Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Lee Se-young returns with MBC's new fantasy rom-com series
From left, actors Yoo Seon-ho, Joo Hyun-young, Lee Se-young and Bae In-hyuk pose during a press conference for the new MBC series “The Story of Park's Marriage Contract,” held at the broadcaster in Mapo District, Seoul. Courtesy of MBC
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actor Lee Se-young, who rose to fame last year with MBC’s hit period series “The Red Sleeve,” is taking on another period role with the broadcaster’s new romantic comedy series “The Story of Park's Marriage Contract.”
“The script was so interesting that I would look forward to and get curious about the next episode. So I said, ‘I want to meet the director right away.’ And after the meeting, I was captivated by what the director explained (about the series), so I decided to take part,” Lee said during a press conference for the series, held at the broadcaster in Mapo District, Seoul.
Based on the web novel of the same name, the fantasy romance series follows the story of Park Yeon-woo (Lee), a girl from the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingtom who falls into modern times.
In 19th-century Korea, Park is ready for a happily-ever-after life with her handsome husband. But on the night of her wedding, her husband dies of a chronic disease, and she gets abducted and thrown into a well.
When she wakes up, she finds herself in a completely different era in 2023 and meets a rich heir, Kang Tae-ha (Bae In-hyuk), who is her late husband’s exact lookalike. Amid the chaos, Kang asks her for a contract marriage, getting entangled with each other.
The series, set to premiere on Friday, is directed by Park Sang-hoon, whose previous works include the 2017 comedy series “Radiant Office” and the 2018 action series “My Secret Terrius.”
Park shared that he felt Lee was the perfect and only fit for the role from the start. “I had to consider the similarity between the original characters and cast members. Especially with Lee, I couldn’t think of any actors to play the character other than her,” he said.
“I really wanted her to come onboard, so I tried hard to convince her. She truly is really similar (to the original character) and has an amazing personality and leadership … she exceeded my expectations by 200 percent.”
A scene from the series “The Story of Park's Marriage Contract” / Courtesy of MBC
Lee said she fell for the ambitious character and the story that tells her coming-of-age.
“I like characters who grow (through the story). I want the characters I portray to have many flaws so that by the end of the series, they will have grown and taken a step forward in any way. I tend to enjoy series where characters evolve,” she said.
“With Yeon-woo, she lives in the 19th century so she can’t take national exams and gets scolded for reading books, which she thinks is unfair. She hopes to break free with bigger dreams and wants to go far away. And I wanted to portray this part of the character well, of how she will build her life and its process.”
Although her previous period role was such a hit, she hopes the viewers would see this one as separately.
”Every role is my first time meeting this character in my life. So you never know how this one will turn out, despite what your previous work was or how good of a result it had. So I try not to put my head into anything else because the outcome (for this one) is uncertain,” she said.
“It would be nice if it makes a hit. But more than that, I hope viewers will enjoy the story and be curious of (the story’s) message.”