Chemistry-driven "Heroes Next Door" visits viewers.
On the 17th at the Pullman Ambassador Seoul Eastpol in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Coupang Play X Genie TV original series Heroes Next Door held a production press conference. The event was attended by Yoon Kye-sang, Jin Sun-kyu, Kim Ji-hyun, Ko Kyu-pil, Lee Jeong-ha and director Jo Woong.
Coupang Play·Genie TV original series "Heroes Next Door" (written by Ban Gi-ri and Kim Sang-yoon, directed by Jo Woong) is a cheerful and thrilling story about a reserve special forces team that banded together not to defend the country, nor out of any interest in world peace, but solely for their families and their neighborhood.
First, Yoon Kye-sang plays Choi Kang, an ordinary insurance investigator who is a former special operations unit member but is known as "the guy who didn't go to the military." Jin Sun-kyu appears as Gwak Byeong-nam, a former counterterrorism unit member who now runs a hardware store and stationery shop and is the president of the Changri-dong youth association. Also appearing are Kim Ji-hyun as Jeong Nam-yeon, owner of "Mammoth Mart," Ko Kyu-pil as Lee Yong-hee, head of the "special forces martial arts Yongmu dojang," and Lee Jeong-ha as Park Jeong-hwan, an elite engineering student. Each, having blended into the neighborhood in their own ways, pull out past charisma at moments of crisis and are reborn as a "special forces team that protects our neighborhood."
Director Jo Woong said, "There are no items that special forces possess; action uses everyday objects and includes humor," and added, "In reality, unpredictable incidents happen. The question is whether people will find them relatable. In the way they are resolved, the characters don't solve things grandly because the incident is big; it's solved in a small-citizen way. Therefore the incidents won't feel alien, and I tried to direct it that way."
He also spoke about the chemistry among the actors. Director Jo said, "The set was really enjoyable. Rather than picking a single scene, the more the characters interacted, the more fun it became. It was fun to watch on set, and it was so enjoyable while editing that I'm confident the chemistry will come out much better and be more entertaining as the episodes progress," and added, "Character pairing was very important for this drama. As incidents occur, it's not just following the incident; you also have to give character clashes and amusement. Including these five and the villains, I think we had the best mix I imagined, and I'm grateful to have filmed it."
He continued, "Kye-sang senior has a coldness beneath warm laughter, so I thought it would suit the character. Sun-kyu senior briefly helped me before. His humor code was so good then. Ji-hyun did a short project before. She has a strong cold and urbane vibe and excels in that area; watching her performances I thought her comedic timing would be great. I knew Ko Kyu-pil personally and knew many of his strengths. Jeong-ha I enjoyed watching in 'Moving'; the innocence there made me think it would make this character lovable," he said.
He also shared behind-the-scenes stories of reuniting with the Jang Chen and Wi Sung-lac of The Outlaws, as well as meeting Ko Kyu-pil, who left an impression as Chorong in The Roundup: No Way Out. Director Jo said he offered the two roles at the same time and explained, "I knew the two were already close and that their chemistry was good. So I couldn't ignore The Outlaws' chemistry. That's why I offered them simultaneously. Ko Kyu-pil is working on a project for the first time, but we had known each other for a long time. We used to play games together. I'm actually friends with Kyu-pil. I felt there was charm in him as an actor, and I thought the combination would be fun."
Yoon Kye-sang said of his reason for choosing the project, "I wanted to try action before I got too old. Since Choi Kang often displays that side, the opportunity came. It's also a dual-sided character. There's the everyday persona and then the true self that comes out in crisis, which felt appealing," he said. Asked about particularly impressive action, he laughed, "It's in episode 2. Doing that made me think, 'I still have opportunities for action at my age.'"
He also recounted the story of reuniting with Jin Sun-kyu eight years after The Outlaws. Yoon Kye-sang said, "As soon as I received the offer, I texted, 'Hyung, are you doing it?' 'What will you do?' 'What will you do, hyung?' 'If you do it, I'll do it,' 'If you do it, I'll do it,'" and added, "Back then (in The Outlaws) he was bald, then not. Although Sun-kyu hyung and I get along well, it's the first time we're showing that side acting-wise. It's a bright, positive comedy. Rather than worry, I thought, 'Finally, in this project I can show this back-and-forth.'"
Jin Sun-kyu said about his character, "I wanted to show more of a 'Tetonam' vibe than the always-kind feeling I usually have. To do that I even attached a beard and drew it on, and changed the hairstyle. He's the kind of person who seems like he could be somewhere in the neighborhood. I wanted to make him feel like someone who would make the neighborhood feel safer if he were around." He added, "While filming this, I realized our neighborhood also has volunteer patrol members. Those people were always patrolling when we didn't see them, and that made me feel we could move around more safely. It also made me think I should do better at recycling."
