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| Actors Ji Jin-hee, from left, and Kim Hyun-joo, as well as director Song Hyun-woo, pose for pictures during an online media conference for JTBC's new series, "Undercover," Thursday. Courtesy of JTBC |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actors Ji Jin-hee and Kim Hyun-joo first teamed up in the same drama as co-stars in 2004 as the leads in the series, "Ms. Kim's Million Dollar Quest." Now, about four years after the two played a married couple in the 2016 romance series, "I Have a Lover," Ji and Kim have reunited as husband and wife in JTBC's new series, "Undercover."
"I was initially concerned that viewers might feel bored about our co-starring, because this is our third time," Ji said during an online media conference for the series, Thursday. "But with her, I felt free from such concern. That's how much faith I have in her."
Kim also expressed that she was ready to show their chemistry one more time. "Ji accepted the role first. I knew that many people would want to see us reuniting on the screen… so it didn't take long for me to decide to join the series," she added.
"For 'I Have a Lover,' Ji helped me a lot on the set. The reason viewers liked my character was that Ji made me shine (in the series)," she said. "So this time, I wanted to return that favor."
Based on BBC's crime drama of the same name, the series follows a married couple: civil rights lawyer Choi Yeon-soo (Kim), and intelligence agent Han Jung-hyun (Ji), who has been hiding his profession from his wife.
One day, Yeon-soo gets a chance to become the first chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. But the new job leads her to reveal her husband's long-held secret, which puts her family at risk.
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| Stills from the series / Courtesy of JTBC |
The series' director, Song Hyun-woo, whose previous work includes the hit series, "Another Miss Oh," noted that the Korean adaptation will be an extension of the story covered in the U.K series.
"The original series ends after Nick (the husband) reveals his identity… but our series picks up in the middle of the story, and goes to what happens after," he said. "So this adaptation has an additional plot that was not part of the original one."
Hinting that the series will involve a lot of action scenes involving Ji, the director said "Undercover" will be a mixture of various genres.
"The series is about a man who has a secret past, who tries to save his family and loved ones from powerful adversaries and is also about a married couple's melodramatic romance, and riveting action with an element of film noir too," he said.
Ji added that the reason he chose his role was because of the character. "As the director said, there are different sides to my character. I had no reason to turn down the role," he said, adding that he liked how his character gets involved in a lot of action scenes. "Nowadays, most lead roles go to younger actors, but this series was made for an actor my age… which is rare. I took this project as a great opportunity."
"Undercover" will premiere on Friday at 11 p.m.
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