Interview'S Line' director depicts world where secret sex lives appear as red lines
Ahn Joo-young, director of Wavve original drama "S Line," poses during an interview with The Korea Times at Wavve's headquarters in Yeouido, southern Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Wavve
The Wavve original drama “S Line,” concluded last Friday, drew much attention immediately upon its debut with its provocative premise — in which a red line connects people who have had sexual relations.
The six-part drama, starring Lee Soo-hyuk, Lee Da-hee and K-pop girl group Oh My Girl member Arin, depicts the conflicts and desires of people after special glasses allowing anyone wearing them to see the once-hidden lines, triggering social chaos.
“Being able to see the red line, called S Line in the show, is an expanded concept of the way we get curious about others' private lives while watching TV. Everyone wants to see, but no one wants to be seen,” director Ahn Joo-young said during an interview with The Korea Times at streaming platform Wavve's headquarters in Yeouido, southern Seoul, Monday.
Hyun-heup (Arin), a key character in the series, is born with the rare ability to see the secret red threads. After the special glasses emerge, those who obtain them also gain a twisted sense of power, and as they begin using the lenses to satisfy hidden desires, they soon face grim consequences.
Ahn approached the drama as a kind of prequel to the popular webtoon on which it's based, aiming to expand the universe.
Actor Lee Soo-hyuk in scenes from Wavve original series "S Line." Courtesy of Wavve
“I started this project because I really enjoyed the original webtoon. I thought it would be difficult to visually portray a situation where everyone can see the S Line, so I considered taking a prequel approach where only a select few are able to see it," she explained.
"I also thought it would be interesting if the medium (special glasses) allowing people to see the S Line could move from person to person, so I worked with that idea. From the beginning, it was decided that the story would end with a world where everyone can see the S Line, just like in the original webtoon, and I focused on depicting the journey to that point."
Sexual relations as 'MacGuffin'
Although the topic of sex and connecting people who have had sexual relations is provocative, the director wanted to use it simply as a narrative device to explore deeper truths about human nature.
“It can’t be said that it isn’t provocative at all, but just like in the original work, sex functions as a 'MacGuffin' and through that, I wanted to reveal different aspects of people. Rather than aiming for complete realism, I found it interesting to use impossible situations to showcase the variety of human nature," she said.
The drama received praise for its fresh approach in spotlighting the secrets, desires and hypocrisies of various characters through sex as a medium, including themes such as student-teacher relationships, dating violence, revenge porn, familial sexual abuse and infidelity.
People draw red lines on their own photos or videos on social media, inspired by the drama "S Line." Captured from Instagram
The director described the mysterious teacher character Kyu-jin (Lee Da-hee) as a figure similar to "the serpent in the Garden of Eden."
“Rather than thinking of her as a simple antagonist, it’s like how the serpent gives the apple in the Garden of Eden. Instead of simply being ‘bad’ or ‘evil,’ I saw her more as an intermediary between God and humans — someone who presents a choice and allows people to decide for themselves," the director said.
"In the end, I imagined that the emergence of the S Line came about because the desires of people who wanted to see it gradually accumulated and produced that result.”
Ahn also put much effort into visualizing the S Line on the small screen. One standout example is the character Ji-wook (Lee Soo-hyuk), from whom a striking cluster of red threads sprouts out, igniting a social media frenzy. Since the show's release, more than 230,000 user-generated photos and videos flooded online, with fans adding red S Lines to their own photos and videos as a viral meme.
"We worked closely with the computer graphics team and the process took about six months, longer than editing other dramas," she said. "We kept adjusting the texture and tone of the S Line. If it looked too much like a laser, it felt detached. If it was too matte, it disappeared on screen. We went through a lot of trial and error to find the right texture."
Since its initial release on July 11, "S Line" garnered explosive popularity, ranking No. 1 in driving new paid subscriptions on Wavve for 14 consecutive days. Notably, it had the honor of winning a music award at the Cannes International Series Festival this year.
Despite praises for its fresh concept and fantasy thriller elements grounded in realism up to Episode 5, viewer reactions to the sudden change in tone to a surreal, fantasy-like finale were mixed.
Ahn anticipated it to some extent, but it seems viewers were a bit more confused than she expected.
"I think I felt compelled to wrap up the ending in the final episode. When creating it, I believed I had included all the explanations and story elements, but it seems viewers found it rushed," she said.