Girl group T-ara member and actress Ham Eun-jung and actor Yoon Seon-woo became lovers in their first projects after marriage, the daily drama "The first man." With ratings at 10%, they expressed confidence, saying they would even go on the first overseas reward vacation for a daily drama.
MBC held a press conference for the new daily drama "The first man" (writer Seo Hyun-joo, director Kang Tae-heum) at its Sangam-dong building in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 10th. The event was attended by the lead actors Ham Eun-jung, Yoon Seon-woo, Oh Hyun-kyung, Park Geon-il, Kim Min-seol, Jung Chan, Lee Jae-hwang and PD Kang Tae-heum, who directed the drama, and under the moderation of announcer Seo In they talked about "The first man".
"The first man" is a drama that depicts a deadly confrontation between a woman who lives another person's life for revenge and a woman who took another person's life for her own desire. Writer Seo Hyun-joo, who was loved for "Shining romance" and "The best lover," presents another installment in her number series following "The second husband" and "The third marriage."
This work draws attention as former girl group T-ara member and actress Ham Eun-jung takes on dual roles for the first time since her debut. In this project Ham Eun-jung will portray twin sisters with completely different styles: an elder sister with maximal life skills and a younger sister living as a chaebol silver spoon. She has promised a wider acting spectrum than ever, heightening expectations.
Moreover, Ham Eun-jung drew strong attention recently by marrying film director Kim Byung-woo. Director Kim Byung-woo, following "The Terror Live," "PMC: The Bunker," and "Omniscient Reader: The Prophet," will present his new film "Great Flood," which will be released on Netflix on the 19th. The couple's active careers after marriage are attracting attention.
In addition, Oh Hyun-kyung plays Chae Hwa-young, who hides chilling desire behind elegant beauty and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Her dangerous ambition is expected to create tension in the drama and anchor the story.
Yoon Seon-woo plays Kang Baek-ho, a handsome lawyer with a happy-virus personality. He recently married actress Kim Ga-eun after a 10-year relationship. Opening the second chapter of his life, viewers are curious what changes he will show as the male lead in a serial drama.
Park Geon-il, formerly of idol group Choshinseong, plays Kang Jun-ho, a cold perfectionist who used to be a Michelin three-star chef. He is expected to show a changing charisma as he meets the only woman he loves, Oh Jang-mi.
Also, Kim Min-seol debuts as a lead playing Jin Hong-joo, the woman who loves Kang Baek-ho. Actor Jung Chan plays Kang Nam-bong, an industrial design professor and the caring father of the brothers Kang Jun-ho (played by Park Geon-il) and Kang Baek-ho (played by Yoon Seon-woo). Lee Jae-hwang, who plays Chae Hwa-young's secretary chief Lee Kang-hyeok, returns to drama after five years.
Director Kang Tae-heum said about the work, "A woman filled with desire destroys another woman's world to seize that desire. The woman whose world has been destroyed decides to live a completely different life and moves forward to take revenge. The message is that the title 'The first man' can also be 'first love.' I wanted to convey a message that with that love one can overcome crisis and hardship. I feel fortunate to reunite with the writer after 'The second husband' and 'The third marriage,' and having served as assistant director on previous works, this is my first time as the main director," he said.
Moreover, Ham Eun-jung drew strong attention recently by marrying film director Kim Byung-woo. Director Kim Byung-woo, following "The Terror Live," "PMC: The Bunker," and "Omniscient Reader: The Prophet," will present his new film "Great Flood," which will be released on Netflix on the 19th. The couple's active careers after marriage are attracting attention.
Ham Eun-jung said, "From the reading the chemistry with actor Yoon Seon-woo was very good. When I'm acting I could focus solely on it to the extent that the keyword of marriage wasn't in my head." She added with a laugh, "Coincidentally both of us had celebrations before this project, so I think the ratings and audience will remember this work. Coincidentally, thanks to that I'm actually more focused."
She also said, "Playing two roles for the first time was a big burden. I felt pressure about how to portray them differently. With the help of the writer and director during readings I was able to shape them," and emphasized, "Thanks to that, filming started smoothly. Visually I tried to show a lot of differences and aimed to act the emotional motives themselves differently."
Ham Eun-jung laughed, saying of director Kim Byung-woo's advice, "We don't usually talk about work matters with each other. Still, because I'm doing consecutive daily dramas, he worried about my stamina. We decided to take herbal medicine together."
Her co-star Yoon Seon-woo also recently married his fellow actor and partner Kim Ga-eun after a 10-year relationship, skipping any dating rumor announcements, which caused a big stir. Coincidentally, his co-star Ham Eun-jung also made headlines by marrying film director Kim Byung-woo. Yoon Seon-woo laughed, "We both got married. To be honest, I didn't really expect to get married. But we are trying to use this as a good opportunity to create positive synergy. On set we are showing good 'K-merry' with love."
He expressed gratitude about his wife Kim Ga-eun's support, saying, "We actually don't talk about work on set. We each prepare well on our own. But because this is a daily drama with long filming hours and many times away from home, she tries to support me a lot at home."
He added, "Although the character who has been single since birth differs from me, I have clumsy aspects, so I brought out some bungling and awkwardness. He is single by nature but has a cute side and, though imperfect, is someone who can express love sincerely. I tried to portray those things."
