Actor Wi Ha-joon plays the role of Lee Jun-ho in the tvN romance series "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon." Courtesy of tvN

Actor Wi Ha-joon took on his first lead role in the melodrama genre series with tvN's "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon," playing a rookie instructor.

Actor Wi Ha-joon / Courtesy of MSTeam Entertainment

"After working on the series 'The Worst of Evil,' fans wanted me to see myself in a melodrama, and I've been thinking that too because I've done a lot of strong genre works. Just then, I was offered this series. And it wasn't just a simple love story, but was also about evolving from work and love, and delivers messages about public and private education," Wi said during an interview with The Korea Times, held at a cafe in Gangnam District, Seoul, Friday.

"Acting and filmography wise, I felt it would be a work that would have meaning, so I decided to take it on."

The romance series, which wrapped with its highest viewership rating of 6.6 percent, June 30, revolves around a star Korean language instructor, Seo Hye-jin (Jung Ryeo-won), and her former student and fellow instructor Lee Joon-ho (Wi). Seo made her name in the cutthroat private education world in Gangnam's Daechi neighborhood after sending Lee to a prestigious college.

When the two reunite as co-workers, the two bring changes to their lives, navigating the love and meaning of good teaching for their students.

The actor shared that the chemistry with Jung helped him through his first experience with the genre.

A scene from the series "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon" / Courtesy of tvN

"I, of course, worried about whether I could pull it off well. But I just went with the flow, trying not to exaggerate things. I think that awkwardness helped make (my acting) appear more real. I worried a lot, but from the start, my chemistry with Ryeo-won was really good and comfortable," he said, adding that playing a confident and straightforward character helped him grow.

"As I get into the character of Jun-ho, it made me realize my own shortcomings and inadequacies that I've been ignoring … This made me reflect on my life moving forward and feel I hadn't been very honest with myself. So, it led me to think a lot about how to live wisely and sensibly by breaking from that and being honest with myself and my feelings."

Wi's next work is the much-anticipated sequel of the Netflix smash-hit series "Squid Game," scheduled to roll out before the end of this year.

The actor hinted that the second season will have more interesting factors than the previous season. "It will definitely be more enjoyable than Season one. For starters, more unique and interesting characters have been added … And all the cast members are such excellent actors carrying out their part so well. Also, my character Hwang Jun-ho, has his own story in here, so I think season two will be even more interesting, allowing his character to develop a little deeper."