New romance series A Love So Beautiful tells the first-love story of a girl who has held a 17 year-long crush on her next-door neighbour. The drama revolves around the couple and their friends as they navigate their lives, from high school to university up through adulthood. Director Seo Minjeong, actors Kim Yo-han, So Joo-yeon, and Yeo Hoi-hyun discussed the series at a press conference to share some interesting stories. See some reasons why you should check out the show below.

A Love So Beautiful marks Kim Yo-han’s acting debut, but he has already amassed popularity through appearing on survival reality show Produce X 101 and debuting as a K-pop singer through groups X1 and WEi. The director praised him saying, “Kim Yo-han is very smart and he was able to portray Cha Heon well.” So Joo-yeon started out as a model and made her acting debut in 2018. She became a cute scenestealer in Dr. Romantic S2 and is currently also appearing in Lovestruck in the City. 2020 is certainly her breakthrough year, and we’ll definitely be seeing more of her. Yeo Hoi-hyun debuted in 2014 through Pinocchio and has appeared in many different shows receiving attention for his good looks and cute charm. A Love So Beautiful may be his breakout series as he portrays a swoon-worthy second lead.

The drama begins in 2006 when the main characters are high school students. So Joo-yeon’s character Shin Sol-i is bubbly and very vocal about her feelings for Kim Yo-han’s character Cha Heon. So Joo-yeon shared, “My friend’s cousin actually really wanted me to do this role and said I would be well-suited for it.” The actress embodies the character’s earnestness and adorableness as she professes her love for her long-time crush. While Cha Heon is a bit cold and aloof, Kim Yo-han revealed he’s the opposite of Cha Heon. However, a bit of Kim Yo-han’s real personality comes out when Cha Heon shows his warmer side. Yeo Hoi-hyun’s character Woo Dae-sung is very optimistic and warm despite having his own pain. 

A Love So Beautiful is a remake of the popular Chinese drama of the same name. There will be some fun differences between the original series though. Director Seo Minjeong revealed that she wanted to focus on relatability and added epilogues that show more insight into the characters’ feelings. There’s an idol trainee character who sings often, so you’ll also hear some familiar songs from the past. The director also said, “Dae-sung is such a cool character with pure-hearted love in the original drama, so I wanted to provide a gift for his character at the end. Please watch until the end to see his gift.” While the familiar story will strike a chord with viewers, there will be some entertaining differences to look forward to.

So Joo-yeon and Yeo Hoi-hyun have actually acted together previously through the series I Hate Going to Work. As for A Love So Beautiful, Yeo Hoi-hyun shared, “So Joo-yeon always made an effort for us to talk whenever we met.” He also praised her leadership skills in leading the group. The actors also mentioned Jeong Jin-hwan and Jo Hye-joo who round out the group of 5 friends in the drama. So Joo-yeon talked about how the best scenes are when the five characters are together as they have a lot of scenes together and there are many fun moments between the friends. We’ll be able to see how the friends grow as they exit high school and enter adulthood. You’ll definitely be reminded of some friends from your own squad!

A Love So Beautiful features youthful and pure love stories between the characters which will make us reminisce about our first loves and our younger school years. Yeo Hoi-hyun shared that he was reminded of when he experienced “one-side love for three years as a student.” If you can’t relate to the love stories, you’ll still be transported back in time when you hung out with friends at school. So Joo-yeon said she remembered “spending time with my friends and liking idols like BIGBANG” and more. As Yeo Hoi-hyun said, “Please watch and experience some healing as you look back on your past memories.”

Don’t miss out on A Love So Beautiful at 6PM MYT, with new episodes every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Photo by Kakao, Courtesy of Netflix

New romance drama Lovestruck in the City depicts the real love stories of young people who love fiercely in the city. Starring Ji Chang-wook, Kim Ji-won, Kim Min-seok, So Joo-yeon, Han Ji-eun, and Ryu Gyeong-soo as three separate couples with different dynamics, the main cast and director discussed the series at a press conference today. Find out why you’ll fall in love with Lovestruck in the City below!

The series is directed by Park Shin-woo of It's Okay to Not Be Okay and Don't Dare to Dream fame. It’s also written by Jung Hyun-jung who wrote Romance Is a Bonus Book. The main cast is full of popular actors and up-and-coming actors as well. Kim Ji-won and Han Ji-eun both mentioned the director and writer as being the main reason for choosing their roles. Park Shin-woo had praise for each actor and mentioned, “So Joo-yeon is an especially interesting actor. I’m very curious about her future. She’s very lovable.” He also revealed that he chose Ryu Gyeong-soo through an audition after only a minute or two. There’s much to look forward to with such a solid team!

Lovestruck in the City offers a shorter runtime compared to some other series with 30 minutes per episode. While the episodes are shorter, you can be assured that they won’t be skimping on the story. Director Park Shin-woo said, “Although the run time is shorter, I didn’t feel like it was that different.” Kim Ji-won shared, “Since it’s a shorter drama, I felt like it was more addictive.” She also talked about how time flew by so quickly when she was reading the fun script. You can expect a highly addictive and easy to watch series.

Kim Min-seok spoke about a unique aspect of Lovestruck in the City and divulged, “There are interviews in the drama so it feels almost like a docu-drama. It was really fun and unconventional. I think our drama is very unique.” Park Shin-woo also shared that he took a different approach to direct this series and talked about trying to be more like a variety show director at times. Through individual interviews, viewers will be able to see how everyone has different perspectives and opinions.

With the premise of the story centring on young people in the city experiencing love, the series aims to be relatable and realistic. Director Park Shin-woo shared, “I hope that viewers can see their relationships, past or present, in the three relationships. I think they’ll be able to find a similar boyfriend amongst these characters as well as themselves amongst the characters.” So Joo-yeon also added, “There were a lot of scenes that were similar to real-life dating, so I could relate while filming with Min-seok.” While the six main characters are all different, you’ll definitely be able to discover relatable aspects.

Park Shin-woo revealed, “Ji Chang-wook and Kim Ji-won are really close. ” Then Ji Chang-wook shared, “From the moment we met, I felt that Kim Ji-won was reliable.” So Joo-yeon also talked about how she and Kim Min-seok called each other often in order to get close and pull off portraying their long-term relationship. In addition to couple chemistry, we can look forward to some chemistry between Ji Chang-wook and Kim Min-seok whose characters are cousins. Kim Min-seok said, “Ji Chang-wook and I are close in real life, so it was easier to show our bro chemistry.” There will be overflowing chemistry all around!

Don’t miss out when Lovestruck in the City premieres today at 6PM MYT, with new episodes every Tuesday and Friday, only on Netflix!