Actor Kim Young-dae recounted what he observed regarding dating rumors about Kim Yoo-jung and Kim Do-hoon.
On the 25th, Kim Young-dae conducted an interview at a cafe in Sogyeok-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, for the TVING original Dear X (written by Choi Ja-won and Ban Ji-woon, directed by Lee Eung-bok and Park So-hyun).
Dear X depicts the story of a woman who wears a mask to escape hell and climb to the highest place, and the Xs who were brutally trampled by her. It is a tragic and beautiful melodrama about the woman's downfall, who hides a cruel true nature behind a beautiful face, and the man's desperate and beautiful ruin who chose hell to protect her.
Kim Young-dae played Yoon Jun-seo, a man who believes salvation is love, and delivered a more deeply layered romantic performance. He portrayed Yoon Jun-seo, who would walk through any swamp for Baek Ah-jin (Kim Yoo-jung) but begins to see everything he had protected shaken in the face of love, convincingly drawing a character with a complex inner life and showing a deepened acting ability beyond the cold, chic image he had shown until now.
With Kim Young-dae's performance, Dear X ranked high on overseas OTT platforms such as HBO Max in 17 Asian countries, and it ranked first in places including Southeast Asia. Through Dear X, Kim Young-dae solidified his position as a leading actor capable of deeply handling complex inner acting and romantic narratives.
Before the project began, Kim Young-dae revealed he was a true fan of Kim Yoo-jung and publicly showed his fandom. Kim Young-dae said, "Not only did I like Yoon Jun-seo, but I also thought being able to work with actor Kim Yoo-jung would be a good experience. The character Baek Ah-jin is also charming, so Yoon Jun-seo can play a kind of helper role, and I thought Yoon Jun-seo's character diversity could reach viewers in a different way than before, so I took on the role."
He continued, "I was already a huge fan and had followed her works. When we first met, I greeted her as a fan, so although she is younger than me, she didn't feel like a younger sister at all. The first meeting felt like meeting a senior, but Kim Yoo-jung eased parts that I might have found difficult, talked and worked through them, so when I approached the set I could act more comfortably as a partner rather than as someone junior to a senior."
What was it like to watch Kim Yoo-jung's acting up close? Kim Young-dae said, "It was scary. The first impression I had was that it was scary, and as a colleague I felt pity. I often thought they might be exhausted, and watching with that understanding made me think a lot about what role I should play to support and act. There were many difficult scenes, but seeing her give her best to portray those scenes, I respected her. There were parts I wanted to emulate."
The chemistry they built by meeting and getting close before the project began showed through in Dear X, and that chemistry led to dating rumors. It was especially surprising because the rumors were about Kim Yoo-jung and Kim Do-hoon, not Kim Young-dae. Regarding the dating rumors about Kim Yoo-jung and Kim Do-hoon, Kim Young-dae said, "I had no idea. The three of us were very close. We really wanted to travel abroad, but because of upcoming military enlistment we couldn't go overseas, so those who could went abroad. Feeling regretful, we asked each other to send lots of photos and I saw them through our group chat; seeing the photos taken, I understood because Kim Do-hoon was gentle and carried luggage, so such photos were taken. The three of us laughed."
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