"The 4th love revolution" reunites Kim Yo-han and Hwang Beul-byeol for the first time in four years since "School 2021," presenting a bright black comedy youth rom-com without moralizing, led by the two.
On the morning of the 11th, at the Stanford Hotel Korea in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, the WAVVE original production meeting for "The 4th love revolution" (screenplay by Song Hyun-ju·Kim Hong-gi and the creative group "Songpyeon", directed by Yoon Sung-ho·Han In-mi) was held. Attending were the male and female leads, actors Kim Yo-han and Hwang Beul-byeol, and directors Yoon Sung-ho and Han In-mi, who discussed the work under the moderation of broadcaster Park Seul-gi.
"The 4th love revolution" depicts the story that unfolds when Joo Yeon-san, a born-single engineering student, and Kang Min-hak (played by Kim Yo-han), a million-follower influencer, become classmates due to the radical merger of academic departments. The two and their friends, who operated on completely different systems, create error-filled group projects and a chaotic romance that is expected to awaken viewers' feelings of excitement.
This work draws attention with joint direction by Yoon Sung-ho, who has been praised for his stylish direction in WAVVE original "Way to the Blue House" as well as "Top Management" and the film "Galaxy Liberation Front", and Han In-mi, who led sensational attention with the drama "Daese is yakhap" and the film "Everyone's Lover". In particular, the production team behind the ironically realistic satire "Way to the Blue House", which opened a new horizon for Korean black comedy, has reunited, attracting interest. In addition, the creative group "Songpyeon", which includes lively new writers such as Song Hyun-ju of the drama Way Back Love and Kim Hong-gi of the drama "Seoul homeowner and the story of Manager Kim who works at a large company", contributed to the screenplay, raising expectations.
Yoon Sung-ho, who leads the creative group Songpyeon and serves as the main director, said of the work, "Absurd things happen. The computer engineering department and the modeling major are merged. Lately don't absurd things happen at schools? It is a farce that unfolds over a semester between Kang Min-hak and Joo Yeon-san who meet that way. There are many good campus rom-coms, but while we bring a typical logline, we dare to say you will see many scenes, situations and happenings you haven't seen in Korean youth dramas."
Co-director Han In-mi explained the differences in joint direction, saying, "Our two directors have very different styles. We divided the scenes according to what each of us does well. Director Yoon Sung-ho handled the black comedy parts, and I mainly did the girl's coming-of-age and love story, so I took charge of the two people's love line."
Director Yoon Sung-ho said, "We are not really a black comedy but a bright comedy about youth. As an aside, Song Hye-kyo appeared on Jung Jae-hyung's YouTube channel yesterday and said that after shooting 'Fresh Breeze Maternity Clinic' for three to four years and then filming 'Autumn in My Heart' she was flustered about whether she was acting appropriately. Because our comedy and melodrama are combined, people watch my directed scenes at 1.5x speed on OTTs these days, and our drama has lines delivered at an average of 1.5x the speed of a typical drama. There are many scenes where three to six people talk and move at the same time, and I did a lot of that. Director Han In-mi focused on two characters, handling kisses and holding hands. We have very large scenes in the mid-to-late episodes. They fought really entertainingly against the school's foundation corruption. I directed those like a macho."
Director Han In-mi described the distinguishing features of "The 4th love revolution" compared with typical rom-coms: "We include things that normally couldn't fit within rom-com boundaries. We portray a desolate campus on the outskirts of the metropolitan area, and we did not exclude from the depiction of our 20s campus the students who are sexual minorities, people with disabilities, faculty and staff. I think it will approach audiences who are different from previous rom-com viewers."
The youthful actors' performances also raise expectations. Kim Yo-han transforms into Kang Min-hak, a modeling major who became a 'hot' celebrity after appearing on a dating show and gaining a million followers, promising another acting transformation. Kang Min-hak, who makes everyone turn around even with a passing glance, has a charm that seems to pull people as if defying gravity. Contrary to his detailed handsome appearance, his mind is simple without detail, possessing surprising reversals. Kim Yo-han is expected to perfectly merge into the 'nation's male friend' Kang Min-hak character.
