Seo Hyun-jin returns to TV in 'You Are My Spring'

Actors Seo Hyun-jin, left and Kim Dong-wook pose for pictures during an online press conference for the new series, “You Are My Spring,” Monday. Courtesy of tvN

By Lee Gyu-lee

Actress Seo Hyun-jin has returned to the small screen in tvN's new romance series “You Are My Spring,” for the first time since she played a tenacious temporary teacher struggling to survive in a cutthroat private school in the 2019 series, “Black Dog.”

Directed by Jung Ji-hyun, who also directed the romance series, “The King: Eternal Monarch” and “Search WWW,” “You Are My Spring” follows the story of two neighbors ― Kang Da-jung (Seo) and Joo Young-do (Kim Dong-wook) ― who live in the same building. It was written by lyricist and scriptwriter Lee Mi-na who also wrote the tvN series, “Bubble Gum.”

“There were no parts in the script of You Are My Spring that I didn't understand. It was as if it spoke what I was thinking,” Seo said during an online press conference for the series, Monday. “I really liked the script. Frankly, I wasn't positive if it was that good, but after talking to the writer, she convinced me (to take the role).”

Seo plays a hotel concierge who has trauma from growing up under a violent father, until her mother ran away with her and a sibling.

Seo moves to the rooftop unit of a small building where a murder took place recently. There, she meets psychiatrist Young-do who runs a clinic on the floor below.

The first episode, aired on Monday, kicked off with a viewership rating of 3.4 percent. It showed Da-jung running into her neighbor Young-do, who makes an unpleasant first impression by openly analyzing her mental state by picking up on clues around her house.

“This series is about characters who have traumas from childhood ― from when they were seven years old ― coming together to heal their wounds and move forward,” director Jung said about the series. “There are a lot of people who feel like they should hold back tears just because they are adults. So I hope that our series can give them a shoulder to cry on whenever they want to.”

A scene from “You Are My Spring” / Courtesy of tvN

The series, which sounds like a subtle, heartwarming romance, has a twist in its plot. Along with the romance of the two characters, the story has a hint of a thriller, with a murder that happened at the building and a mysterious sociopathic character, Chae Joon (Yoon Park).

The director hinted that there are all four “seasons of genres” present in the series. “It is heartwarming like spring, hot like summer, romantic and emotional like fall and chilling and frightening like winter,” he said.

Seo added that she preferred the mixture of genres, as she has been feeling pressure from her previous successful romantic comedy series, which won her the nickname, the “queen of rom-com.”

“It has been very overwhelming to be called the queen of rom-com. So, as this series is not a romantic comedy, I don't have much pressure with this role,” she said, adding that she felt comfortable getting into character for this series.

Writer Lee noted that the thriller aspect of this series is different from previous romance series, such as “When the Camellia Blooms” and “Find Me in Your Memory.”

“(Previous series) follow who did what crimes and how, whereas our story focuses on 'why did this happen' and 'what led this far,' because it starts from when the characters were seven years old,” she said. “A lot of characters in our series have what people would call trauma ― complex and painful memories. So if you can empathize with any one of the characters, you will be able to resonate with our series.”

“You Are My Spring” airs on tvN on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9 p.m.