Actors Park Jin-young and Noh Jung-eui are joining the world of popular writer Kang Full.

‘The Witch’ is a mystery romance about Lee Dong-jin (played by Park Jin-young), a man who wants to break the laws of misfortune surrounding women called witches, and Park Mi-jung (played by Noh Jung-eui), a woman who has become the seed of tragedy and has isolated herself from the world, and who save each other at the end of their never-ending journey. The drama is an adaptation of the webtoon of the same name, ‘The Witch’, by Kang Full, the popular webtoonist behind ‘Moving’, ‘The Lighting Store’, and ‘Fool’. It is also the drama directorial debut of director Kim Tae-gyun of the movie ‘Dark Figure of Crime’.

On the 11th, a production conference to commemorate the first broadcast of Channel A‘s new weekend drama ‘The Witch’ was held. Director Kim Tae-gyun, as well as actors Park Jin-young, Noh Jung-eui, Lim Jae-hyuk, and Jang Hee-ryeong, attended the event.

Director Kim Tae-gyun said on this day, “I’m a huge fan of writer Kang Full. He‘s a writer who connects with and breathes with many people. The points that writer Kang Full pursues and the points that I aim for are similar. I was interested in ’The Witch‘ as a work. It’s a masterpiece that deals with social issues more than just youthful love.” He continued, “It‘s a universal theme, but I was drawn to the fact that it told a love story using the material of data mining. I thought I could richly portray the social consensus within it.” He explained the background of the visualization.

Director Kim said, “I approached the work with respect for the original work. I tried to have a point of communication with the world. Although it’s a work from 10 years ago, I based it on a theme and context that are still valid.” He continued, “However, while analyzing the original work, I tried to fill in the gaps between cuts in the drama. It became richer with the visuals.”

Park Jin-young plays Dong-jin, a data miner who receives the best treatment in the industry, in his first comeback drama after his military service, ‘The Witch’. He is a character who begins a journey to find the law of misfortune based only on big data of truth for Mi-jung (played by Noh Jeong-eui), who was called a ‘Witch’ in high school and left school, and so was unable to confess her feelings.

Regarding this, Park Jin-young said, “The filming was done before he enlisted. Of course, I felt burdened as an actor. After he was discharged, I was more nervous than burdened. That‘s because we filmed two years ago, and it’s the first drama I‘ve shown since my discharge. However, I was just happy. I was discharged, and I was discharged, and a drama is even coming out!”, expressing his added happiness.

He continued, “The character of Lee Dong-jin is a person who possesses both genius and ordinariness. I wanted Dong-jin’s personality to be revealed through his voice. There are also points where the ending changes depending on the relationship,” he added about the character development process.

Also, “Since it is based on a webtoon, I had no choice but to refer to the image in terms of appearance. While talking with the makeup and costume teams, I discussed how I could show Dong-jin as the real Dong-jin. I tried a lot of different glasses, different glasses, different textures, and different textures. This is a piece with a lot of dialogue,” and “It wasn’t easy to play the role of Lee Dong-jin, a genius in science, and a friend who is too smart, but I believe the director did a good job,” raising expectations for the complete character creation.

Noh Jung-ui plays the mysterious woman Park Mi-jung, who has cut herself off from the world with the stigma of a “witch.” Park Mi-jung hides herself and becomes a recluse after all the men who liked her get hurt or die. Noh Jung-ui shared a story about the character development, saying, “Park Mi-jung spends a lot of time alone. She has less time with people than other characters. I wanted to maximize Mi-jung’s emotions, so I tried to express them a lot with her eyes.” He added, “We talked a lot to get in sync with the characters.”

In particular, Park Jin-young and Noh Jung-eui are reuniting for the first time in 13 years since the KBS2 drama “Dream High 2.” Park Jin-young said, “2012 is the year I debuted. Time really flies. It was amazing to meet a friend I met on set before, so it was strange what fate was. What was frustrating was that I was 19 at the time, but I feel like my body is just aging. (To MC Park Kyung-rim‘s lament about age) I’m sorry.”

Regarding the love line in “The Witch,” Park Jin-young said, “In ”The Witch,“ I don‘t talk much with actor Noh Jung-eui. We said, ”If we work together again in a project later, let’s play roles where we talk a lot.“ They would pass the baton to each other on their way to and from work. We filmed it like a relay race. It was like a sports day. Our acting chemistry was really good,” he said, confident in their extraordinary chemistry.

Noh Jeong-ui said, “There weren’t many scenes where we had direct conversations. We had to communicate with our eyes. This is because most of the scenes involve watching from afar,” and added, “Actor Park Jin-young did a great job and made me feel comfortable. Even though it’s been a long time since we last met, we hadn’t even met in “Dream High 2,” so I was excited as if it was our first meeting.”

Director Kim Tae-gyun said, “It wasn’t a traditional melodrama. That’s why I wanted to direct this piece. The actors’ gazes and chemistry were really important,” and added, “In the latter half of the drama, Mi-jung also watches Dong-jin. Their hearts aren’t intuitive, and they build up layers of love through their gazes. It will be worth the viewers’ wait.”

Im Jae-hyuk plays Lee Dong-jin‘s friend, ‘Jung-hyuk’. Jung-hyuk is a detective in the violent crimes division with a blunt impression and a personality that doesn’t let people around easily. He senses the dangerous journey of his only friend, Dong-jin, and encounters a huge secret. ‘Eun-sil’, played by Jang Hee-ryung, is an honest and humble leader who cannot ignore the suffering of the weak. She becomes the first older sister and friend to Park Mi-jung, who has been hurt and lives a life isolated from the world.

The actors all said in one voice that they were ‘honored’ to have joined the world of writer Kang Full. Park Jin-young said, “As a webtoon fan, I know how much power writer Kang Full‘s stories have, so it was an honor just to be able to participate in that world. I tried hard to synchronize well when I took on the character of Lee Dong-jin. I hope many viewers will love it.”

Noh Jeong-ui said, “I’m a fan of writer Kang Full. I feel more excited than burdened. I want to ask for a lot of love.” Lim Jae-hyeok said, “It was an honor. I’ve read all of Kang Full’s original works since I was young. It was an honor to work with such a great director and great actors.” Jang Hee-ryeong said, “It was an honor because I’m a fan of the original. I thought the character Eun-sil in the webtoon was charming. I hope the work receives a lot of love.”

“The Witch” will premiere on Saturday, February 15 at 9:10 p.m. as the follow-up to “Check In Hanyang.”

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com

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