Actor Lee Young-ae has returned to KBS after 26 years.
On the afternoon of the 16th at The Saint in Sindorim, Guro District, Seoul, a production press conference was held for KBS2's new Saturday-Sunday drama "Walking On Thin Ice." Director Song Hyun-wook and actors Lee Young-ae, Kim Young-kwang and Park Yong-woo attended the press conference and spoke.
Walking On Thin Ice is a work that depicts the dangerous and desperate partnership diary that unfolds when Kang Eun-su (played by Lee Young-ae), a parent who wants to protect her family, and Lee Kyung (played by Kim Young-kwang), a two-faced teacher, accidentally obtain a drug bag.
Director Song Hyun-wook said, "This project started when I happened to receive a planning proposal and four scripts from the head of the production company. I thought I would read the script in the office on a weekend afternoon and respond, and as I read I kept calling to ask if parts 5 and 6 were out. And I read up to episode 11 right there. It was fun, immersive and despite the tight schedule I felt I really wanted to do it. That's why I started this project. A drug bag falling into the everyday life of an ordinary housewife and the repercussions that follow. In dealing with the confusion of values, I think it differentiates itself from other crime works that use drugs as material," adding, "This is a work that wanted to address how difficult and valuable it is to protect oneself in a generation that has an overflowing desire to live well but doesn't ask how to live well."
In the drama, Lee Young-ae plays Kang Eun-su, a housewife who jumps into a forbidden world. She said, "The most important reason I took this project was that, first of all, it was fun. Second, at home I am also an ordinary housewife. In the reality of an ordinary housewife, with a drug bag in front of her, how weak a person can become and how many conflicts, worries and emotions will precede the dissolution of a family. This is not a distant story but a real issue that is causing small and large repercussions in our society, so I wanted to think about it together. The director made it heavy as a drama but not too heavy, and entertaining. I thought viewers could both think about it and enjoy the drama, so I did this project. I hope you watch it with careful interest."
She said, "As an actor, I found the psychology of the process of an ordinary housewife gradually changing to be interesting, and I hoped people would focus on that. She commits very dangerous transgressions, but what is truly precious to us? I wanted this drama to make people realize that again. Leaving aside the heavy subject of drugs, I wanted to pose the question of what is truly precious."
In particular, Lee Young-ae will show the most action acting among her past works in this project. She said, "Of course there are stunt doubles, but I practiced a lot on set and personally did a lot of strength training. I kept exercising at home and, together with the doubles, I worked with the director to figure out what would be the most edgy scenes so I could appear strong and cool on screen. I think the action that appears as Eun-su's depth deepens will also be something to watch."
Meanwhile, the character name Eun-su that Lee Young-ae plays in Walking On Thin Ice is special in that it is the same Eun-su as in one of her representative films, Spring Day Is Gone. Lee Young-ae said, "I thought the drama would do well. Because there are these connections, I thought people would have many common denominators. Even though it's a reality genre and not a melodrama, you could call it a multi-genre to some extent — there's a lot to see in the chemistry between Kim Young-kwang and Eun-su, and between Park Yong-woo and Eun-su. Eun-su's name is linked to Spring Day Is Gone, but it also evokes the nuance from the short story 'A Lucky Day,' so various things will be interesting."
Kim Young-kwang plays Lee Kyung, who leads a secret double life as an after-school art teacher and a club MD. He introduced the character, saying, "Lee Kyung is a character who works as an after-school art teacher during the day and does bad things as a club MD at night. He sells drugs together with Eun-su, the housewife played by senior Lee Young-ae. He is a character who also has a desire to reclaim his life."
Kim Young-kwang, who plays a character with two faces in this work, said, "While playing Lee Kyung I swung back and forth over whether he is a hero or a villain. He's a character who follows desire for his own greed and life, but in the end he makes a good choice, so I think he's a good character. When Eun-su picks up the drug bag and says, 'Let's sell it together,' Lee Kyung tries to use her. As he becomes more and more drawn to Eun-su's wit and her desire to protect her family, he becomes much gentler. We followed the story well while asking questions during filming. As the drama climaxes, they kept fighting and I thought they could stop fighting, but under the director's guidance we faithfully followed the storyline and filmed it well."
