Would you buy a divorce insurance?
On March 31, Prime Video will premiere the new Korean romantic comedy series “The Divorce Insurance” starring Lee Dong-wook, Lee Joo-been, Lee Kwang-soo and Lee Da-hee.
The series focuses on a team that is planning to create a divorce insurance product that can protect everyone’s future. It is about those who have been divorce and now are ready to discover love again.
From March 31, “The Divorce Insurance” ("이혼보험") will be available in more than 240 countries and territories with weekly episodes every Monday and Tuesday.
“The Divorce Insurance” starring Lee Dong-wook, Lee Joo-been, Lee Kwang-soo and Lee Da-hee will premiere on Prime Video on March 31 (Prime Video)
Lee Dong-wook is No Ki-jun, an insurance actuary at Plus Insurance’s innovative product development team. He has been divorced three times and his familiarity with the matter inspired him to create a divorce insurance product.
Lee Joo-been plays the role of Kang Han-deul, an insurance underwriter who undergoes a transformation through her own divorce, joins the team and navigates a new relationship with Ki-jun.
Lee Kwang-soo is An Jeon-man, a risk surveyor who prioritizes safety above all else.
Lee Da-hee is Jeon Na-rae, a financial mathematician who views the world purely through an investment lens and joins the team as a special quantitative consultant.
This is Lee Won-seok’s first time to be a director for a Korean drama.
In an interview with Manila Bulletin and other media outlets, Lee Dong-wook, Lee Joo-been, Lee Kwang-soo and Lee Da-hee talked about the Prime Video series and working together.
Lee Dong-wook and Lee Kwang-soo previously worked together in the film “A Year-end Medley” while Lee Dong-wook and Lee Da-hee starred in “Search: WWW.”
Lee Kwang-soo and Lee Da-hee also showed great chemistry in the Korean TV show “Running Man.”
Lee Da-hee said, ”While we were filming on set, it felt just like as if we were filming ‘Running Man’ because we hadn't seen each other in a while. But then again, it didn't seem awkward at all to be around him, and the chemistry was just as great.”
"The Divorce Insurance" (Prime Video)
Divorce insurance
In real life, Lee Dong-wook, Lee Joo-been and Lee Kwang-soo said they would buy divorce insurance while Lee Da-hee said no.
“For me, I answered yes because it would only make sense for me to answer yes since we are working on this show that revolves around the concept of divorce insurance. I don't really know about the technicalities because I've never been married, but for now, I'd like to answer yes,” said Lee Dong-wook.
Lee Joo-been said,: “I answered yes, because, as I was working on this show, I realized that if such a product really existed, rather than worrying about the risks of marriage, I would consider this product to be something that would protect me and my family and my friends and all of my loved ones.”
Lee Kwang-soo said, “I answered no at first, but then I had a change of heart and switched to yes, because all throughout the production, as I was working on the show, I came to realize that whatever choice you make, marriage or divorce, it all has to lead up to your happiness. I think you will be able to relate to this message if you tune into our show.
“I answered no, because I'm currently single. I think if I were married, I would have answered yes,” said Lee Da-hee.
Four Lees
Coincidentally, the four actors and the director have the same surname Lee, which is quite rare for a drama whose lead stars share the same surname.
Lee Kwang-soo said this may be a lucky charm for the series.
“I really think that it is a great coincidence and serendipitous that all of us, including the director and the writer have the same surname, so maybe this can be a lucky charm, and work magic for our show,” he said.
Lee Da-hee added, “Honestly, I didn't really notice until someone told us that we all have the same surname. So we weren't really surprised at all, I guess, because there are a lot of people with the surname Lee in Korea. You know, before we started the interview, I wasn't really confident whether I'd be able to give good enough answers, so I really wanted to pass the mic to the others, but then they put me on the spot.”
Divorce
Divorce is allowed in South Korea and “The Divorce Insurance” has a unique concept for a series.
Lee Dong-wook said, “I thought that the show really brought something new to the table, because insurance or insurance policies are something that are very necessary in our daily lives, but the concept of a product that provides coverage for divorce was completely unseen. So it felt very new and refreshing to me and all of the characters are very lively and dynamic. So those elements really stood out when I first read the script.”
“And I was really curious to see, and also excited about the unique directing skills that director Lee Won-seok is known for,” said Lee Kwang-soo.
