Actor Kong Hyojin brings a fresh wind to the revenge drama as A Bona fide Killer.
On the 30th afternoon at MBC headquarters in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, an MBC press conference was held for the new Friday-Saturday drama 'A Bona fide Killer'. Actors Kong Hyojin, Jung Jun-won, Lee Sang Yi, Moo Jin-seong, Choi Woo-Sung, Lee Eunsaem and director Yoon Jong-ho attended the press conference and spoke.
Based on a webtoon of the same name, 'A Bona fide Killer' is a drama that depicts the desperate work–life balance struggle of a working mom who has the most brutal job in the world. Director Yoon Jong-ho, who received much love for the previous tvN drama Lovely Runner, said, "I am very nervous, and since my previous work was loved, while this is a different genre, I tried to focus more on expressing all the characters' emotions that the actors could portray. The tone is quite different, but I hope you enjoy it" as his thoughts.
He went on to explain the differences between other killer stories and A Bona fide Killer: "The charm point of this drama is that the sniper is a woman. We focused a lot on the premise of a sniper who executes criminals. In most crime thrillers, men are the primary agents, but our drama focuses on Bona, a working mom who is a female sniper, and how she can both parent and work as a killer, living a life that is both special and ordinary. We focused more on their relationships."
Kong Hyojin plays Yubona, the director-general of sales team 3 at Durumi Electronics and a legendary sniper known as Kingfisher. Returning to MBC about 15 years after Best Love, Kong Hyojin said, "I was surprised by the number 15 years. I thought something had happened in between, but it didn't. I can't believe it. Time flew by so quickly. I briefly rewatched Best Love for nostalgia and I was really cute back then. That drama was truly loved. The dramas I did with MBC were monumentally loved and many of them allowed my characters to develop. At one time I was MBC's daughter, and now I've returned as a daughter-in-law," she joked.
She said, "Webtoon fans may imagine things, but we tried to make a living, moving Yubona that matched as much as possible what I felt from the webtoon—probably the Yubona that webtoon fans imagined. While reading the webtoon, I considered Yubona's expressions and lines, and thought her mysterious charm—her ability to control emotions and conceal her inner self—could be a charm point, so I imagined various things while creating her. She is a housewife raising a daughter, a mother, a man's wife, a daughter-in-law of a household, but how she ended up doing these things and parts of her past that remain unknown will be slowly revealed as the drama progresses. Because the webtoon received so much love, I thought the biggest task was to make it better than imagination and not betray fans' expectations, so I talked a lot with the production team and the director," introducing the character.
Having been active as a romantic-comedy queen and now challenging herself as a killer, Kong Hyojin said, "As a taciturn killer, I had far fewer lines than in previous works. I remember feeling less stressed during filming. The role of a killer was much more difficult than I imagined. Also, when I go home, my daughter is waiting and I have a loving husband, so naturally moving between those dual gaps was harder than I imagined. There are dramas about imagined killers, but the big charm of this drama is its ordinariness. Within everyday stories of a daughter-in-law or a man's wife, the sudden appearance of a working mom who goes out to work hard creates an attractively good balance," she said.
Especially, when asked whether anything was referenced given that she is actually in her fourth year of marriage to singer Kevin Oh, Kong Hyojin candidly replied, "There was a lot. It would be hard to imagine what it's like without a mother-in-law. But having a mother-in-law taught me a lot about what that presence is. In a way, because I am married, the role of a married woman felt easier."
Jung Jun-won plays Kwon Tae-seong, Yubona's husband and a social affairs reporter. Jung Jun-won said, "I watched the original toward the end of filming. The original story is followed, but it has been adapted, some character settings differ, and since it's not portraying a real person, the Taesung in the actual script and the Taesung in the webtoon felt a bit different. Anyway, watching the webtoon could lead to getting locked into it, so I wanted to start fresh with the drama A Bona fide Killer from the beginning."
Regarding fans' concerns during casting because the original featured an 'official handsome man' setting, he said, "The original included setting values that would make Taesung visually attractive to Bona, but as the drama was adapted, scripts changed and character settings shifted, and from an acting standpoint those settings weren't necessary. I thought Taesung's love and tenderness toward his wife and daughter and his dedication at work would be enough to make him look admirable, so I didn't think too much about it."
