‘Deteriorating health’ Go Hyun-jung without Go Hyun-jung ‘Namib’… Min Hee-jin issue is “I don‘t care” (Comprehensive) [DA:On-site]

It’s Go Hyun-jung‘s team without Go Hyun-jung. The drama ‘Namib’, which garnered attention as Go Hyun-jung’s comeback to TV, unfortunately held the event without Go Hyun-jung, who was unable to attend due to deteriorating health on the day of the event. The three actors and the director, who drew special relationships with Go Hyun-jung and worked well together, shared episodes from the scene and did their best to make sure that Go Hyun-jung‘s absence was not felt.

On the afternoon of the 16th, the production conference for ‘Namib’ was held at The Saint Grand Ballroom on the 6th floor of Sindorim D Cube City, Guro-gu, Seoul. Director Kang Min-goo, Ryeo Woon, Yoon Sang-hyun, and Lee Jin-woo attended the event that day. The main character, Go Hyun-jung, decided not to attend the event that day due to sudden deterioration in her health.

‘Namib’ is a drama that tells the story of Kang Soo-hyun (played by Go Hyun-jung), a fired star producer, and Yoo Jin-woo (played by Ryeo-woon), a long-term trainee who met and worked towards their own goals. Go Hyun-jung played the role of Kang Soo-hyun, who was fired from her position as co-CEO of Pandora Entertainment.

Just two hours before the event, at noon, news broke that lead actress Go Hyun-jung would not be attending the event due to deteriorating health. The production team of ‘Namib’ announced, “Actress Go Hyun-jung will not be attending due to a sudden deterioration in her health.” They added, “This morning, the medical team advised that absolute rest and recovery were necessary, so we had to make the unavoidable decision to not attend.” They asked for your understanding.


At the event that day, Director Kang said about Go Hyun-jung’s current health, “There must have been difficult parts due to her schedule,” and explained, “Actress Go Hyun-jung also had some difficult times physically because she tried hard.” He continued, “I‘ve never left set in the middle of a shoot, but there were always parts that were a little difficult. Everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves when they got to set,” and “There are about two days left of filming. I think she will do it all with her mental strength,” he said, expressing his hopes.

Director Kang also said, “I didn’t consider the actress’s real life when I cast Go Hyun-jung. When I first saw the character, I thought of Go Hyun-jung the most. I suggested her because I thought she was the right actress to express a delicate yet charismatic appearance,” and added, “He said that this project would be good for my comeback after several years.” He continued, “Kang Soo-hyun is a charismatic star producer character, but Go Hyun-jung is an actress with a strong and radiant aura. In our project, there is of course an aura, but there are more detailed and delicate points. She showed acting that conveys emotions and resonance even with a small gesture. I think it would be good to look at it from that perspective.”

Yoon Sang-hyun, who acted as Go Hyun-jung’s husband, added, “She made me feel more comfortable on set than I worried about, and when filming difficult scenes such as emotional scenes, she supported me well from the front so that I could do well. He said, ”I taught him a lot because he really liked comic acting. I also gave him guidance on comic acting because he was in a difficult situation.“

Ryeoun, who appeared as Yoo Jin-woo, an idol trainee produced by Go Hyun-jung, confessed, ”I couldn’t sleep because I was so nervous before filming. When I got to the set, he made me feel so comfortable. He guided me well from the front so that I could act well. Later, I was able to act comfortably and well. We had good chemistry.“ Director Kang added, ”I wondered if Ryeoun could do well, but I thought she was a friend who could overcome it(?). Ryeoun did well on set, and Go Hyun-jung was very considerate while filming. Even though it wasn‘t a situation where he was filming, he acted with enough emotion and we had good chemistry.“

Lee Jin-woo, who played the role of Shim Jin-woo and acted out the relationship between Go Hyun-jung and her father, said, ”It felt like a dream from the script reading. I couldn’t help but be nervous because I was with such great seniors. He confessed, “I was able to act really comfortably because my seniors made the set atmosphere comfortable.”

In ‘Namib’, Ryeoun was cast as Yoo Jin-woo, a long-term trainee at Kang Soo-hyun‘s company, and Lee Jin-woo was cast as Shim Jin-woo, the only son of Kang Soo-hyun and Shim Jun-seok, who became hearing impaired due to an accident. Yoon Sang-hyun played the role of Shim Jun-seok, Kang Soo-hyun’s husband and a once-successful producer.


Coincidentally, Ryeoun and Lee Jin-woo, who were cast as the same ‘Jin-woo’, have something in common. In his previous work, ‘Sparkling Watermelon’, Ryeoun played the youngest son of a hearing-impaired family, while Lee Jin-woo actually experienced life as a trainee as a member of the idol group Ghost9.

Director Kang said, “I cast Ryeoun instead of an actual idol for the idol trainee character because I carefully watched Ryeoun‘s previous work, ‘Sparkling Watermelon’ and thought, ‘I really want to act with this friend.’ His passion for acting was better than any other actor I’ve seen lately. I cast him after seeing his passion and sparkling appearance.”

Ryeoun said, “I‘ve never actually been a trainee,” and confessed, “I played the guitar and sang a lot in ‘Sparkling Watermelon, so it wasn’t as hard as I thought. I felt a lot of pressure from the dancing, so I received a lot of training. It wasn‘t easy. The amount of time wasn’t long, but I spent a lot of time practicing. I was really nervous while filming.” Regarding Lee Jin-woo, who is a real idol, Ryeoun said, “I respected the fact that he didn‘t get nervous when he went on stage. I asked him for help when he had to dance.”

Lee Jin-woo, who watched Ryeoun on set, said, “I saw him dance and he was so good even without any advice. These days, when I watch music shows, the direct cam system is so good that facial expressions are important. I was surprised that Ryeoun hyung was so good at facial expressions. The camera director was so excited because it came out well no matter what angle I filmed.”

Lee Jin-woo, who played a hearing-impaired character, also said, “It was my first serious drama, so I felt a lot of pressure, and I also felt a lot of pressure about the character I was playing. I thought that I had to accurately understand and act for people with hearing impairments, so I studied a lot by watching various materials, news, and documentaries before going into filming. He confessed, “I was able to act comfortably because my seniors helped me a lot.”

Meanwhile, some netizens asked questions on set that day about the character of Kang Soo-hyun that reminded them of Min Hee-jin. The similarities are between Kang Soo-hyun, a star producer who was fired from Pandora Entertainment in the drama’s worldview, and Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of Adore who produced New Jeans in the real world but was effectively kicked out of Hive. Director Kang said, “I knew what the reaction would be. However, ‘Namib’ was a work that was produced and planned before that happened. I don’t really care about that reaction. Our work is our work,” and drew the line, saying, “We are focusing on our work and creating it.”

‘Namib’ will premiere on ENA on Monday the 23rd at 10 p.m. as the follow-up to ‘Intoxicating Romance.’ Streaming will be provided free of charge on KT Genie TV and Genie TV Mobile immediately following the original broadcast.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com
Photo|Sports Donga Kim Min-seong, reporter marineboy@donga.com