‘Gunggung’ Yook Sungjae♥Kim Jiyeon, best friends for 16 years, tell you about their dislike…This chemistry is amazing[DA : On-site](Comprehensive)

The chemistry of the ‘hate relationship’ between the handsome man and beautiful woman who are best friends.It’s already ‘tasty’.’Gwigung’, which is a fantasy romantic comedy historical drama with a rich genre that will make drama nerds go crazy, is challenging the throne of the Friday-Saturday drama.

The production conference for SBS Friday-Saturday drama ‘Gwigung’ was held at SBS building in Mokdongseo-ro, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 17th.Director Yoon Sung-sik, along with Yook Sung-jae, Kim Ji-yeon, and Kim Ji-hoon, attended the event and met with reporters.

‘Gwigung’ is a new SBS Friday-Saturday drama ‘Gwigung’ (written by Yoon Soo-jung/directed by Yoon Sung-sik)is a fantasy romantic comedy about a shaman named Yeo-ri who rejects her fate as a psychic, and Kang Cheol-i, an imoogi trapped in the body of Yeo-ri’s first love, Yoon Gap, who face the eight-faced ghost who holds a grudge against the royal family, and their bodies and souls become tightly entangled.It is a work of director Yoon Sung-sik, who directed dramas such as ‘Mr.Queen,’ ‘The Best Lee Soon-shin,’ ‘Gaksital,’ and ‘Daejoyeong,’ and writer Yoon Soo-jung, who wrote dramas such as ‘The King’s Face ‘and’ Cheeky Go Go.’

Director Yoon Sung-sik expressed his confidence, saying, “I am confident and scared, but I am looking forward to the first broadcast.” Yook Sung-jae said, “It was my first time taking on a historical drama, and I was nervous at first because of the pressure of playing two roles, but I made it cool and fun with a great director and great actors.Please look forward to it.” Kim Ji-hoon expressed his confidence, saying, “You will be able to see various sides of the king, from the typical historical drama appearance to fantasy and comical appearances.I think it will be a drama that’ pulls ‘to many people because it mixes various genres.”


First, Yook Sung-jae plays the role of Yoon Gap, a detective who is possessed by the evil spirit Imoogi, Kang Cheol-yi, and is Yeo-ri’s first love.Kim Ji-yeon was cast as Yeo-ri, the only granddaughter of a famous god, who possesses outstanding magical powers but rejects her fate as a shaman and lives as an artisan of glasses.In addition, Kim Ji-hoon plays the role of Lee Jeong, a fictional king who fights against the Palchukgwi who holds a grudge against the royal family.He joins hands with his favorite subject Yoon Gap(played by Yook Sung-jae)and Yeo-ri(played by Kim Ji-yeon)whom he brought along, and fights a battle with the Palchukgwi that will determine the fate of the country.

Yook Sung-jae said the reason he chose ‘Gwigung’ was, “I wanted to try my hand at a historical drama.I wanted to do a work that mixes my favorite fantasy genre with exorcism, romance, and bromance.I chose it because I was greedy about acting while fully embodying the contrasting charms of Yoon Gap and Kang Chul all by myself.”

Kim Ji-yeon said, “I usually like fantasy stuff, so I wanted to try it, and I really enjoyed reading the script.I was curious about how this story would unfold into a video.I found it interesting that there were snakes, shamans, and traditional Korean ghosts, and I enjoyed watching the director’s previous works.I’ve never done a comedy before, so I thought it would be fun and that I could improve a lot, so I took on the challenge.”

Kim Ji-hoon said, “At first, I thought it would be boring when I read the synopsis.I wondered if the role of the king would be boring.” He continued, “When the script was completed, it ended up being a very attractive role, but at the same time, it was a difficult role.It was one of the most difficult roles I’ve ever played, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I poured my life into it.I poured my entire acting career into it.I still have muscle pain, so I go to a Korean medicine clinic.”