Director Yoon Jong-ho also said, "To me, Jung Jun-won is very cool and handsome. He is an actor who can handle realistic stories and grounded narratives better than the webtoon's pretty boy. I think he absorbed everything beyond what I expected. If Taesung in the original was a character lacking in volume or situations compared to others, in the drama's tone and the direction we pursue, he became a much better character."
Lee Sang Yi plays Detective Lee Dong-jin, a lieutenant in violent crimes team 2 at the southern police station. He introduced the character, saying, "He is a cop who wants to catch Kingfisher more than anyone. He has a painful family history from the past. Because that is connected to Kingfisher, he chose his profession and even changed his values to catch Kingfisher, making him a cool and dedicated policeman."
He continued, "I've done works based on originals a few times. I usually reference the original's atmosphere or character settings but I don't try to reproduce them perfectly. Just as interpretations differ when watching the same drama or film, I think expressing our own new interpretation is more important, so I referenced only the overall feeling. Still, what I referenced a lot was that viewers already know the culprit. I thought a lot about how we should view a killer who takes private action. Because I play the cop Dong-jin, I focused more on that perspective. I acted with those thoughts in mind."
Moo Jin-seong, who plays Ki Young-do, the deputy manager of sales team 3 at Durumi Electronics and a genius hacker, said, "He respects senior Yubona and always silently supports her from behind." He added, "This is my first webtoon-based work, so I studied the original closely. Ki Young-do is described as having a very handsome appearance, so I focused on skincare and exercise to manage my looks. As a hacker, he should handle machines well, but I'm actually not good at them, so I used an old computer at home and visited PC cafes. I prepared to portray the role well."
Choi Woo-Sung, who plays the youngest member of violent crimes team 2, Beom Seong-hoon, said, "He chases Kingfisher diligently with senior Dong-jin. He's the type of guy who digs into things to the end, so it was fun filming with the senior." He explained, "I enjoyed the original and brought only Seong-hoon's most fundamental traits. While the original shows him running around and doing a lot physically, in the drama he's more of an idea person and an observer. I thought he has an obsessive trait of digging deeply into anything he focuses on, so I discussed that a lot with the director to portray it."
Lee Eunsaem plays Kwon Se-a, Kwon Tae-seong's much younger sister. She said, "When tension in the drama builds, I appear suddenly to inject vitality and a vitamin-like energy. I've done many webtoon-based dramas and usually absorb a lot of the original character to please fans, but for Se-a I absorbed only the big strokes. This is the first time I can show a lovable role as Lee Eunsaem. I tried to be as lovely, cute and daughter-like as possible. Since I'm really the youngest daughter, it feels like I'm playing a character similar to myself for the first time. When I first met the director, he liked my smiling look. I hadn't smiled much in dramas before; I usually played rough, strong characters, so taking on a lively and lovable role for the first time I worked hard to show a new side."
Recently, dramas have been putting effort into viewership pledge stunts. When asked about A Bona fide Killer's ratings goals and pledges, Kong Hyojin said positively, "SBS's Manager Kim reached a peak of 23%. We're also a revenge drama, and since revenge dramas are currently in vogue, we're riding a good current." Lee Sang Yi raised expectations by pledging, "If the ratings exceed 11%, the seven of us here, including the director, will all do a challenge to the trending song of that week together."
Kong Hyojin said, "We filmed nonstop for over eight months without a week off. This drama contains so much. There are quite a few dramas people enjoy these days, and following those, I think this work is a well-prepared drama that won't disappoint. Returning to MBC after 15 years, I hope we once again dominate summer and autumn. Please look forward to it," urging viewers to watch.
Director Yoon Jong-ho added, "We worked hard. We're still working hard, and all the actors did their best to fully take on their characters, so I hope viewers enjoy it. Because it contains various genres, I think there will be fun in watching those parts. If this work makes viewers once reconsider the precious people beside them, I will consider it a success. Perspectives will differ, but please watch it with a joyful mind."
Meanwhile, 'A Bona fide Killer' will premiere on the 31st at 9:50 p.m.<
[photo] OSEN Park Joonhyung reporter
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