“HeartBeat,” the Korean vampire romantic comedy series, will be premiering on Prime Video today, June 26.
Produced by Korean channel KBS, the 16-episode “HeartBeat” stars K-pop idol-singer OK Taec-yeon and actress Won Ji-an together with Park Kang-hyun and Yoon So-hee.
"HeartBeat" (Photos from Prime Video, KBS)
It will be available on Prime Video in the Philippines and more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. New episodes will be available weekly on Mondays and Tuesdays.
“HeartBeat” is about the thrilling romance between a vampire who desires to experience love and a cold-blooded woman who does not have time for romance.
Taecyeon is Seon Woo-hyul, who sleeps in a coffin for 100 years but that goal was cut short by only one day when he was awakened by Joo In-hae (Won Ji-an).
Her encounter with the mysterious man in the coffin slowly loosens her inhibitions, and an unexpected relationship between Seon U-hyeol and Joo In-hae develops.
In a Zoom interview with Manila Bulletin and other media outlets from Malaysia and Singapore, Taec-yeon, Won Ji-an, Park Kang-hyun and Yoon So-hee talked about “HeartBeat” and their experience filming the series.
Global appeal
Through Prime Video, “HeartBeat” will be available worldwide. According to Taecyeon, its theme of love will resonate with the audience.
“At the end of the day, the theme that our drama series is speaking to is love that makes your heart beat. And that’s something that transcends culture or national borders. Anyone can feel it, it’s universal, and some even live for that very reason,” he said.
He added, “So I think that’s what the audience members will be most intrigued by when they see it. And the storyline is very classic – it talks about forbidden love, love between two people who shouldn’t be in love with one another however despite all odds stacked against them they overcome the challenges. While it is a very classic storyline, it’s also one that makes many hearts beat. I think that’s why many audiences globally will be able to relate to our drama when they see the show.”
“HeartBeat” is Taecyeon’s new series after starring in "Blind," Secret Royal Inspector & Joy" and "Vincenzo."
Won Ji-an said, “when it comes to love, I think we all go through … whether it’s something you strive to find yourself or something that just comes to you without warning…that aspect of love being a part of life resonates with many. Although it’s a love story between a human being and a half-human-half-vampire, I don’t think it’s that different from human love. I think that’s something many can relate to.”
Yoon So-hee said the title “HeartBeat” will be “one of the reasons why so many global fans have shown us interest, and while we’ve seen many vampires in different content types before, the genre is quite refreshing as well.”
“If I remember correctly, a half-human-half-vampire character (in a drama) is a first, right? So the new subject matter and element of comedy, and how the drama shows different sides to the characters all come together to gain traction from both global and at home audiences,” she said.
Park Kang-hyun said, “There are many different characters in our series, and each of them has a different goal. So I think it’d be more entertaining to focus on what kind of choices each makes in order to achieve that goal.”
"HeartBeat" (Photos from Prime Video, KBS)
Characters and filming
Coincidentally, “HeartBeat” is also the title of a song of K-pop boy band 2PM to which Taecyeon belongs.
“Yes it did definitely feel like destiny had called! Just as ‘HeartBeat’ the song was loved so much, I hope the drama series ‘HeartBeat’ will also get a lot of love. To tell you the truth, before the English title was fixed I didn’t think much of it, but once the title was fixed I felt like yes…this is destiny,” said Taecyeon.
He said he accepted the role of Seon Woo-hyul as “I wanted to play a sexy vampire! That said, the story really did make my heart beat. Rather than it being all about the vampire, I was drawn to and wanted to portray a character who was loyal to his heart.”
“Another reason is because my previous work was quite dark and the subject matter was heavy, too. When I was reading the script for this series I enjoyed how lighthearted and fun it was. So I couldn’t wait to portray the character Sun Woo-Hyeol as soon as possible,” he added.
The trailer for “HeartBeat” showed Taecyeon performing difficult stunts. While he did not find the action scenes challenging, he revealed that he has a fear of heights.
“I have experience with quite some action in different dramas, and also because for this drama series I had to rely a lot on supernatural powers, a lot of it is relying on your imagination – aside from that aspect, I didn’t find the action scenes to be particularly challenging. However, I have to say I have a fear of heights, and because there are many scenes where I’m flying around, I had to be hung quite high and that was really scary,” he said.
In the series, Taecyeon plays a half-human, half-vampire who emerges from a coffin.
“Well, because I didn’t have to actually sleep in the coffin for a hundred years so it was ok! And in the short period of time I found myself waiting for In-Hae [Won Ji-an] to come and open the coffin. But she managed to get there in time, so no worries, it was just fine,” he said.
He said, “And as for the playing half-human-half-vampire part, I thought about what the drama wanted to talk about and it’s a refreshing POV – what would it be like if vampires were living in contemporary days? It’s a challenge because you can’t reveal your supernatural powers or your identity. So that aspect of having to rely on my imagination was the bigger focus rather than other challenges. I had to imagine how vampires would act or respond, so based on those, I think we’re smooth sailing.”
Won Ji-an has appeared in “D.P.,” “Hope or Dope” and “If You Wish Upon Me.”
She said she was drawn to her character as Joo In-hae in “HeartBeat” as “she’s someone who’s very grounded – someone who lives in reality. But I realized soon that she’s very different from me.”
“First one being how tenacious she is in knowing how to make ends meet – she’s so much better at that than I am. But as I tried to find similarities … I also have experience living on my own for 2 years, and I thought about how In-Hae must have done this for such a long time and I tried to draw from my own experience of living on my own because that’s when I realized, there’s just so much to do when you’re living on your own. And also because it’s a love story between a human and vampire, the fantasy element of it required having to rely on my imagination, which is quite different from characters I have portrayed in the past,” she added.
The four stars were asked what would be the first thing they would do if they were a vampire in real life.
“I want to transform into a bat and fly around! I want to explore inside the cave. I think that was a very honest answer,” said Taecyeon.
Won Ji-an said, “I want to fly really high. That’s really it.”
According to Park Kang-hyun, “If I can breathe without oxygen, I’d love to explore the deep sea or outer space”
“If I could be a vampire, I’d like to transform into a cat and have a chat with my cat,” said Yoon So-hee.
“HeartBeat” is available on Prime Video starting June 26.