“Call It Love,” the new Korean drama starring Kim Young-kwang and Lee Sung-kyung, premiered on Disney+ on Feb. 22.
In the drama, Kim Youngkwang is Han Dongjin, the CEO of Best Fairs and the target of revenge of Shim Woo-joo (played by Lee Sung-kyung). Shim Woo-joo is carrying a lasting scar because of her dad’s infidelity.
During a press conference, stars Kim Youngkwang, Lee Sung-kyung, Sung Jun, Ahn Heeyeon and Kim Yewon, and director Lee Kwangyoung discussed “Call It Love” and the different characters.
“Call It Love” is described as a romance between two people who should have never met.
The director was asked how he felt about “Call It Love” being streamed not only in Korea but around the world through Disney+.
“On the way here I realized that the filming location for Jun’s character is right across the road from here. It reminded me of the filming process, when we worked so hard through a lot of rain on top of the cold and hot weather. It made me think, “Wow, we are finally releasing the series.” I feel nervous, but at the same time, I also expect many people to like the series because love is universal,” said Director Lee Kwangyoung.
While her character is described as someone who is out to get revenge, Lee Sung-kyung explained that “I know that the word ‘revenge’ sounds intense, but Woojoo is simply not the kind of person who can pull off a revenge successfully.”
“She is someone who tries to protect what is precious to her, so the fact that she plans a revenge means that she had what was precious to her taken away from her, which causes her a lot of pain for a long time,” she said.
She added, “I was concerned that audiences may get the impression that this is a revenge drama that involves a gratifying, dramatic revenge. But the story, as how I hope for audiences to perceive, is about this person who simply does not have it in her to pull off a revenge and how she jumps into carrying out a revenge to protect what means the most to her but ends up facing unexpected emotions and situations.”
The director said through the drama, “I wanted our series to be a source of comfort and solace to those who soldier on and survive another day.”
Kim Young-kwang said during the filming, he tried to stay away from Lee Sung-kyung so he would be able to keep the mood of his character.
“Sungkyoung and I are close friends, and obviously, we would laugh and joke around when we see each other. Director Lee would tell us that we were smiling when monitoring footage from a scene we shot after hanging out with each other. So, I tried to stay away from Sunkyoung to stay in the mood of the story. But Sunkyoung and I go way back, so I had fun and felt comfortable working with her. And the other members of the cast were all around the same age as me, so it was easy to connect with them, and I had great fun working with them,” he said.
About the cast, the director said “the five actors are all so different. They all have different personalities.”
“At the beginning, I was a little bit worried. But I learned that they are very considerate of others and friendly to the crew as well. So, it was quite fun to work with them. Just now when you asked them about how they practiced and how they discussed chemistry between characters, it reminded me of something—that is something that I did not see on set from this cast. We wanted to deliver the lines as close to the everyday conversations we have in real life as possible, so the cast did not practice before going into filming, but they simply went ahead with performing on set,” he said.
Sung Jun said working with Lee Sung-kyung on the set was very comfortable “as if I was hanging out with a friend — a friend from high school.”
She echoed what he said, saying, “I felt so comfortable around Jun. I felt like there was almost no difference on and off camera between Yoon Jun and Sung Jun. Jun is someone Woojoo can be around to completely open up to share her emotions and shed tears. She can be very comfortable around him. Sung Jun played his role so well, and Sung Jun was so nice to me to the extent that I could not tell the difference between his character and him in real life.”
Kim Young-kwang revealed that “there were many moments when I got emotional playing Dongjin.”
“Whenever he goes through a tough time or when he wishes for someone to protect him or say something to comfort him, Woojoo does that for him. I felt deeply comforted hearing Woojoo’s words, and I often got emotional,” he said.
About her character and real self, Lee Sung-kyung said, “Woojoo practically plays the role of the eldest child in her family. I am not the breadwinner of the family in real life, but I am also the eldest in my family, so I could relate to my character in a lot of aspects. For instance, I can hold a lot of emotions in. Woojoo may seem like she says whatever she wants out loud, but she actually holds a lot in. I think I related to that part of her a lot.”
Director Lee Kwangyoung said the focus of the drama is not about revenge.
“When we talk about revenge in our daily life, we often feel that we want to kill someone, but we all know that we cannot do that obviously. I felt that Woojoo must be the same. She is not someone who gets angry for her own sake. She decides to take revenge because she cannot stand the thought of people she loves getting hurt, but ultimately, she is just an ordinary person, much like a next door neighbor,” he said.
He added, “Woojoo, Dongjin, and other characters have their own struggles and hurts, but they simply try to get through the day. So, I wanted to reach out to people who start another day and go to work in the morning and say, “You are not the only one, but we all live our lives the same way you do. So, hang in there a little longer. You will experience small changes in your life, too.”
“All of us, including the cast here and our amazing crew, worked very hard to create this series. I hope you enjoy it,” he added.
“Call It Love” is available on Disney+.