Actors Rowoon and Nam Yoon-su chats with Tatler about their roles in Netflix’s new historical K-drama, The King’s Affection
Netflix’s newest K-drama, The King’s Affection is different from the noir action series, My Name or the survival show, Squid Game. But it surely has its own charm. It will be a refreshing gender-bender story about a woman (Park Eun-bin) disguised as a crown prince. Besides the funny and heartwarming plot, we can also look forward to the two dashing leading men—Rowoon and Nam Yoon-su.
Rowoon—a member of the K-pop group SF9—captured the hearts of viewers in Extraordinary You. Since then, he’s been on a steady rise as one of the most charming leading stars in the industry. Meanwhile, for Nam, his performance in Netflix’s Extracurricular put him on the map and immediately gained another role in Beyond Evil, a Baeksang Arts Award Best Drama winner.
Their roles in The King’s Affection prove to be a challenge but the two are determined to entice viewers. In this exclusive interview with Tatler, Rowoon and Nam talk about their roles, what makes the drama different from others and what we can look forward to.
Don’t miss: Exclusive: ‘The King’s Affection’ Star Park Eun-Bin on Playing a Crown Prince in Disguise
Are there any funny moments while filming to share with viewers? How was it like to work with the co-stars in The King’s Affection?
Rowoon: The funny episode question is a question that I get a lot when I work on a project. In The King’s Affection, there is a montage scene where Ji-un and Hwi have a drink. It was supposed to be a scene with no spoken dialogues. But we ad-lipped our conversation for about two minutes. It was fun and possible because we were well prepared in terms of analysing our own characters and the setting of the scene.
Nam Yoon-su: I had some lines where I had to speak in Chinese. I worked really hard to get the intonation and pronunciation right, but they suddenly changed the scripts. So, that was a moment when I was quite taken aback. We didn’t have much time to prepare and shoot the new scene, and I remember praying real hard for that scene to work out as intended. But, the overall shooting experience was fun and nice thanks to my co-stars, who are also my peers. We helped each other out and became good friends through this project.
Which scene in The King’s Affection is your favourite?
Rowoon: I can’t say much about the scene, because it might give some spoilers away. But, what I can say is that the emotions of the characters are augmented in the scene. Also, there were many scenes where the stars showed tears even when it wasn’t part of the script.
Nam: Personally, the scene where Yi Hyun gives Hwi a pair of shoes embroidered with flowers and says, “Let’s leave together, I will protect you” was awe-inspiring, because Yi Hyun is a daddy-long-legs type of character, who always stands by your side.
It’s a scene where Yi Hyun, a character who knows his place, expresses his long-hidden feelings to Hwi. I liked it when Yi Hyun said, “I will protect you in the future as well.” You can see that he is sincere about his feelings for Hwi. I’m sure that this will be a memorable scene for the viewers as well.
What kind of message did you want to bring out through the story or your character?
Rowoon: I’d say Ji-un is a character that wants to send the message: live and feel today to the fullest.
Nam: The forms of affection of the characters in The King’s Affection are all different. However, if you have ever liked someone and wanted to protect that someone, you will be able to relate to the characters of this show. As for the people who have loved someone in a way similar to my character Yi Hyun, I would like to cheer you up and say that I will root for you.
Don’t miss: 5 Reasons You’ll Love Netflix’s New K-Drama, ‘The King’s Affection’
