Recipe For Love announced the revival of the traditional KBS weekend drama.
On the 28th, at The Saint in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, a production press conference was held for the new KBS2 weekend drama Recipe For Love (written by Park Ji-sook, directed by Han Jun-seo, produced by HB Entertainment). In attendance were director Han Jun-seo and actors Jin Se Yun, So E-hyun, Kim Seung-soo, Yoo Ho-jung, Kim Hyung-mook, and Park Ki Woong.
Recipe For Love is a family makeover drama about two families who had been entangled in bad blood for 30 years, who resolve misunderstandings, heal each other's wounds and ultimately are reborn as one family. Director Han Jun-seo, who showed a sensuous directing style in The Real Has Come! and Love Is Beautiful, Life Is Wonderful, and writer Park Ji-sook, who proved solid writing in The Tale of Lady Ok, Uncle and My Spring Days, joined forces, raising expectations.
Director Han Jun-seo said, "Three times? It's a weekend drama, and this project came about through my connection with the writer. She wanted to do a KBS weekend drama, and the timing and scheduling worked out. I started confidently because I thought the writer would write the traditional KBS weekend drama feel well."
Han said, "KBS weekend dramas have traditionally espoused family dramas, but as times changed there were narratives that felt like extended miniseries. With the writer, I wanted to do a traditional KBS drama, a drama where the whole family is the protagonist. When you remember a drama fondly, you think of everyone, not a particular actor. Not only the lead actors but everyone has their own story, so we can deliver laughter and emotion. I very much want to make it like the dramas people still remember a lot, and I hope it remains a comforting drama that encompasses everyone from young people to middle-aged viewers."
Director Han Jun-seo said about casting, "When creating the characters with the writer, we matched 99% on who we hoped would take each role. The casting results exceeded expectations. I learned that Jin Se Yun and So E-hyun did Bridal Mask 14 years ago, and I didn't expect them to be paired like this, and I only found out this time that Yoo Ho-jung and Kim Seung-soo are working together as a couple for the third time. Kim Hyung-mook and Park Ki Woong seem to have worked together for more than 10 years. The team atmosphere is so good that I expect even greater synergy."
Jin Se Yun plays Gong Joo-a, a former medical student who is now a clothing designer at Taehan Group, in Recipe For Love. Joo-a obtained a medical license under her mother's pressure but ultimately rejected it and jumped into a career as a clothing designer. Enduring all kinds of chores while learning the practical work, she joined Taehan Group through a special recruitment and rose rapidly to team head, but after an unexpected accident she was pushed to the brink of being fired and was then assigned under newly appointed general director Yang Hyun-bin. Through this role, Jin Se Yun is expected to build a bold and solid character of her own and bring enjoyment.
So E-hyun plays Yang Hyun-bin, general director of Taehan Group's fashion division, who has both fashion trend sense and managerial acumen. He is someone who cherishes first love: the daring, spirited girl Gong Joo-a who sheltered him in childhood. After returning to the country, Yang Hyun-bin accidentally runs into Joo-a and, seeing her again at the same company, becomes convinced it is fate and begins to close the distance in earnest. So E-hyun is expected to appeal to women's hearts with the pure devotion and romantic charm of an unrequited lover as well as the elite traits of a talented overseas-educated professional.
Especially, Jin Se Yun and So E-hyun reunited in one project for the first time in 14 years since the 2012 KBS2 Bridal Mask through Recipe For Love. Jin Se Yun said, "I was so glad to see him, and I have many warm memories of being grateful to So E-hyun back then. He helped me a lot and gave me many warm pieces of advice. Meeting again when I had more composure made me think, 'Back then he really cared for his junior.' He was the person who took the best care of me on set, so I was very happy. Back then and now he has always been a wonderful senior to me." So E-hyun said, "It's been 14 years since Bridal Mask, and one big difference is that Jin Se Yun was legally a minor at the time. Back then I was cautious even joking because she was so much younger, but now she's grown a lot, we joke a lot and rely on each other. I've become relaxed enough to accept all that. All the senior actors have worked together a lot, and we've kept in contact over the 14 years. We'll bring that chemistry to viewers' living rooms."
