Ok Taec-yeon gives glimpse of his first period series 'Secret Royal Inspector & Joy'

Actors Ok Taec-yeon, left, and Kim Hye?yoon pose for pictures during the online press conference of the series “Secret Royal Inspector & Joy,” Wednesday. Courtesy of tvN

By Lee Gyu-lee

Actor Ok Taec-yeon, a member of K-pop boy group 2PM, stars in his first period series in his acting career with tvN's upcoming comedy-drama “Secret Royal Inspector & Joy.”

“Since this is my first time taking a role in a period series, I was very nervous,” he expressed during the press conference of the series, held online Wednesday.

Set in the Joseon era (1392-1910), the new series revolves around a free-spirited secret royal inspector Ra Yi-eon (Ok).

Yi-eon has no ambition and is just getting by as a royal officer. One day, he is appointed as the secret agent, or “Amhaeng-eosa,” who are dispatched to travel around the country to perform undercover investigations into corrupt civil officials.

Along the way, he teams up with an unorthodox woman Kim Joy (Kim Hye?yoon) to carry out his mission as the secret inspector.

It is directed by Yoo Jong-sun, whose previous work includes the smash-hit series “Descendants of The Sun” and the Korean adaptation of the hit U.S series “Designated Survivor,” and written by Lee Jae-yoon, who wrote the comedy film “Miss & Mrs. Cops” and romantic comedy series “The Undateables.”

A scene from the series / Courtesy of tvN

Ok said that he came across this series while working on his previous dark hero series “Vincenzo” and felt a sense of refreshment after reading the script.

“Towards the end of 'Vincenzo,' I had a lot of dark scenes where I had to ruthlessly kill other characters. So I was having a hard time personally. And as I was reading the script for this series, it felt comforting,” he said. “I thought it would be fun and give me a sense of balance to play the character of a royal agent in this series, so I got on board.”

Adding that he shares many resemblances with Yi-eon, he expressed excitement towards portraying his character.

“When you think of Amhaeng-eosa, you would think of a cool person with authority. But there's a twist,” he said, adding that he is also the same in real life. “He is such a colorful character. It feels like I found a perfect character that fits me.”

Director Yoo described the series as an unconventional period series.

“'Secret Royal Inspector & Joy' is such a free-spirited, new type of period piece. The way the characters see each other and their perspective towards the society during that era is really liberated and unconventional,” he said. “And as these eccentric characters develop their story in such a conservative era, there will be laughs and touching moments.”

Actress Kim plays a divorced woman, something very unusual during that era. Joy is a courageous, nonconforming person who is not afraid to fight for her happiness.

“Joy has such an attractive personality. The more I got to know her character, the more I liked her,” she said, adding that she was also excited to star in her first period series. “I'm very excited to take part in this great opportunity. Joy is a brave person who goes on a journey to find her own happiness. So I hope to show a more mature version of myself as an actor with this series.”

“Secret Royal Inspector & Joy” will premiere on Nov. 11 at 10:30 p.m.