Actress Nam Ji-hyun returns to the small screen with a "period romantic comedy."
The KBS2 weekend miniseries To My Beloved Thief, which premiered on the 3rd (writer Lee Seon, director Ham Young-gul, produced by Studio Dragon), is a dangerous and great romance about a woman who somehow became the greatest thief in the land and the Joseon general who pursued her — two men and women whose souls swap, save each other and ultimately protect the people. Nam Ji-hyun plays Hong Eun-jo, who by day is a medical female attendant caring for the sick and by night lives as a thief named Gil-dong.
The combination of actress Nam Ji-hyun with a period drama and romantic comedy is a proven one. Through the drama 100 Days My Prince, which recorded the highest viewership in tvN's Monday-Tuesday drama history at the time of its broadcast and captured both ratings and buzz, she showed she can handle the weight of a period drama and the light rhythm of a romantic comedy. This strength has been effectively demonstrated in this work as well. Nam Ji-hyun anchors the genre with a calm vocal tone, stable diction and an elegant visual that perfectly wears hanbok. At the same time, she injects lively energy by rhythmically portraying the comic and heart-fluttering back-and-forth that begins when she mistakes Prince Dowol Lee Yeol (Moon Sang Min) for a slave.
Her clear, spirited character combined with Nam Ji-hyun's charm keeps drawing the eye. Facing an unwanted wedding, she boldly delivers a surprise kiss in her flustered state but instead becomes embarrassed and runs away; later, when she meets the person who had been desperately searching for her, she conveys the character's anxious, fidgety side with her unique lovability, coloring viewers beyond the screen with excitement. By day, her warm gaze and bright smile toward the sick make viewers smile, while at night she prowls with a sharp look that reveals a resolute core, creating tension and vividly portraying the character's double life. As she previously said, "I wanted Hong Eun-jo to appear as a three-dimensional character in various situations," the three-dimensional character Nam Ji-hyun fleshed out has amplified the drama's entertainment value.
Returning to a youthful romantic period drama after a long time, Nam Ji-hyun clearly showcased her strengths from the first episode, meeting viewers' expectations. At the end of episode two, a single passionate line that tickles the heart in the scene where the two people who had been searching for each other unexpectedly reunite brought sweet excitement to both Eun-jo and viewers, raising anticipation for the romance that will blossom between the two.
Meanwhile, To My Beloved Thief airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:20 p.m. on KBS2.
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