Lee Joo-been said, “I also have never been married, but there were so many different cases of divorce that I saw in the script that I could really relate to. And all of the characters are so fascinating, and all of these very gripping incidents happen in the script so I was really drawn to that and was curious to see how that will be brought to life on screen.”
According to Lee Da-hee, “It was great to work with these amazing actors and castmates that I've only seen on TV before. And on top of that, just like Kwang-soo said, I was really drawn to the director because his unique style of directing, I really love. So I thought that if he took the helm for this show, which revolves around a very new and refreshing concept of divorce insurance, it would turn out to be a very unique and fascinating drama. So I really wanted in on the project.”
"The Divorce Insurance" (Prime Video)
Lee Dong-wook
Lee Dong-wook’s character in the series has been divorced three times. When what led his character to have multiple failed marriages, he said, “Well, to start with, I think No Ki-jun is a really brave character, in the fact that he took the courage to make the decision to divorce three times. And I think the biggest reason why his marriage ended up in a divorce three times was because he and his spouse weren't able to respect each other's differences. I think a very important part of love is to understand and embrace the other person's differences. But maybe that part didn’t really work out.”
Lee Kwang-soo said, “One of the lines that I say, one part of my dialogue in the show goes, Ki-jun ended up getting a divorce, not because he's careless, but because he's too caring and too thoughtful. If you tune into the show, you will be able to find out what this really means.
Relationship advice
If their characters would give relationship advice, Lee Da-hee said her character would say, “Don’t go all-in on your marriage. I don't think it's right to give up was everything, because there are other very important parts of your life than marriage.”
Lee Joo-been said, “I think Han-deul, the character that I played, would say, don't be wary of others. Just follow your heart.”
“Lee Kwang-soo said, “I think if Jeon-man were to give a piece of advice, he would say, don't overdo it with the interior in your house.
“If Ki-jun were to give any piece of advice regarding relationships, he would say, think of the amount of alimony that you would have to pay,” said Lee Dong-wook.
Chemistry
The four stars also talked about their chemistry on and off the set.
“Yeah, so all of my castmates, they’re so much more seasoned and experienced than me. They're veteran actors, and I'm the youngest of the group, and it's my first time playing a lead character like this, so I was a little worried at first, but they helped me along so well. And on set, when I feel down, they would come up to me and be really kind and play pranks on me and joke around, and make the mood on set really playful and fun,” said Lee Joo-been.
Lee Dong-wook added, “”I think everybody who was part of the production, not just us, but every single member of the cast and the crew, they were such good-hearted, kind-hearted people who were very considerate and supportive to others. And I think that allowed for an environment where we could be really comfortable around each other and get close.”
Lee Da-hee said, “I think one of the secrets to this great chemistry is the fact that Dong-wook buys us dinner all the time and treats us to a lot of great food with his own money.”
“If we go filming in other regions, he would try and look up the best restaurants there to buy us dinner,’ said Lee Kwang-soo.
Lee Joo-been narrated that “this one time, I lost a bet and had to treat everybody to dinner, but when I went to pay, I realized that Dong-wook had gone ahead and paid before I could.”
If he could have the chance to play another role in “The Divorce Insurance,” Lee Dong-wook said, “I would like to play the character Jeon Na-rae played by Da-hee, because she doesn’t really hold things inside. She's really outspoken and straightforward and direct, and she says all the right things every time. So it's very exhilarating to see her character. That's why I would like to play Na-rae.”
For Lee Kwang-soo, he said, “I would like to play Na-rae as well, because she is the highest up amongst us in the office, and I've never played a higher up, like an Executive Vice President, so I would like to play Na-rae.”
Lee Da-hee said, “I would like to play Jeon-man played by Kwang-soo, because he just said that he would like to play my role, because he has never been someone that senior or high up. But I don't think he's really the person to say that, because Jeon-man doesn't really do what he's told. He just runs his race and really doesn't care. That was why I as Na-rae was more annoyed by him, so I would like to switch roles and annoy him.”
“I would like to play Ki-jun, because the fact that he has been married three times is very interesting and fascinating to me. It seems like there's a hidden charm to him, and he also moves very seamlessly back and forth between the very emotional side of him and the very logical side of him, which seems very attractive as well. So I would like to play Ki-jun,” said Lee Joo-been:
“The Divorce Insurance” will premiere on Prime Video on March 31.