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| From left, actors Jeon So-nee, Park Hyung-sik, and Yoon Jong-suk pose during an online press conference for tvN's new series "Our Blooming Youth," Wednesday. Courtesy of tvN |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Singer and actor Park Hyung-sik has teamed up with director Lee Jong-jae of the 2018 period rom-com "100 Days My Prince" to play the role of a royal prince in tvN's new series "Our Blooming Youth."
"I haven't done a period series for a long time (since the 2016 series 'Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth')," Park said during an online press conference for the series, Wednesday. "When I read the script, I was captivated and was curious know what would happen next. And with director Lee, I had high hopes on how the script would turn out."
The mystery romance series, which will premiere on Feb. 6, is about a cursed crown prince, Lee Hwan, played by Park, and a female murder suspect named Min Jae-yi, played by Jeon So-nee.
On the day Hwan succeeds his deceased older brother as the crown prince, he falls under a mysterious curse. Living a dark fate, he comes across Jae-yi, a woman who is accused of killing her family four days before her wedding.
Desperate to exonerate herself, Jae-yi asks Hwan to help prove her innocence and in return offers to help him break his curse.
The series is written by Jung Hyun-jung, who scripted the 2019 romance series "Romance Is a Bonus Book."
"Hwan used to be innocent, honest and warm-hearted when he was young. But after an incident, he changes. He can't trust people and won't let anyone close to him. Then, he meets Jae-yi, which leads him to grow in maturity," he said about his character.
"This is my first time dressing up as a crown prince. And as the filming went on, I could see the costume wearing off, like I was actually living this life."
He added that leading the 20-part series wasn't easy but he tried to stay focused on his multilayered character.
"I tried to keep myself from feeling the pressure of the lead role by putting myself deeper into the character. I felt like if I let the pressure get to me, I won't be able to pull off the emotions and acting," he said.
Jeon plays an obedient, devoted daughter who accepts her fate of arranged marriage to wed into a higher-ranking family. But when her family is killed by a mysterious murderer, her life changes.
"Jae-yi faces a different range of emotions and situations. And as an actor, I definitely wanted to take such role that goes through different experiences," she said. "The most attractive feature about Jae-yi is that she knows how to help people and to accept it as well. That's the part that I love about her and hoped to become like her."
"Our Blooming Youth" airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8:50 p.m.
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