Director Yoon expressed his trust and affection for the three actors, revealing the reason for casting them.First, he praised Yook Sung-jae, saying, “I know he has done many fantasy genres.I thought he is an actor who knows how to act comically and fun.” He said, “Yook Sung-jae’s dual roles required contrasting charms.He has a soft and cute appearance, but he also has sharp and charismatic eyes, so I thought he would do a good job.” He continued, “However, since it was his first historical drama, I asked him to do his voice separately.I thought he would do a great job acting lively as he was possessed by steel, but he also had to play the gentle, calm, and traditional historical drama-like Yoon Gap, so I gave him advice and asked him to do a lot of research.I became more and more confident as we filmed.When I saw Yook Sung-jae, I had a strong feeling that the drama would go well.”

Regarding Kim Ji-yeon, he said, “I think she’s an actress with oriental beauty.It’s really hard to look pretty in historical dramas.Since she’s playing a commoner, she doesn’t have many opportunities to wear pretty clothes, so I made gorgeous costumes for the shaman scenes to show various looks.” He continued, “I watched her previous work, ‘Pyramid Game.’ Watching her charismatic acting, I thought her eyes were alive, so I thought she’d do well in the role of a strong-willed shaman.I practiced the gut scenes with the help of the shamanism consulting team.I think it’ll be interesting to see the various shamanism scenes that Kim Ji-yeon portrays.”

Regarding Kim Ji-hoon’s casting, he said, “This is our third project together, and I’ve known him since he was very young and have worked on projects with him.He’s been very active recently, and I knew that he’s been building his charisma and presence as a villain,” and “He has a neat and handsome appearance, good pronunciation, and good eyes, so I thought that the role of the king in our project would suit Kim Ji-hoon well.If he only had the image of a saintly king who dreams of reform, it would have been difficult to offer him, but he’s a king with another hidden twist.I thought that it was a role with a wide spectrum that I could cover, so I worked hard to appeal to him.”


‘Gwigung’s predecessor, ‘Treasure Island’, ended successfully with a peak viewership rating of 15.4%.When asked about the burden of viewership ratings, Director Yoon said, “I feel a lot of pressure.My previous work was also well-received, and it had to meet expectations, but I did my best to make it.I am confident, but I can’t predict the numbers.” He added, “It will be different from ‘Treasure Island’ in terms of fun, but I think the genre and target audience are different.I think it is universal content that all generations can enjoy.I don’t know about the viewership ratings, but I think a lot of people will like it, so I think it will do well.” Kim Ji-hoon, who was next to him, also expressed his expectations, saying, “I feel good.”

‘Gwigung’ is garnering much anticipation due to the meeting between real-life best friends Yook Sung-jae and Kim Ji-yeon.Yook Sung-jae said, “At first, I was worried if I could film a romance with someone I’ve known for 16 years, but we were able to directly point out and supplement each other’s shortcomings without worrying about what others thought.Since we talked freely, there was synergy.I think you can look forward to our chemistry in both the romance and the exorcism.” Kim Ji-yeon emphasized, “I think it was good that we could talk honestly with each other.I think it went well because Kang Cheol and Yeo-ri in ‘Gwigung’ bicker like friends(just like us in real life).”

He said that he was impressed by his friend’s ‘professional spirit’ while working together.Yook Sung-jae confessed, “When I saw him before, he was the type to whine, but I think I whined more this time.Ji-yeon did a good job quietly and focused on Yeo-ri’s character and led her well.She was cool because she was a professional.I wondered if my friend had such an attitude.” Kim Ji-yeon praised him, saying, “I’ve never seen us work together before and we looked into each other’s work a lot.When we were acting on set, it was my first time with a fantasy drama so there were some difficult parts, but Sung-jae is an actor who specializes in fantasy dramas so he was like a professional.I learned a lot from watching him and tried to absorb him.”

‘Gwigung’ will be aired for the first time at 9:50 PM on the 18th(Friday)as a follow-up to ‘Treasure Island’.

Reporter Jeong com -yeon, Donga.com shine2562@donga

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