With the chilly winter approaching, the new MBN Wednesday-Thursday drama Boss’s Blatant Taste brings warmth and excitement to the small screen.
On the 11th, a production presentation for MBN’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama ‘Boss’s Blatant Taste’ (directed by Kang Sol, written by Nam Ji-yeon, produced by Gatin Media and Artist Studio) was held at the Stanford Hotel in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Director Kang Sol along with actors Sung Hoon, Oh Se-young, and Lee Jung-shin attended the event.
‘Boss’s Blatant Taste’ is a ‘taste-sniper’ romance depicting the story of Kwon Do-hyuk (Sung Hoon), a zero-taste chaebol boss who sets out to find ‘Her’ inside a single album, and Lee Eun-chae (Oh Se-young), an indie band vocalist who appears as the sole variable in his otherwise perfect life.
Director Kang Sol shared, “The most important point for me when directing a drama is the fun of the story. When I first encountered the script, I read it so enjoyably as a reader. I thought it would become a lovely drama for viewers,” adding, “Gatin Media has a substantial amount of know-how in romantic comedies, so I thought it would deliver a lovely time to the viewers.”
Based on the popular web novel and webtoon of the same name, ‘Boss’s Blatant Taste’ draws viewer interest with the fresh combination of Sung Hoon, Oh Se-young, and Lee Jung-shin. Regarding the differences from the original work, Director Kang Sol explained, “It started as a web novel, became a webtoon, and then led to a drama. The original planning started from the original IP held by Gatin Media. The original planner is our CEO, and since the planner even planned the drama, it proceeded with the basic framework.” He added, “If there was a problem, time has passed since the original work came out, making it a story of the past, so there were limitations in reflecting the current generation. I thought a lot and worried about how to effectively target points that suit the present time.”
Sung Hoon plays the role of Kwon Do-hyuk, the CEO of Oyes Entertainment. As the only son of a top 1% chaebol family possessing everything from appearance to ability, Kwon Do-hyuk is the owner of a cold rationality that makes him seem more like an AI than the AI he creates. In particular, he has a strict and firm musical taste where he insists only on classical music and detests music with vocals. Facing a crisis, Kwon Do-hyuk takes on the job of reviving the entertainment agency at the suggestion of his father, Kwon Tae-hak (Park Jung-hak).
Returning after 3 years, Sung Hoon shared, “To put it in a timeline, the production company worked with me on ‘My Secret Romance’, and since I’ve experienced them once, I knew their style well. That was the first reason for my decision, and the second was the director. Having worked with the director on ‘My Secret Romance’ and having good memories, I had confidence that if we shot this genre, it would turn out pretty and well. The script came out afterwards.” He continued, “Then Oh Se-young and Lee Jung-shin joined, and as we practiced together, I thought that even if I stumbled, these two could cover for me. Their joining was also a major reason for choosing the project.”
Sung Hoon added with a smile, “Since it’s a work based on an original, I checked it first to see what color the character I play has. However, the original had a volume too large to dissolve into the drama’s length, and since it seemed a lot of adaptation would go into it, the production company and director asked me not to read it beforehand, so I didn’t.” He continued, “I mostly did works based on originals, and I think the reason they seek me out is because they believe I have the capability to digest characters with a sense of responsibility when entrusted with a project. Especially perhaps because of overseas copyright sales. It seems it’s because when casting me, copyrights get sold so it avoids deficits, and since I put my life on the line and do my absolute best when trusted, I think they looked upon that favorably.”
Director Kang Sol emphasized, “I met Sung Hoon through ‘My Secret Romance’ and worked with him so enjoyably. We’ve stayed close friends since then, and I was so glad when this opportunity to meet again arose. When a director and actor are close, they can talk about various things, and it was so great to have this chance. Even though he has a personality that is quite shy, Sung Hoon is a tower of strength to me,” and added, “In a situation where the domestic market is poor and the drama production environment is difficult, I think the breakthrough is global. Works produced by Gatin Media have had good results overseas. While we need good results domestically as well, my heart is in wanting to contribute to spreading the Hallyu wave, and I think Sung Hoon’s strength is significant in that aspect.”