Hwang Beul-byeol immersed herself as Joo Yeon-san, the top student in computer engineering who is a former "children's quiz champion," heightening immersion. A true engineering student to the bone, Joo Yeon-san has rapid problem-solving processing speed but a fatal flaw: a single error prevents execution, so she avoids dating and wrestles with computers 24 hours a day as the nerdiest of nerds. Unintentionally entangled with Kang Min-hak, Joo Yeon-san gradually corrects the romance errors within her, and that character change is expected to generate excitement; Hwang Beul-byeol richly portrays Joo Yeon-san's mercurial aspects, further raising expectations.
Above all, the passionate performances of Kim Yo-han and Hwang Beul-byeol, who completed a chemistry that is more attractive because they are opposites in major and personality, make one anticipate the birth of a different campus romance. Kim Yo-han said, "I really like watching rom-coms. As the director said earlier, this is different from conventional romantic comedies. The instincts of youth are revealed as they are. It's a pure instinct. People in their early 20s, just turned twenty. Capturing that as it is should be fun."
He explained his reason for appearing, saying, "The script is so fun and the directors gave me confidence," and described the character: "Min-hak is a friend who became an influencer by appearing on a dating show. He's kind and warm, and equally pure-minded. He's that kind of person, and with somewhat limited knowledge he tries very hard to protect the environment, which leads to him being scolded a lot by Yeon-san. Although he behaves like he's in a flower garden, he sometimes shows reversals away from his friends' expectations, and that will likely showcase his charm."
Hwang Beul-byeol added, "From the outside, Yo-han seems very much like a princess. I think his portrayal was very cleverly twisted. And the character Yeon-san lives completely within her own logic and that world. But when she meets Min-hak she feels love and tries to interpret that emotion logically. That's actually impossible. Yeon-san's world also breaks down. I thought there are many cute moments that appear from that."
He continued, "The most important thing was my memorization. I worried I might focus so much on lines that I would miss the acting. So I worked the hardest to memorize perfectly so the lines would come out easily. Slapstick and emotional acting, compared with scenes that had massive amounts of lines, were so precious that I enjoyed them. I thought, 'There are few days like this.' It was so fun," he said with a laugh. Kim Yo-han chimed in, "No wonder she wasn't afraid to get goofy," prompting laughter.
Kim Yo-han and Hwang Beul-byeol previously appeared together in the drama "School 2021" which aired in 2021. On reuniting, Hwang Beul-byeol laughed, "It had been so long. I saw him as a late teen then and now in his early 20s, so he seemed very mature and it was great to see him." She added, "I was very curious who would play the character Kang Min-hak, and when I heard it was Yo-han I thought it fit perfectly. He's such an entertaining friend and I had high expectations that he could show his charm in that role."
He especially noted, "There were many things to be grateful for while filming. I was always struggling with lines and exhausted, but the staff and directors brought a refreshing effect. Filming was so funny it was hard. I'm supposed to scold and look disdainful, but I laughed the most, so it was hard."
The two are both born in 1999. Kim Yo-han said, "In 'School 2021' there weren't many scenes where I was close to Byeol. As I remember, Byeol had a chic feeling, maybe because of the role. At that time I was too scared to talk much. But when I heard Byeol was cast in 'The love revolution' I was already happy. During preparation our chemistry was better than expected. On set she laughed at my lines, and I was grateful. The set felt like my 'percul'—whenever we talked it burst into laughter. Going to the set I often thought about how to be funny. Compared to 'School 2021' Byeol is very bright now, laughs a lot, and isn't afraid to get goofy in acting, so our chemistry matched perfectly and we filmed wonderfully. We became very close. Back then she was a bit intimidating, but now we've become very close," he said with a laugh.
