Actor Yoon Seo-ah revealed behind-the-scenes details of joining Bon Appetit, Your Majesty.
Yoon Seo-ah gave a spirited performance as Seo Gil-geum in the tvN weekend drama Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, which ended on the 28th, leaving an impression with her bubbly charm and acting skills.(directed by Jang Tae-yu, written by fGRD, planned by Studio Dragon, produced by Film Grida, Jeong Universe)
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty is a survival fantasy romantic comedy about a top chef who time slips to the past at the peak of their career and meets the worst tyrant, a king with absolute taste perception. Premiering on the 23rd of last month, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty captivated viewers with the actors' passionate performances and delicious-looking dishes, reaching a peak rating of 15.8% (episode 10) and concluded with episode 12 broadcast on the 28th.
Yoon Seo-ah, who played Seo Gil-geum, a girl with absolute smell, portrayed the innocent yet curious 18-year-old with a rustic dialect and vivid expressions, bringing a breath of fresh air to the potentially heavy palace survival genre. She also gave a three-dimensional portrayal of Seo Gil-geum, a key figure who helps Yeon Ji-young (Im Yoon-ah) adapt to the Joseon era and demonstrate her abilities, increasing the show's immersion, and completed a dazzling womance chemistry with lead actress Im Yoon-ah, adding to the show's entertainment.
Ahead of the finale, Yoon Seo-ah told OSEN, "I received the script 3 to 4 days before filming and joined Bon Appetit, Your Majesty. Because it was the Jeolla dialect, I wanted it to differ from my previous work, so I sent an SOS to actor Hong Jin-ki who worked with me before. At first I had to memorize quickly and learn the dialect's rhythm, so I wrote everything down while learning. My grandmother lives in Yeosu but my mother and uncle don't use the dialect, so I contacted actor Hong Jin-ki, and during a break in the middle of filming I went to Yeosu to see my grandmother, talked with her, went to the market and practiced saying the dialect," she recalled about the casting.
Because she was cast just before filming despite being a closest confidant of the protagonist, it was inevitably surprising. Yoon Seo-ah said, "Director Jang Tae-yu was the director of a drama I watched when I was young, so I genuinely liked and respected him, and when I got the call it felt like a dream. I believed the role of Gil-geum was a part I could do well, so I was confident. If I had more time, the early parts might have had better rhythm. I compressed the processes into a short time to absorb them efficiently. Facing a crisis pushed me to find a way to do it, and I saw it as a new opportunity and challenge. It was a good experience. I'm grateful viewers liked it and appreciated the acting," she said.
Though she was cast and joined 3 to 4 days before and had little time to prepare, Yoon Seo-ah made an impression with impactful acting. Yoon Seo-ah explained, "In my previous work The Tale of Lady Ok, Baek-i was visually pale, so she was Baek-i. She was a lovable and loyal girl, but if that image had been shown as more composed, Gil-geum, who avoided Chae-hong and hid in the forest, surviving and developing self-reliance there, would have tougher and more wild aspects. I thought she was different from the urbane Yeon Ji-young, so I amplified and exaggerated expressions and actions."
Seo Gil-geum, born from Yoon Seo-ah's efforts, became an indispensable character in Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, and Yoon Seo-ah rose as an actor to watch. Yoon Seo-ah said, "My mother is very happy. There were a series of personally difficult incidents, and the first contact I received was Bon Appetit, Your Majesty. It became an opportunity that brought great strength and vitality to my family. So as the broadcast did well after all the hard filming, my family sent me captures of the responses and it seemed to give them energy, so I feel like I repaid my parents. I'm grateful and relieved. Not only my mother but my father also sent me rating captures from the news, so it's like a festival," she said.
[OSEN]