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| Screenwriter Lee Na-eun, who recently wrote "Our Beloved Summer" / Courtesy of SBS |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Screenwriter Lee Na-eun is relatively young and inexperienced compared to other established writers, including Noh Hee-kyung of "It's Okay, That's Love," Kim Eun-hee of "Kingdom" and Kim Eun-sook of "Descendants of the Sun." However, she is unrivaled when it comes to depicting sweetly nostalgic young romance as she lives in the same time as her characters.
Calling SBS's rom-com "Our Beloved Summer" a semi-autobiographical series inspired by her personal stories, the 29-year-old writer spoke on why she keeps writing about young adult romance.
"I don't consider myself a technical or a talented writer. However, I can say with confidence that I have a true depth of understanding toward the characters that frequently appear in my works because I'm going through my twenties, just like they are. Viewers can empathize with the series because the story of Ung and Yeon-su in some ways mirrors their own stories," Lee said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.
Lee said becoming a screenwriter was purely coincidental. She initially worked at a web drama production company, creating subtitles and so-called "card news" (a Konglish term for images with embedded text as seen in online news feeds). Her debut web drama "The Omniscient Viewpoint on Crushes" (2016) aired for three seasons and has exceeded 100 million views.
"When I started out as a screenwriter, I wanted to tell a story that I know pretty well other than something beyond my reach. It all began with a simple thought that I might be able to write a 1-minute drama. 1-minute became 5-minutes, and 5-minutes became a 1-hour drama," she said.
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| Actors Choi Woo-shik, right, and Kim Da-mi in a scene from SBS's "Our Beloved Summer" / Courtesy of SBS |
Her latest "Our Beloved Summer" revolves around a free-spirited illustrator, Choi Ung (Choi Woo-shik), and a workaholic PR specialist Kook Yeon-su (Kim Da-mi), who were high school sweethearts.
When a documentary they filmed during high school resurfaces and goes viral online, the two are forced back into each other's lives, five years after their breakup, to film a follow-up documentary.
Lee said she was inspired by a documentary that aired on EBS in 2015, observing how a boy with poor academic performance gets along with the smartest kid in high school. She changed the title roles to a boy and a girl and added the story of those who are starting the second chapter of their romance together after having broken up in their teens.
The writer recalled she was elated when she heard that her script would be turned into a drama to be aired for major TV broadcaster SBS.
"I was both excited and anxious because it's rare for a junior writer to have the opportunity to come on board to work on such a big project and receive credit for it. Director Kim Yoon-jin supported me through the process and the cast did an amazing job in portraying the characters," she said.
She admitted she took ideas from actor Choi's real-life personality featured in interviews and reality show, "Summer Vacation" (2020).
"One thing I'm sure of is that I want to work with Choi again. If I ever come up with a new script that is more than satisfactory, I'll take it to him," she said.
Hinting that her next drama will be about lives of women in their 30s, Lee said, "Since 'Our Beloved Summer' went to air, I've received a lot of social media comments that the drama provided 'solace' to them. I think that's the answer to why I write dramas," she said.
"Our Beloved Summer" is screening on Netflix.