Park Geon-il, formerly of idol group Choshinseong, plays Kang Jun-ho, a cold perfectionist who used to be a Michelin three-star chef. He is expected to show a changing charisma as he meets the only woman he loves, Oh Jang-mi.
Recently Anh Sung-jae, a Michelin three-star chef in Korea, has been gaining great popularity. Was there anything Park Geon-il referenced in portraying him?
Park Geon-il revealed with a laugh, "When we first filmed the kitchen scene the director's first question was, 'Have you been to a three-star?' So I told him I hadn't been."
He said, "These days a lot of information about cooking and basics chefs should have is available through Netflix shows like the 'Culinary Class Wars' series and other broadcasts. I referenced those a lot," and added, "The most important thing was the mindset toward cooking — with what heart I make the food — so I tried to emulate the inner attitude."
Lee Jae-hwang, who appears in a drama after five years, said, "I didn't realize it had been five years. Time passed faster than I thought. I traveled and studied abroad in language programs. I also opened a store. In the meantime this opportunity came up. Until now I'd mostly played good men, roles who are devoted to one woman, and this time I ended up taking on a villain. Sometimes I unconsciously default to being nice, so when I play a villain a kind side comes out. Whenever that happened the director would restrain me."
After reuniting following "Lucky us," Oh Hyun-kyung and Ham Eun-jung said they were happy to meet again. Oh Hyun-kyung said, "I'm very happy. In the previous work we were mother and daughter and our relationship wasn't good. There we were completely opposite characters. When choosing this work the first decision maker was Ham Eun-jung. I checked by phone, 'Eun-jung is doing it?' I wanted to do it again if Eun-jung did it. I was curious how we would portray completely different characters together. So I did it, and as expected she was so lovable. As a person she's so good that she seemed very lovable and admirable earlier. On screen I will definitely show that she is not like that," she said with a laugh.
Kim Min-seol, who gained recognition on Netflix's "Single's Inferno 4," said of her first leading role debut, "If there's something in common, it's that I did my best every moment. As in 'Single's Inferno,' in 'The first man' I give my best during every take while matching the rhythm with the seniors. I'm learning a lot through the seniors' acting, so I think that's the similarity between the two programs."
Ham Eun-jung, who has recently received praise for daily dramas, revealed she tried to create visual differences for the dual roles to help immersion. She showed humility, saying, "It's a bit embarrassing, but I did my best with what was given, and thankfully people have liked and loved it. I was lucky. I was always fortunate to be given different characters and different-feeling dramas. Even when doing them consecutively, I thought about how to make them look different."
She added humor about reuniting with Park Geon-il, whom she met during T-ara activities: "I've known oppa for over 10 years, and he's very different. I wondered if the Park Geon-il I know was the same person because he was so cold and calm on set, so I thought it would come out really interesting. I heard that too. Oh Jang-mi's romance is with Yoon Seon-woo, and Ma Seon-hee's is with Park Geon-il. I think that's an advantage of playing two roles," she quipped, adding laughter.
Director Kang Tae-heum said the project's differentiating point is, "There hasn't been a daily drama that handled one actor playing two roles, so that alone will be a distinguishing feature. Visually, as you can see our actors, they are excellent. We cast to make them look visually different and good. We paid attention to filming, set design and the overall tone to make the quality higher than typical daily dramas so viewers can be more immersed," he asserted.
Ham Eun-jung said with bright eyes, "I'm confident. The script is really fun. Even when reading the script with the actors, we kept saying our work is really fun, so I think it will do well. I'm confident."
Finally, the actors showed such high expectations for "The first man" that they set a 10% rating as the milestone. Ham Eun-jung said, "This is my first project after marriage, so my first man feels like it will be actor Yoon Seon-woo. The same goes for actor Park Geon-il. The first milestone for the work is that 'The first man' becomes a work that can bring the full range of emotions; that is the most hoped-for milestone," and Yoon Seon-woo added, "If the ratings exceed 10%, it would be a great celebration. Then the Director General promised to send us overseas. It would be the first for a daily drama. We will really work hard and try to exceed 10%."
Park Geon-il also said, "Since it's year-end, I'm convinced this will be MBC's best drama to open 2026. Like the senior said, I'm sure the ratings will definitely exceed 10%. It will be a big celebration," and Jung Chan emphasized, "I haven't met anyone in this cast except Lee Jae-hwang. This is Oh Hyun-kyung's first time in this work but fortunately I found out she's unexpectedly humorous and playful, so I'm glad. I'm glad I'm doing this work. The next half year or longer will be enjoyable. As many juniors hope, I think good ratings will come."
Finally, director Kang Tae-heum said with a smile, "I also enjoy this set very much. I feel personally very fortunate to meet such good actors. This is also my first major debut, so I hope people enjoy it. I think it's a drama that wraps up the day and gives popping dopamine moments but isn't overly sensational and has depth, so you can look forward to it. I hope it exceeds 10%."
"The first man" is scheduled to premiere on Monday the 15th at 7:05 p.m. as the successor to the currently airing "The Woman Who Swallowed the Sun."<
[photo] OSEN reporter Min Kyung-hoon.
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