service).

They attack a local mall and take hostages so that they can blackmail both sides of the Korean government and to threaten SK's president into announcing their political stand to not unite with NK.

The plot focuses on the cast overcoming the manipulation they face at an international level and occasionally attempting to reconcile their differences to fight an evil greater than either side ever acknowledged, making way for scenarios in which their allegiances are stressed and put to the test.

The NSS is headed by Baek San (Kim Yeong-cheol), its standing deputy director only in title and the man responsible for the recruiting of Hyun-jun and Sa-woo.

While Baek San oversees the organization, the acting chief director, Park Sang-hyun (Yoon Je-moon), is the general supervisor and runs the daily operations of the NSS.

Many of the NSS agents have close personal ties to one another, and the floor supervisor and head of security resources, Yang Jung-in (Kim Hye-jin), is no exception.

Due to the overarching plot of the series involving the disputes inherent to the Korean Peninsula and the intricacies of the foreign relations between the North and South, the Blue House and its primary staff are featured prominently throughout.

His administration begins with his undertaking the grand task of forwarding talks of reunification between the North and South after witnessing the grim reality that is the struggle between the two nations.

Based on the general concept of the 1999 film Shiri,[4] Iris was first revealed in 2008 by its production company Taewon Entertainment and attracted wide attention due to its record budget and star power.

His salary was inclusive of an overhead deal of ₩1.5 billion won (US$1.35 million) in guarantees due to his namesake drawing potential investors, particularly in Japan, and opportunities in other overseas markets.

[16] The large budget and notable talent for the project made it difficult for the production company to secure directors willing to take on the series, causing 2009 to begin with a brief stir of media attention.

[20] Due to several pivotal moments of the series being filmed in the prefecture, Akita soon experienced a surge of Korean tourists going on tours tailored to followers of the show.

[26][27] To prepare for the demanding physical requirements of the series, several members of the primary cast, including Kim Tae-hee, underwent special training to lend authenticity to the action.

[30] Filming continued throughout the year and, on October 5, a production press conference was held for the Korean and world media just over a week prior to the series premiere.

[46] Launching first in Japan and later in Korea, the graphic novel retained the relationship between the male and female leads but deviates from the scenarios featured in the original story.

[48][49] Earlier, on November 27, 2009, a 100-minute making-of documentary titled IRIS Navigate DVD was released for the Japanese market, documenting the filming of the series in Hungary, Japan, and Korea.

[39][51] IRIS premiered on October 14, 2009 to strong ratings and went on to become one of the most critically and commercially successful series of the year, earning numerous awards for its actors and production.

[55] The station began airing the Japanese-dubbed version during primetime—a first for a South Korean-produced drama series in the country—on April 21, 2010 with numerous acting talents providing the voiceovers, including Tatsuya Fujiwara as Kim Hyun-jun.

The airing had been preceded by a promotional blitz with stars Lee Byung-hun and Kim Tae-hee appearing on numerous Japanese programs, in addition to billboards and posters being placed throughout Tokyo.

The concerts were a combination of live interviews with much of the primary cast, re-enactments of pivotal scenes from the series, and performances by the musical acts featured in its soundtrack.

[60] Broadcaster TBS revealed in June 2010 that airings of the series on its satellite offerings had broken records daily, doubling the ratings of its previous programs.

Due to the commerce generated for Akita prefecture as a result of Iris having filmed there, local governments in Japan began competing for interest from producers in order to solicit tourists with future installments of the series.

[61] A producer with Taewon Entertainment, the production company behind Iris, was quoted on May 6, 2010 as saying they were in negotiations toward exporting the series to American television for broadcast on a major network.

The episode count would be reduced from the original twenty down to twelve and, should the deal go through, would mark the first time a South Korean-produced drama program was aired on a major television network in the United States.

[2][65][66][67] Production head of Taewon Entertainment, Chung Tae-won, confirmed in an interview on May 31, 2010 that Iris and Athena would be set in the same universe, allowing for crossovers between characters of the two franchises.

[69][70] Shortly before the series ended, the head of production was quoted as expressing interest in producing sequels to continue Athena and further connect it to other entries in the franchise.

[73] Later, just prior to the finale of Athena being broadcast, lead producer Chung Tae-won confirmed that he anticipated IRIS 2 to be in production in time for a fall 2012 premiere.

[77] Several others, including Kang Ji-young from South Korean pop group Kara, Yoon Doo-joon of boy band B2ST, and Lee Joon from MBLAQ were all also discussed for roles,[78] along with American actor Daniel Henney.