Park Yong-woo, who plays Jang Tae-gu, the ace head of the police station's drug investigation team, described his character: "Jang Tae-gu is a violent crimes detective team leader who now handles drug cases. He is someone who persistently pursues Eun-su and Lee Kyung to the end." He said of his first impression, "Actors inevitably have to read the script first when they first encounter a project. After reading the script you decide whether to do it, and scripts that make you want to do it at first sight are objectively not common. Personally, 'Walking On Thin Ice' made me feel I wanted to do it right away, leaving everything else aside — that feeling came in years. I felt the script was really excellent."
He continued, "Why did I feel that way? After filming I thought about it and realized it's difficult to portray ordinary and predictable things as special, but this script did that. Looking at the characters, they aren't particularly special, and they're not usually seen professions or personalities. How can each situation be portrayed with tension through ordinary people? That feeling persisted throughout the script. My role is the same; though the profession and subject are common, the story keeps making you curious and leads to unexpected developments. I am confident the drama will unfold into a development that keeps viewers wanting to know more, and that makes it an attractive drama and role."
There were likely also cautious aspects in dealing with the crime subject of drugs. Director Song Hyun-wook noted, "It's true that it's sensitive and we had to be careful because it's airing on a public broadcaster. The drugs in Walking On Thin Ice are much more everyday; they are encountered by ordinary housewives and after-school art teachers, so rather than treating it sensationally, we tried to express the alienation and shock of the unfamiliar world that they feel and the unfamiliar world of people who enjoy drugs. For Eun-su and Lee Kyung, it can also be a desperate means of livelihood. They set deadlines like 'let's stop here' or 'let's earn this much' and work toward that. In any case desire grows, and in the process of being chased by various drug organizations and the police, we focused heavily on the psychological aspect of how to cross the line and how to control growing desire."
Regarding whether there is a love line between Lee Young-ae and Kim Young-kwang, he said, "In the highlight video there is a scene where the two hold hands and run, a tense, suspenseful scene where Eun-su looks up at the sky as they run, which felt melodic and touching. In the drama Eun-su and Lee Kyung meet as business partners, bicker, fight, betray and have many stories. Whether that develops into a romance will be clear when you watch the broadcast."
However, KBS2 dramas are currently in a slump with poor ratings. When asked about target ratings, director Song Hyun-wook said, "I hope the ratings rise little by little each episode; my target is 12% to 15%. If viewers love it and we stayed true to the story and script we made, I think that level is achievable."
Lee Young-ae also explained why she chose to return with a KBS2 project: "This role is a housewife. She is a housewife who most wants to protect and cherish her family. I wanted to approach it comfortably. The project was fun and had high completeness. As the director said, it's a drama KBS is backing this year, so I thought it would be a work you could watch with concentrated interest in the second half of the year. I strongly recommend it to you and I started a new challenge. You can trust it."
Finally, director Song Hyun-wook said, "It has nail-biting tension and desperation, but at the same time there are many warm, humorous and witty scenes, so it's suitable for the whole family to watch. Ordinary things are special, and how great are viewers who protect them. It's a work that makes you think about what efforts are needed to preserve ordinary daily life."
Lee Young-ae said, "This work was actually inspired by similar real incidents, the writer said. There was an incident where an ordinary housewife delivered drugs, and that was the motif. Drugs as a subject shouldn't be hidden entirely in the shadows but exposed so we can think about how to resolve them. While thinking about whether Walking On Thin Ice is like 'A Lucky Day' in the end, we made it entertaining enough for the whole family to watch, and while discussing things beneath the fun we hope viewers will consider the ending. I think it's a drama with many topics to discuss. Please watch it a lot."
Kim Young-kwang said, "It depicts people rushing toward their own desires. It expresses tense and crisis situations well and shows what human desire is. If you watch it enjoyably, you'll see a high-tension drama," and Park Yong-woo added, "From a viewer's perspective, when a drama has fun, lingering emotion and moving moments, you become a fan. I dare to believe this drama will be a rare one that combines fun, emotion and lingering feeling."
Meanwhile, Walking On Thin Ice premieres on the 20th at 9:20 p.m.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Min Kyung-hoon
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