About their casting, director Yoon Sung-ho said, "This is a work I started writing five years ago. Just before COVID-19 hit I thought it would be good if the computer engineering and model majors were merged, and I thought only of a department name and an influencer model with a million followers. But it didn't write well. In 2022 when the script wasn't coming, I listed youthful actors and Kim Yo-han was among them. There were several, but I put Kim Yo-han in. I wondered if we could meet him, and WAVVE seemed uncertain, maybe on the way out, so I just thought about it. Then a newly joined production company suggested Kim Yo-han, and we were able to work together," he began.
On Hwang Beul-byeol he said, "I really met about 100 actresses. I can't reveal names, but some were leads in other dramas. But many gave performances that felt seen elsewhere for playing a 'nerd engineering student.' Then Hwang Beul-byeol sat down and in a scene where she opens a water bottle and says, 'Okay, Min-hak, let's hear you out,' others felt forced, but from the first line I thought, 'This is the one,' and I watched her audition while she controlled her expression."
Regarding their chemistry, director Han In-mi emphasized, "One is someone who craves laughter and the other has a very low threshold for laughter, so their rhythm was good. They have quite a few love scenes. Beul-byeol was very good at catching when she was nervous or preparing herself emotionally and was considerate and affectionate. I think the two were able to rely on each other, which made it possible. That may be because they met in 'School 2021', so unlike meeting for the first time with awkwardness, their chemistry was good from the start."
After taking on another youth work following the SBS drama "Try", Kim Yo-han said, "'Try' was a heavy and deep character. Min-hak is the complete opposite. You might think a person shouldn't be so light, but he's almost surprisingly so. You'll see a lot of his comedic side, so it's a truly differentiated character."
Asked what label he wanted to gain from this work, he said, "Everything would be fine, but our drama features algorithms a lot. More than a label, I hope clips of 'The love revolution' pop up in everyone's algorithm," drawing support.
He added about the sync rate with the character Kang Min-hak, "Being cheerful in daily life is a similarity. But unlike Min-hak, I have a serious side and I'm slightly smarter than Min-hak," joking, then added, "I didn't try to act like Min-hak; I tried to wear Min-hak's name tag on me," which drew laughter.
There were also unusual happenings during production. Director Yoon Sung-ho said, "I was writing the scenario hard when martial law was declared. We were filming quietly when an impeachment happened. During postproduction a presidential election took place and the president changed. So we plan to release it the day after tomorrow, and I don't know what will happen. Something might happen in the United States," he joked.
He added, "So strangely the forced merger might be seen as violence from the foundation's perspective. Addressing the lack of school-age population at regional campuses, migrants, issues of different gender identities, and the movement of people with disabilities on campus, some might ask if we shot a documentary, but after floundering we fight the foundation in a very entertaining way. You haven't seen an ending like this. It's not didactic or trying to teach something. I think the atmosphere during filming is reflected in that."
Above all, director Yoon Sung-ho confidently called it "a drama with a different method of expression," saying, "We tried not to make it four-dimensional or absurd in a tasteless way; to make an absurd story enjoyable it must be filmed as if it makes sense. Playful stories were filmed more earnestly, and serious scenes a bit more lightheartedly. Yo-han and Byeol modestly said there is a lot of growth behind them, and that could be a great encouragement to our society's youth, who have exams coming up the day after tomorrow. There's a scene where a great elite asks Joo Yeon-san, 'Can you break Min-hak a bit?' and she replies, 'Yes, I'll break him. Min-hak breaks my thinking, breaks my world, he thinks things I could never think.' I hope this becomes that kind of drama for you," he said, adding emotion.
"The 4th love revolution" will be released with episodes 1–4 at 11 a.m. Thursday the 13th on WAVVE. Afterwards, four episodes will be released every Thursday at the same time. In addition, it is scheduled to be simultaneously released in 96 overseas countries, including Japan, Hong Kong, China and Russia, through major OTT platforms.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Lee Dae-seon.
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