Jin Sun-kyu also reflected on reuniting with Yoon Kye-sang. Jin said, "(We feel) like fate. Like so-tteok so-tteok (a paired snack) feeling," and recalled, "We didn't worry alone but did it together, and like with The Outlaws, when each person was cast we met for readings and discussions and rehearsed a month and a half in advance. We built that time exactly like with The Outlaws. So on set it flowed so well you would ask, 'How did it come together so well?'" He joked, "And back then I was under Jang Chen, and now as president of the youth association, we're on equal footing."
Kim Ji-hyun described her character, "At the mart she's a friendly owner. Warm to the neighborhood kids, very involved as the head of the women's association, and she tries hard to keep the household in order. So the gap between when she's at the mart and when neighborhood issues arise naturally appears. When incidents happen, Nam-yeon shows a solid, charismatic presence as a former special mission unit instructor. You only see her smiling at the mart. She doesn't smile at her husband."
She added, "What the director told me about the character was, 'I hope Nam-yeon is pretty.' At first, when I read the script, I wondered if I could do it; it was an intense character. Commonly thought of as strong and tough. But the director said, 'Don't worry about that; rather, it would be good if the opposite aspects appear.'"
Kim Ji-hyun and Jin Sun-kyu's 25-year friendship chemistry was also noted. Jin Sun-kyu said, "I did theater for 20 years, and if you include school, it's been 25 years," and Kim Ji-hyun said, "Having endured so long, we meet in a drama. We've watched each other for so long and are very close. This is our first time doing a project together. Knowing how rare it is to meet like this, it's great, but it's also awkward to act together on set. It was so comfortable. In the dressing room we both looked in the mirror and thought, 'We've grown a lot,' 'We've improved a lot.' Acting like this feels special."
When asked to sum up the chemistry with Kim Ji-hyun in one phrase, Jin Sun-kyu joked, "The mango bingsu sold at the Shilla Hotel. It feels like, 'Finally I'm eating this.' Together we became a very expensive food," and added, "In the dressing room we looked in the mirror and said, 'Twenty years ago we put on makeup like this and wore pretty clothes. How did we know we'd promote a drama in front of so many people? We're successful,' and took photos," drawing laughter.
Ko Kyu-pil said about his character, "When I was young doing taekwondo, I remember fun masters, so I tried to film it playfully with the kids like friends. But dealing with the kids was harder than I thought," he joked. He added, "I liked the people involved so much that I was excited to approach the drama for the first time. I had good memories from past projects and wanted to do one more, so filming with them made the set fun," and said, "Because the chemistry is so good, everyone has so many ideas. Filming one hour would take a long time because the meetings ran long. So at some point I became the leader and said, 'Let's stop and shoot,' to wrap things up," conveying the warm atmosphere on set.
He also spoke about working with seniors from The Outlaws series, Yoon Kye-sang and Jin Sun-kyu. Ko Kyu-pil recalled, "The seniors made The Outlaws well, and I also appeared in part 3 and received a lot of love. Actually, leaving The Outlaws aside, Sun-kyu hyung first did the work 'Counter' and I was surprised then. He acts so well and supported my acting so well that I thought, 'There are such good people in the world,' and wanted to work with him again. I'm very happy and grateful for the opportunity to do so."
He added, "Kye-sang hyung starred in 'Crazy for Love,' a drama from nearly 20 years ago. I was in my 20s then and felt I couldn't be of much help because I was lacking. Still, I always wanted to help him and become an actor who had good chemistry with him if we did something again," creating a warm moment.
Lee Jeong-ha described his character as "quick-witted and a reliable ally in the drama," and said, "It's the best elite role I've played so far. During actual filming I solved problems with a child actor and found I solved them better than I expected. I thought, 'Don't I have a real talent?' but they said it was a middle school problem. Still, it was a good feeling." He added, "Although he's the brain, the part I focused on most was that Jeong-hwan didn't have social ties with the existing neighborhood people. To avoid being an outsider after joining them, I worked to make him not feel out of place. I graduated school quite a while ago and didn't know some terms, so I worked hard on the problems."
Asked about working with the seniors, Lee Jeong-ha said, "It felt like so-tteok so-tteok. The set was so warm that I looked forward to going there," drawing laughter. Asked who was the leader on set, he said, "It was senior Kim Ji-hyun. On set and in the work, one word from Ji-hyun senior would overwhelm us. She has leadership."
Finally, Yoon Kye-sang pleaded, "I hope the ratings are good. But I really don't know. I also filmed 'Ms. Incognito' with the ENA 'Ms. Incognito' director and 'The Kidnapping Day.' Watching the first episode and checking ratings the next day felt so good. I hope we get that level. Please, more than that. Please help a lot," and added, "I'm waiting for the first broadcast with a nervous heart. I hope it goes well. We've been too busy filming promotions to do much. Please watch it."
Meanwhile, "Heroes Next Door" can be seen today (the 17th) at 10 p.m. on Coupang Play and Genie TV.<
[Photo] OSEN DB
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