The author of SBS’s upcoming drama “The Haunted Palace” has expressed her satisfaction with the performances of stars BTOB’s Yook Sungjae, WJSN’s Kim Ji Yeon (Bona), and Kim Ji Hun!
“The Haunted Palace” is a fantasy historic rom-com that delves into the story of the Eight Toes Tall spirit that bears a grudge towards the king, a feminine shaman who opposes it, and an Imugi (a legendary creature that is ready to remodel right into a dragon upon buying a magical jewel).
Yook Sungjae stars as Yoon Hole, a royal archivist and Yeo Ri’s old flame, who turns into possessed by an Imugi named Gang Cheol. Kim Ji Yeon stars as Yeo Ri, the granddaughter of a shaman with highly effective non secular skills. Kim Ji Hun stars as King Yi Jeong, a sensible and simply ruler who prioritizes his nation and other people above all else.
The drama is helmed by director Yoon Sung Sik—identified for dramas like “Mr. Queen,” “You’re the Greatest, Lee Quickly Shin,” and “Bridal Masks”—and penned by author Yoon Soo Jung, who wrote “Cheer Up!” and “The King’s Face.”
Speaking about her inspiration for the drama, author Yoon Soo Jung shared, “The preliminary concept got here whereas I used to be co-writing ‘The King’s Face.’ Wanting by reference supplies on the time, I assumed, ‘The palace have to be filled with vengeful spirits.’ That one line of thought, which I held onto for a very long time, grew to become the place to begin for ‘The Haunted Palace,’ which I started planning about 5 years in the past.”
She added, “The idea of a love-hate relationship involving a feminine shaman and a person possessed by an Imugi got here to me whereas I used to be pondering methods to make a historic drama with occult parts extra entertaining and accessible to a broader viewers.”
As “The Haunted Palace” includes a wealthy mix of genres, Yoon Soo Jung remarked, “I put essentially the most effort into balancing the totally different genres harmoniously. Particularly since rom-com and occult are like water and oil—they don’t simply combine. One in all my foremost objectives within the early planning levels was to create a construction that would tightly hyperlink the 2 genres with out them clashing.”
The author additionally mentioned her technique of researching the supernatural beings featured within the drama, together with the Imugi and the Eight Toes Tall spirit. She shared, “Personally, I really like wanting by supply supplies and piecing collectively tales hidden between the strains. I drew inspiration from numerous books and movies, however primarily from Korean classics like ‘Eou Yadam,’ ‘Seongho Saseol,’ and ‘Cheonyerok.’ Particularly, a passage in ‘Eou Yadam’ a couple of ghost eight ft tall haunting the palace impressed me to start out crafting the story in additional element.”
She went on to clarify that some documentary movies, together with the 2013 movie “Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits,” and the autobiography of late shaman Kim Geum Hwa helped her acquire a foundational understanding of Korean shamanism, which helped in shaping Yeo Ri’s backstory and character. She added that she bought inspiration from Lauren Kendall’s “Shamans, Housewives, and Different Stressed Spirits” and likewise from taking Korean cultural heritage courses.
Relating to the principle characters, Yoon Soo Jung mentioned, “Yoon Hole (Gang Cheol) and Yeo Ri are very tough characters to painting. Yoon Hole (Gang Cheol) is a twin function and requires a spread of feelings from comedy to motion and deep emotional performing. Yeo Ri will need to have the heroic charisma to confront evil spirits whereas additionally being pretty sufficient to suit right into a rom-com. After watching the edited cuts, I used to be so impressed with how completely Yook Sungjae and Kim Ji Yeon pulled off their roles.”
Praising Yook Sungjae and Kim Ji Yeon’s performances, she continued, “Yook Sungjae’s witty ad-libs and comedic performing made me burst out laughing. I additionally actually liked his chilling gaze when portraying the evil spirit. His performing vary is so broad that I look ahead to his future much more. Kim Ji Yeon has such deep, expressive eyes. She portrayed the tragic backstory and hidden feelings of her character so effectively that I used to be in awe. In particular person, she’s very delicate, however on display screen, her commanding presence is exceptional.” She added, “The director as soon as informed me, ‘The chemistry between these two actors is so good, I wish to preserve seeing them on display screen collectively,’ and I wholeheartedly agree. The scenes that they create collectively are really pretty.”
Relating to actor Kim Ji Hun, author Yoon Soo Jung commented, “After I heard he was solid, I expanded the king’s function within the total story. I had no considerations in any respect about his performing and wrote his half with full confidence.” She additionally shared a behind-the-scenes anecdote, saying, “On the ultimate day of filming, I visited the set, and an exhausted Kim Ji Hun mentioned, ‘I gave it my all.’ The latter half of the drama consists of a number of intense scenes requiring passionate performing from King Yi Jeong, and I can’t wait to see how they turned out.”
Yoon Soo Jung additionally expressed her gratitude towards director Yoon Sung Sik, saying, “The drama consists of high-difficulty motion scenes and blends a number of genres, so I heard all the staff labored extraordinarily exhausting on set. I anxious rather a lot as a result of filming continued by each a warmth wave and a chilly wave. Regardless of that, director Yoon Sung Sik at all times mentioned the script was enjoyable and continued to consider in and help the path through which I needed to take the story. By way of our conferences, we have been in a position to enhance the script additional, and I relied on him rather a lot.”
On the drama’s manufacturing staff, she shared, “From the early planning levels to the second I handed within the ultimate script, everybody I met on ‘The Haunted Palace’ staff had distinctive abilities and real ardour for the challenge, and so they have been all so type. It made me marvel, ‘How is that this even attainable? Are our ancestors serving to us due to the theme of the drama?’ I’m extremely grateful to have labored with such wonderful folks.”
The author concluded, “’The Haunted Palace’ is my first drama in a protracted whereas, and it’s one I’ve been getting ready for a really very long time, so I’m nervous and excited. I’m by no means absolutely glad with my scripts, however I did my finest with no regrets. I hope viewers will take pleasure in this drama, which the manufacturing staff and I poured our hearts into.”
“The Haunted Palace” premieres on April 18 at 9:50 p.m. KST and might be out there on Viki.
Within the meantime, you possibly can watch teasers for the drama with English subtitles under:
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