(Continuing from interview ①) Actress Oh Se-young, who gave a standout performance in The Judge Returns, cited the "sinkhole disaster" incident as the episode she was most immersed in.
MBC's Friday-Saturday drama The Judge Returns concluded with episode 14 (final episode), which aired on the 14th. The Judge Returns is a work adapted into a drama from a popular web novel of the same name, about a corrupt judge who lived as a slave to a giant law firm and then returned 10 years earlier, and through new choices becomes a drama of returning to achieve justice by punishing great evil.
Among the cast, Oh Se-young played Yoo Se-hee, the wife of Lee Han-young. Ahead of the show's conclusion, I recently met Oh Se-young in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo District, Seoul to talk about The Judge Returns.
Yoo Se-hee was a supporting character who showed the biggest change in Lee Han-young before and after his return. Especially after the return, whenever Lee Han-young and Se-hee appeared together it was not an exaggeration to call it a romantic comedy. Oh Se-young said, "In fact, the director told us to think of Han-young and Se-hee as a rom-com. I thought the show itself contained many genres. There are comedic elements and it was mainly a revenge drama, but they clearly told us that Han-young and I are a 'rom-com,' so I could act more comfortably."
However, she said, "There were worries. I was worried that if I stood out too much in this show, I might break the atmosphere; that might be the intended direction, but you cannot predict audience reactions, so I wondered how it would go. Fortunately, people viewed it kindly and beautifully, so I was relieved," she laughed.
She added, "So I tried harder to center Se-hee when preparing the character. I thought about what she lacked or wanted and what her goals were. This character is clumsy both before and after the return, but I thought the ways she is clumsy are different. Before the return, there was clumsiness that came from pride and trying to hide true feelings, while her love for Han-young remained. After the return, from a transparent and pure heart, her attraction to Han-young and wanting to hide it are all revealed, and those aspects were expressed very differently. I thought she was someone who yearns more for a meaningful love. She realized a lot about Han-young. So she seems to be a character who changed more," she explained.
She also said, "The return in The Judge Returns was different. In my previous work Lovely Runner, the return itself as a time-loop was familiar. In this show, not only did Han-young have his own direction, but surrounding characters also changed together and were greatly influenced, leading to many new developments, so I wondered whether the justice they talk about is truly the right answer. It seemed to contain not just one character's journey but a lot of messages. Sometimes it was satisfying, and sometimes it made me think a lot," she confessed.
Which incident did Oh Se-young immerse herself in the most? She said, "Many events were inspired by recent real cases. Among them, the sinkhole incident was a recent accident that had actually occurred when I was filming. At the time, I felt very sorrowful and was in a state of deep mourning. I was surprised that it would be addressed in our drama. Watching the aired drama, the CGI felt more realistic and that increased immersion, and the psychology of the bereaved families came through strongly," she said.
(Continued from interview ③)
[Photo] Billions, provided by MBC.
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