Actor Seo Ji-hye overwhelmed viewers from the first week of Nice to Not Meet You, radiating an overpowering aura that immediately dominated the living room screen.
On the March 3 and 4 broadcasts of the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama Nice to Not Meet You (directed by Kim Ga-ram, written by Jung Yeo-rang) episodes 1 and 2, Seo Ji-hye portrayed Yun Hwa-young, the youngest Director General of the entertainment department at Sports Eun-seong, who has urbane sophistication and icy charisma, leaving a strong impression of the character's individuality through a realistic and vivid performance.
Nice to Not Meet You is a drama about the dissing war, fact bombardment and breaking of prejudice between a national actor who has lost his original sincerity and an entertainment reporter obsessed with achieving justice.
In episode 1, Hwa-young drew attention from her first appearance by responding cynically, "Is this a martial arts novel?" after reading a transfer report of Wi Jeong-sin (played by Lim Ji-yeon) that read like a tall tale about being reassigned from the political desk to the entertainment desk. Unlike the noisy team atmosphere, she showed an indifferent attitude toward Jeong-sin's joining and left a definite first impression as a professional who concentrates only on entertainment industry issues. Even with a brief appearance, Seo Ji-hye's characteristic metropolitan charm and resolute energy shone through.
In episode 2, she delivered a stern rebuke to Jeong-sin, who caused an accident on her first assignment, saying, "She may have been an ace reporter burning with a sense of justice at the political desk, but here she's just overly sentimental," and from her cold gaze and measured tone Seo Ji-hye's detailed acting infused Yun Hwa-young's personality with three-dimensionality, further drawing viewers into the story.
Afterward, Hwa-young showed calm judgment at every moment despite being angered by Jeong-sin's repeated mistakes. In particular, even though the evidence of Lim Hyun-jun's (played by Lee Jung-jae) romantic relationship that Jeong-sin discovered was from three years earlier, she published it without hesitation and even praised Jeong-sin for writing a retaliatory article against Hyun-jun, revealing the realist's tendency to prioritize results over emotion.
Nevertheless, when the conflict between Hyun-jun and Jeong-sin deepened, Hwa-young did not lose her sense of responsibility as a reasonable leader and arranged a place for reconciliation herself. But when Jeong-sin ultimately refused to compromise, she displayed a memorable senior presence with the cold advice, "Imagine this is the political desk. Would you have been this lazy and emotional there?"
In this way, Seo Ji-hye meticulously portrayed Yun Hwa-young's complex inner world, where charisma, coldness and human warmth coexist, driving the early narrative tension. Her presence, which changes the tone of a scene with a single line or a brief look, left a strong impression from the first week and raised expectations for future developments. After the broadcast, viewers reacted enthusiastically with comments such as "I instantly get immersed when actor Seo Ji-hye appears," "She fits the role of entertainment department Director General well," "The career woman styling is perfect. She's so pretty," "The lines stick in your ears," and "The chemistry between Hwa-young and Jeong-sin is fun. Looking forward to more."
[Photo] tvN broadcast capture of Nice to Not Meet You
[OSEN]