'Dear X' director Lee Eung-bok conveyed a warm atmosphere with the actors.
On the 30th in the afternoon at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, a press conference was held for the TVING original Dear X. Director Lee Eung-bok and actors Kim Yoo-jung, Kim Young-dae, Kim Do-hoon and Lee Yeol-eum attended the press conference and spoke.
Dear X, based on the webtoon of the same name, is the story of a masked woman, Baek Ah-jin, who climbs from hell to the highest place and the Xs who were cruelly trampled by her.
That day, when asked about focusing on directing since the protagonist is a villainess, Lee Eung-bok explained, "Rather than going in with a plan from the start, there is a passage in Jun-seo's narration that asks 'Why do I like such a bad child' and I liked that. I directed with the mindset of why readers liked a webtoon featuring such a bad protagonist."
He said, "Rather than diving into Ah-jin's deep feelings, sometimes by making things hard you cheer her on, and sometimes with a 'you can't do this' soothing feeling. In doing that, rather than controlling the intensity, I watched and cheered and saw the heartrending feeling of the two people protecting her, and wove the story together with those elements. More than intensity, making it come alive by watching the actors' chemistry felt like experiencing it as the first audience. I watched and encouraged them so it flowed naturally, and after filming I would pat them because it was hard."
Also, Lee Eung-bok said, "Actually, actor Kim Yoo-jung is much more senior than me. I really learned a lot. She was the first to worry the most about all the actors and staff. Even when she was the most exhausted, she comforted everyone, and we talked a lot whenever things were hard and had drinking gatherings. While working on this project, I have never talked and spent so much time with actors like this. That became a great help during filming."
In particular, he said of Kim Young-dae, "He disappears at midnight. His nickname is 'Young-daerella.' Even today we could have had an afterparty, but I think we took his card away so he might not be able to go," which drew laughter.
Meanwhile, Dear X will be first released on TVING on Nov. 6.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Cho Eun-jung
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