This is Lee Hye-ri‘s shocking transformation. Lee Hye-ri, who wears a school uniform and transforms into a top 1% student, and takes on various challenges including a same-sex kiss scene, has met a new life character who will beat ‘Deok-sun’ in ‘Friendly Competition’.

On the afternoon of the 6th, a press conference for the STUDIO X+U drama ‘Friendly Competition’ was held at CGV Yongsan I-PARK MALL in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Actors Lee Hye-ri, Jung Soo-bin, Kang Hye-won, Oh Woo-ri, Kim Tae-hoon, Young-jae, and director Kim Tae-hee attended the press conference that day.

Director Kim Tae-hee was the first to say, “There was not a single good person among all the characters. Also, the fact that there were a bunch of women was appealing. Girls who hide their own secrets and seem crazy engage in a bloody competition. I thought it would be fun to visualize this kind of story because it was appealing,” and “The parts where they weren’t good are appealing, but I thought I had to approach it in a persuasive way. ”Because it‘s based on the college entrance exam environment called the CSAT, I directed and wrote it with the hope that the characters would be understood and cheered for at the end, rather than being stimulated for the sake of stimulation,“ she said about the directing intentions and areas she focused on for ‘Fair Competition’.



Lee Hye-ri then explained why she participated in ‘Fair Competition’, saying, ”When I first saw the scenario, it was strange. And the writing was really appealing, so I thought it would be an honor and enjoyable project if I could participate.“

She also said about her character in the drama, ”She’s a character who ranks first in the entire school in the top 1% high school in Korea. Her looks, family background, and grades are all perfect. You don‘t know what she’s thinking, and you want to be close to her but also feel scared. The character Jay is a character whose insides are unfathomable,“ she said. ”Up until now, I‘ve played characters who were a bit warmer. This time, she has a cold side. I expressed the sensitive and sharp points within me,” she said, drawing attention.



Director Kim Tae-hee said about the reason for casting Lee Hye-ri, “I’ve been a long-time fan of Hye-ri. I’ve also subscribed to her YouTube channel. When I was casting her, I saw that she had released her life record on YouTube. The moment I saw that she was a good student and had been a class president, I thought that I wanted to meet her.”

She said, “The moment we met, she was very charismatic and gave off the feeling of being the leader of a group, but she was also serious. When she started talking, she had insight and sharpness about the script. She analyzed it well. I was confident that I could show the public a completely new side of myself through a new character with a big gap from my previous roles. I am confident that I will renew my life character,” she emphasized, drawing attention.



Lee Hye-ri took on the challenge of a school drama with ‘Friendly Competition’, and regarding acting in a school uniform, she said, “The work ‘Friendly Competition’ could be a burden in some ways, but I participated because I was greedy. If you look into the story, I thought that there would be a point that only people in their late 20s would be able to understand, so I mustered up the courage regardless of my age.”
She added, “Also, as time goes by, it won’t be easy to participate in a school drama, so I mustered up even more courage.”

When asked about the level of ‘Friendly Competition’, Director Kim Tae-hee said, “When we were planning it from the beginning, we planned to realistically portray the emotions of teenagers, but we didn’t target teenagers. We worked with a youth rating in mind. I did a lot of research, but this work was about reflecting reality rather than controlling the level in order to realistically capture the common denominator emotions that adults who have experienced the cutthroat college entrance exam can understand for these children,” she said.



Lee Hye-ri also said about her same-sex bathtub kiss scene with Jung Soo-bin, “I wasn’t that worried. When I read the script, it was a very understandable and convincing emotional line. It can clearly show the characters. I filmed it while imagining the two friends’ appearances being beautifully captured.”

Meanwhile, ‘Good Competition’ is a mystery girl thriller about friends who reveal their desires to ‘Seul-gi’, a transfer student at Chaehwa Girls’ High School, a top 1% school in Korea where a cutthroat college entrance exam competition takes place, and the suspicious death of her father, who was a member of the college entrance exam committee. It will be first released on the 10th.

Choi Yun-na, Donga.com reporter yyynnn@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.