An unpredictable romantic comedy is coming to the home theater.

On the afternoon of the 27th, the production conference for tvN‘s new Saturday-Sunday drama ‘Potato Research Institute’ (directed by Kang Il-soo and Shim Jae-hyun, written by Kim Ho-soo) was held at the Grand Ballroom of Ramada Seoul Sindorim Hotel in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul. Actors Lee Sun-bin, Kang Tae-oh, Lee Hak-joo, Kim Ga-eun, Shin Hyun-seung, and director Kang Il-soo attended the event.

‘Potato Research Institute’ is a healing comic romance that depicts a cold-hearted, principled Baek-ho (played by Kang Tae-oh) appearing in front of Mi-kyung (played by Lee Sun-bin), for whom potatoes are her whole life, and swirling around like a whirlwind of potatoes. The romance that unfolds against the backdrop of the Potato Research Institute is expected to present pleasant laughter and a different kind of excitement. This is another collaboration between director Kang Il-soo and writer Kim Ho-soo, who previously worked on ‘Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung’, and ‘Solomon’s Perjury’. Lee Sun-bin and Kang Tae-oh star as the male and female leads. The cast also includes Lee Hak-joo, Kim Ga-eun, Shin Hyun-seung, Yoo Seung-mok, Kwak Ja-hyung, Woo Jung-won, Yoon Jeong-seop, Nam Hyun-woo, and Kim Ji-ah.



Director Kang Il-soo, who was in charge of directing, said, “‘Potato Research Institute’ is a B-grade romantic comedy set in a potato research institute in a mountain valley in Gangwon-do. It‘s a pleasant story about ordinary people that isn’t flashy or gets much attention.”Writer Kim Ho-soo, who worked with me on my previous work, suggested it first and we reviewed it. At first, I wondered if there was a place called the Potato Research Institute. When I thought about it, the combination of the words potato and research institute was interesting. I hadn‘t done a romantic comedy for a while, so I wondered if I could do well, but when I actually interviewed them, the researchers at the research institute were really cheerful. It didn’t have a stiff research institute atmosphere, but rather a country uncle vibe. I was curious about what kind of story would be created when the common plant called potato and the science of the research institute met, and writer Kim Ho-soo wrote the script in a fun way.“

Lee Sun-bin, who plays researcher Kim Mi-kyung, who is crazy about potatoes, said, ”She‘s a character who can show a variety of personalities. She’s a person who is righteous, says what she wants to say, and lives without stress. She‘s also very affectionate and cries a lot. She also has great empathy,” and said, “Usually in dramas, when she encounters a case, her outstanding personality comes out, but you will be able to see Kim Mi-kyung solving it in various ways.”




Regarding the reason she chose this project, she said, “I thought it was a project where I could show the kind of acting that I was looking for. When I read the script, there were no characters that were unnecessarily thrown away. They are lovely. There were no hateful characters. Acting on set didn’t feel like doing homework, but only enjoyable. I also wanted to work with actor Kang Tae-oh.”

Kang Tae-oh also said, “The title of the project caught my eye first. The words ‘potato’ and ‘research institute’ sound contradictory. I was curious to see how the heavy research lab would harmonize with the familiar and cute potato. It seems to capture the excitement of my first comeback after my military service well,” he said. “I read several scripts while on duty before my discharge, and this one woke me up from my drowsiness. I was drawn to it because it contrasts with my previous works and is a character with a different color.”

Regarding his face-off with Seo Kang-joon, who is from the same agency and a member of Surprise in a similar time frame, he said, “Ideally, I hope both works go well and we can have a pleasant, friendly competition.”



Regarding the burden of his first comeback after his military service, “I was nervous and scared because it had been a long time since I last stood in front of the camera. It was burdensome. In this environment, I was able to let go of the burden thanks to the director,” she said.

Lee Sun-bin is currently dating actor Lee Kwang-soo. Coincidentally, Lee Kwang-soo previously showed himself planting potatoes on the tvN entertainment show ‘Beans Grow Where You Plant Beans, Beans Grow, Red Beans Grow Where You Plant Red Beans’ (abbreviated as ‘Kongkongpatpat’). Regarding this, Lee Sun-bin said, “It was strange. I wondered how it was potatoes among all the relief crops. I think tvN has a grudge against potatoes,” and joked, “Lee Kwang-soo and I are always cheering each other on.”

Two actors who are like potatoes have met. Just like potatoes, whose taste changes depending on how they are cooked, attention is focused on whether Lee Sun-bin and Kang Tae-oh will captivate viewers with their diverse flavors in various episodes.

‘Potato Research Institute’ will first air on March 1st at 9:20 PM.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com Reporter projecthong@donga.com

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