Jang Na-ra headlines new MBC drama

Jang Na-ra

Shin Ha-kyun

By Baek Byung-yeul

Singer and actress Jang Na-ra, 33, who was lauded for her performance in “Fated to Love You” last summer, came back in another offbeat romance comedy drama “Mr. Back” this Wednesday.

In MBC TV’s 16-part drama for the Wednesday-Thursday night slots, Jang stars as Eun Ha-soo, an intern who falls in love with a business tycoon Choi Go-bong (played by actor Shin Ha-kyun) in his 70s, who magically transforms into a young man in his 30s all at once.

“Mr. Back” is based on a novel “Old Man,” which was serialized on Kakao Page, a content service platform of mobile messenger Kakao Talk for six months from April to October this year.

In a meeting with reporters, Jang said her character is a little bit different from the conventional candy girl she had played.

“Eun Ha-soo is different from previous roles that I had played. She looks noisy and senseless, but actually is a warm-hearted person who is reliable and becomes a faithful supporter of the company chairman Choi,” Jang said at the MBC building in Sangam-dong, west Seoul, Monday.

“I have performed lots of good-natured roles in previous dramas, and frankly I would like to rid myself of those fixed images of the past,” she added.

Her breakthrough came with the TV sitcom “New Nonstop,” where she played an adorable and ingenuous college student.

In the following year, Jang leapt into stardom through a romance comedy drama, “Successful Story of A Bright Girl.”

Actor Shin Ha-kyun spoke about the difficulty of transforming into an old man.

“It’s very difficult to change into an old man in his 70s. It takes about four hours to put on makeup,” Shin said.

The 40-year-old actor also stressed that he had to mobilize all the imagination he has to perform his role.

Lee Joon, a member of K-pop boy band MBLAQ plays a spoiled son of the company chairman while actor Jung Seok-won stars as a smart and ambitious director of the company.

The Wednesday-Thursday drama “Mr. Back” airs at 10 p.m. from Nov. 5 through MBC TV.