| From left actors Byun Woo-seok, Park Ji-hoon, actress Gong Seung-yeon, and Kim Min-jae during a press conference for JTBC's new series "Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency," in Yeuido, Seoul, last Monday. Courtesy of JTBC |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Radiant, bright skin with an adorable smile and mannerisms are features that made K-pop star Park Ji-hoon stand out among over 100 competitors in the audition show "Produce 101."
| A poster for "Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency." / Courtesy of JTBC |
JTBC's new series is about a matchmaking image consulting agency set in the Joseon dynasty, run by three handsome team members ― played by Kim Min-jae, Park Ji-hoon, and Byun Woo-seok. The crew takes a job to match a lower-class girl Gae-Ddong (Gong Seung-yeon) with Joseon's King Lee Soo (Seo Ji-hoon).
The former member of disbanded boy band Wanna One has previously played minor roles on the small screen as a child actor. But this will be his first official major role.
"I felt more of nervous than pressured. As this is my first drama, I was worried and kept asking myself 'can I do this well?'" Park said at a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul.
"But after I met the other cast members, I naturally felt at ease and got fully into the character."
Written by the writer of the same-name novel, the drama holds a casual tone as more of a modern-historical "fusion" series.
"When I first read the script, I thought this was much less a traditional historical drama, so I told myself to not think of this series as a historical drama," director Kim Ga-ram said as she talked about her approach to this less-traditional piece. "The story is about the struggles and lives of the young people during that time, resembling the lives of the youth these days."
Kim Min-jae plays the leader and the mastermind behind the agency Ma-hoon, who is the best male matchmaker. "I took the role because the concept (of matchmaking in Joseon) is very interesting and unique," he said.
"Because it was my first major role, it came with great responsibility. I'm still studying the character to better express it."
The drama is about to face competition from another romantic comedy drama "The Tale of Nokdu," based on the Joseon dynasty, which comes out later this month. The director explained how this one differs from other series of the same genre and similar settings.
"The drama is about how people overcome their struggles through their personal growth," Kim said as she noted romance was not the main focus "Romance merely comes as a 'seasoning' to the drama. Each of these characters has different stories of their own problems and the drama follows how the characters look after and help each other through their growth."
The series got off to a moderately good start last week, with the second-highest rating among Mondays-Tuesdays series.