Kim Seung-soo plays Gong Jeong-han, the warm, unassuming and upright director of Gongmyeongjeongdae Clinic. He is a stubborn romantic who refuses to bend his convictions and insists on his own ways. Gong Jeong-han took over his grandfather's clinic on behalf of his father and provides free treatment to elderly patients who postpone care due to lack of money, but every time deficits pile up his fights with his wife Han Seong-mi deepen. It is intriguing to wonder what episodes Kim Seung-soo will present with Yoo Ho-jung, who plays his weekend wife.
Yoo Ho-jung plays Han Seong-mi, daughter-in-law of Gongmyeongjeongdae Clinic and a psychiatrist. Han Seong-mi is cheerful and bold yet cold and realistic, and she is the era's top family solution expert, full of self-love, self-esteem and social influence. She was worshiped as an icon of the perfect family and a love evangelist, but a crisis arises when her husband runs for the merchants' association presidency. Attention is on Yoo Ho-jung's performance as she portrays the two-faced Han Seong-mi with her own individuality.
Yoo Ho-jung laughed, "Lee Jae-ryong said it would be fine to film comfortably, so it doesn't matter much if Kim Seung-soo calls me by a pet name," then said, "After Rumor Has It, I personally spent time with my children and wanted to be fully a mother, so I stepped away from the entertainment industry for a while. When I came back ready to work, I felt I lacked confidence and thought I couldn't do it, but I liked this project. There were many relatable parts, and I felt I could convey warmth, so I chose it."
Kim Seung-soo and Yoo Ho-jung are working together for the third time in Recipe For Love after Kkakdugi and Do You Love Me? Especially, reuniting as a couple after Do You Love Me?, Yoo Ho-jung said, "Kim Seung-soo is the third husband. It has been 35 years since my debut, and he is the only one I've paired as a spouse three times. When I first heard Kim Seung-soo would be my husband, I thought I could be relieved. Using the term 'honey' from the start felt comfortable. I'm prepared to be scolded by Kim Seung-soo's fans as we work together." Kim Seung-soo said, "It's the first time someone I've been a spouse with three times is Yoo Ho-jung. Even in daily life I call her 'honey,' and I once drunkenly told my husband Lee Jae-ryong, 'If you've lived long, wouldn't you like to live with me too?' I was so happy Yoo Ho-jung was cast as the wife. I didn't have to worry much about the couple scenes."
Kim Hyung-mook plays Yang Dong-ik, an herbal doctor at Yangjibareun Korean medicine clinic. Yang Dong-ik is passionate about creating a popular, sophisticated Korean medicine clinic brand rather than traditional oriental medicine. His one clear goal is to be more successful than Gong Jeong-han. Yang Dong-ik meets Cha Se-ri, who willingly accepts his inferiority complex and lack of affection, and he finds hope, but even this shakes and he becomes entangled in confusion and betrayal. Attention is focused on Kim Hyung-mook's acting as he embodies the character Yang Dong-ik, who has many stories and life ups and downs.
Appearing in Undercover Miss Hong as well with overlapping air times between the two dramas, Kim Hyung-mook said, "Undercover Miss Hong was preproduced and finished filming last year. Since the time slots are completely different, you can order chicken and beer on Saturday and Sunday nights and spend your weekend nights with me," and added, "My focus for this project was to look as handsome on camera as in real life. We're aiming for a 30% rating, and I'll lose 1 kilogram for every 1% it rises. Kim Seung-soo and I are fierce in the drama but very close in real life. I'm approaching filming with the mindset that I'll be the one to receive the prescription of love first."
Park Ki Woong plays Cha Se-ri, Yang Dong-ik's second wife. Living in poverty was Cha Se-ri's daily life, and she always yearned for a 'different life,' and after successfully marrying the herbal doctor who had lost his wife, she finally entered the world of the 'haves.' Though the queen of domestic support, she regards Han Seong-mi as a rival and wages a psychological war when she learns her husband once liked Han Seong-mi. Cha Se-ri's perfectly built world becomes precariously shaken as secrets are revealed, injecting the drama with taut tension.
Park Ki Woong said, "Both Yang Dong-ik and Kim Hyung-mook are not easy. They are energetic and pleasant, and they were already trained. They resemble people at home, and both are hard to rank; both are difficult. That makes Cha Se-ri more interesting because she scolds and soothes such a husband and makes him grow," and added, "She has no filtering, is faithful to her emotions and believes what she sees, so she is pure and pretty. When you watch the drama, you won't be able to hate Cha Se-ri completely."
KBS2's new weekend drama Recipe For Love premieres at 8 p.m. on the 31st.
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