Group APRIL alumnus Lee Na-eun and Golden Child alumnus Choi Bo-min reunited after six years.
On the 21st, a production press conference for the short-form drama "My Little Chef" was held at Starfield Goyang Central Atrium in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province.
"My Little Chef" (hereafter Mariche) depicts how Choi Noma, heir to the country's largest dining-out group, loses everything overnight and grows into a true leader through the unusual mission of a cooking competition, and is a short-form drama that captures the dramatic harmony of cooking, competition, love, family and growth.
The lead role Noma was cast with actress Lee Na-eun, formerly of the group APRIL, and the other lead Tae-woo is played by Choi Bo-min, formerly of Golden Child. CIX's Hyunsuk plays Do-yoon, a classmate from Noah's culinary school, and FANATICS' Kim Do-a plays Miri, Noma's cousin.
The lead role Noma was cast with actress Lee Na-eun, formerly of the group APRIL, and the other lead Tae-woo is played by Choi Bo-min, formerly of Golden Child. CIX's Hyunsuk plays Do-yoon, a classmate from Noah's culinary school, and FANATICS' Kim Do-a plays Miri, Noma's cousin.
Lee Na-eun said, "She's a bright and positive role but also has a humane side, so I focused on that. This is my first short-form drama, so I approached expressing multiple emotions in a short time with more responsibility." Director Kim Sang-hoon said, "Because it's based on a game, I wondered how to shape the character, but at the first script reading I felt that Lee Na-eun was Noma. From her first lines she captured it well, and I thought we could drive the drama from her perspective."
Choi Bo-min said, "Meeting the character Tae-woo and reading the script was the most difficult. Even during filming I talked a lot with the director while preparing. But through those conversations I found the answers on how to portray Tae-woo." Director Kim Sang-hoon said of Choi Bo-min, "The character is the most difficult among the cast. He has secrets and calculates everything. Tae-woo's attitude toward Noma changes dramatically, and because that's the flow it must have been difficult. We talked the most, and the results matched the effort. He carried the mood with his eyes and such, and did it appropriately. He helped a lot in creating tension and romanticism."
Lee Na-eun said of her chemistry with Choi Bo-min, "We met after six years, and fortunately there was no awkwardness, so it was comfortable. In the drama she calls Choi Bo-min oppa. In real life Choi Bo-min is the younger sibling. That part was awkward and didn't work, but when you get immersed it came out naturally. I focused on and practiced that aspect."
Meanwhile, "My Little Chef" is a project carried out through a short-form media strategic partnership between Grampus and Joy Company (CEO Choi In-young), a content company that produces video and artificial intelligence production studios. Based on the global market's roughly 50 million-download game "My Little Chef" created by Grampus, Joy Company, which has built one pillar of video production and VFX using artificial intelligence, will present video content aimed at short-form platforms.
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