Dramas

Premiered At No.1 In South Korea Jinxed At First Now Available On iQIYI International

Lead cast Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun, Na In-Woo dishes on their characters and what viewers can look forward to

Premiering at No.1 in its time slot in South Korea, Jinxed at First is now available to stream on iQIYI’s global site (iq.com) and mobile app, with its episodes uploaded concurrently with the show’s airtime in South Korea. Starring Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun and Na-In Woo, Jinxed at First is a fantasy romance drama with a refreshing and lovable storyline, based on a webtoon “The Jinx’s Lover”.

According to Nielsen Korea, the drama premiered to No.1 in ratings among Wednesday-Thursday evening dramas in South Korea, with an average nationwide rating of 3.9 percent.

At the Jinxed at First press conference, lead casts Seohyun and Na In-woo shared about their quirky characters in the drama, alongside director Yun Sang-ho.

Seohyun plays Seul-bi in Jinxed at First, who has a special ability to see the future of anyone she holds hands with. Due to this ability, she lived in isolation and is detached from the real world.

Speaking about her character, Seohyun affectionately said “Since Seul-bi is not very used to the real world outside, she’s full of curiosity. While she is a bit silly, she’s also a person who is ready to risk it all and go against fate for love. She is a charming character full of courage.”

Portraying a 19-year-old girl who has little knowledge of the actual world, the Girls’ Generation member paid attention to the details and focused more on Seul-bi’s internal feelings and thoughts.

“Seul-bi is kind of like a Korean version of Rapunzel who lived in isolation for close to 20 years. During that time, she could only occupy herself by reading fairy tale books everyday which caused her worldview to revolve around the stories she’s read. Hence, she also dresses up like a princess,” Seohyun added.

Viewers can also look out for the different gloves Seul-bi wears throughout the drama as her styling point.

Playing the “icon of misfortune” Gong Soo-gwang, Na In-woo meticulously adjusted his character to suit the light and cheerful tone of Jinxed at First.

“In the earlier parts of the script, there was a dark side to Gong Soo-gwang. However, after meeting the various other characters, I tried raising the tone of my character to make the scenes more cheerful and interesting. Taking in consideration the director’s vision for Jinxed at First to be a cheerful drama, Gong Soo-gwang became a character who despite continuously experiencing misfortunes, he doesn’t show it. He’s like a person who has accepted his fate,” he said.

Having previously worked with director Yun Sang-ho in historical period drama River Where the Moon Rises, Na In-woo was immediately casted at the afterparty on its final filming day.

“I fell for Na In-woo’s charm and admirable hardworking attitude that I immediately offered him the role and casted him for Jinxed at First while drinking soju together. Despite only having the original source material back then, he promised me that he would do it,” Yun Sang-ho recalled.

Seul-bi on the other hand, was a difficult character to portray and many people were intimidated to take on the role. However, upon being notified that Seohyun was considering the role favourably and confident that she could portray it well, Yun Sang-ho was pleasantly surprised. He remembered thinking “how could there be an actress that matches the character so naturally? It was as if a Goddess of Fortune really fell from the sky onto earth.”

Both leads shared that viewers can look forward to their explosive on-screen chemistry and are hoping to win the Best Couple award at the year-end awards ceremony.

“Another point that the audience can enjoy is Seul-bi’s character development,” Seohyun chimed in. “I’ll be thankful if the audience can feel that I’m an actor that’s growing as well through this drama. I also hope that viewers can see Jinxed at First as a healing drama and feel good watching it.”

While Jinxed at First is of a fantasy romance genre, it also explores family relationships, friendships and human instincts such as greed. The drama also boasts a spectacular cast lineup including Seohyun, Na In-woo, Ki Do-hoon, Jun Kwang-ryul, Yoon Ji-hye, Yoon Yoo-sun, Hong Suk-chun and more.

Director Yun Sang-ho has previously directed other dramas including River Where the Moon Rises, KingMaker: The Change of Destiny and Saimidang, Light’s Diary.

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