In particular, regarding his role, Sung Hoon mentioned, “He is not a character who became an entertainment CEO because he wanted to. There are certain circumstances and he was pushed into taking it on by his family’s coercion. So I didn’t prepare anything special to match that. Speaking of upper-body exposure, I lived as a swimmer for a long time so I walked around half-naked for half my life, so I have no burden regarding exposure for work. I did a lot of management before the scenes featuring upper-body exposure. I reduced my sleep time and followed a diet to make sure I looked good on screen.”
Oh Se-young plays the role of Lee Eun-chae, a job seeker nurturing her dream of becoming a singer. Lee Eun-chae is the owner of an ultra-positive personality who does not let go of small happiness even at moments when work does not go as intended. Secretly working as ‘Su’, the vocalist of ‘Indie Red’ without her family knowing, she lives a tense day-to-day life even lying that she succeeded in getting a job. Nevertheless, she hopes for a day when someone will hum her song.
Oh Se-young shared, “When the script arrived, it felt overwhelming. When I first met the director and the production company officials, they gave me confidence by saying I would fit well with Eun-chae. Feeling gratitude, my first desire was to do well, and because the role of Eun-chae is diverse and can show many charms, it became a strong desire to pull it off well and a definite reason to participate in this drama.”
Oh Se-young said, “Visuals are important for this role, so I had a strong desire to refer to it and was curious, so I looked up the original work. I checked the webtoon and I understand it came out around 2015. Thinking that a lot of time had passed, I read it, but romance and comedy have a timeless taste so I felt it was fun and sweet even looking at it now,” and added, “The Eun-chae I wanted to portray was a free-spirited person. So for a person like me to show that freely on set, I needed the help of many people. I tried to be more comfortable, and thankfully, many people helped me. The difference might be that she could be less feminine than the original.”
Lee Jung-shin plays the role of Moon Tae-kyung, a promising pediatric specialist. Possessing not only outstanding skills but also a puppy-like appearance, a bright and friendly personality, Moon Tae-kyung is everyone’s envied ‘wannabe hexagonal man’ and the hospital’s most popular guy. After accidentally helping Lee Eun-chae, he keeps finding himself paying attention to her, and acts as a dependable knight whenever she falls into trouble. Lee Jung-shin is expected to delicately portray Moon Tae-kyung’s subtle emotional changes toward Lee Eun-chae, adding excitement to the drama.
Lee Jung-shin stated, “I was cast during CNBLUE’s world tour. I usually had a thirst for romantic comedy, and since they offered the role to me first and I thought I could express a soft and gentle character well, I am filming faithfully to the script. Sung Hoon and Oh Se-young filmed joyfully, so I hope you will enjoy watching it.”
Lee Jung-shin also mentioned, “My character had many changes from the original and the script, so I remained faithful to the script. I tried hard to act out the Tae-kyung I envisioned. When giving directions or ideas on set, they accepted them so pleasantly and well that the filming set was joyful and rewarding.”
In particular, Lee Jung-shin shared, “In my previous work, I played a psychopathic-like role, so I’m glad to play a role similar to my real self this time. I want to continue playing warm characters.”
Director Kang Sol expressed, “It’s a world where making a living is truly hard, but I hope to give a small gift to many people. I hope you can slip into happy imaginations for a moment while watching the drama. I had many worries about doing a romantic comedy again, but I hope a slightly younger generation can fall deeply in love. I hope our drama becomes a time when dormant dating cells are reawakened.”
Sung Hoon said, “There is good energy and warm energy here. We filmed so warmly and funly that I sometimes wondered if this was okay. Because of the people, we were able to overcome difficult processes. I will work hard to deliver warm energy.”
MBN’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama ‘Boss’s Blatant Taste’ premieres at 10:20 PM on the 11th.
