‘LTNS’ directors say they are surprised at viewers’ reaction

Jeon Go-woon(right) and Lim Dae-hyung

There is a series that attracts attention with its provocative title and content. It is Tving’s original series “LTNS.” LTNS is an acronym for "Long Time No Sex," with only the last letter changed from the original phrase of "Long Time No See.” It is a story about a couple who haven't had sex for a long time. Actress Esom and actor Ahn Jae-hong play wife Woo Jin and husband Samuel, respectively. Along with the actress and actor with unique charms, the directors’ name also stands out. Jeon Go-woon and Lim Dae-hyung are independent film directors famous for their films “Microhabitat" and “Moonlit Winter,” respectively.

In an interview at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on February 5, the directors talked about the new series and why they challenged the new platform of Over the Top (OTT) services. All six episodes of the series were released on the 1st.

"LTNS" begins with Woo Jin and Samuel showing their intense affection. The scene changes quickly. The two are sitting side by side on a sofa, looking relaxed. The price of the house they bought with every penny is falling and interest rates are rising. Woo Jin works at the front desk of a three-star hotel where couples cheating on their spouses frequently visit. Samuel, who failed while starting a business, was driving a taxi, and to make matters worse, his taxi was recently flooded.

As the sexless couple and couples in adulterous relationships they pursue are the main characters in each episode, there are many stories related to sex throughout the series. There are various kinds of couples having an affair, including lesbians and middle-aged people. There are not a lot of flesh-baring scenes, so it may not be considered visually explicit.

Rather, the dialogue level of the characters is high. The license plate of the car is "6969," and an acquaintance who has not had sex for a long time tells Woo Jin, "When a person is hungry, he or she jumps over the fence of someone else's house." This kind of dirty talk mixed with laughter is one of the characteristics of the series.

Some wonder if there are people who really do that in real life, as the main characters have conversations about private things or have explicit conversations about sex with their friends' couples. Director Jeon said, "I even talk about more sexually explicit things with my friends. I thought viewers considered the series cute, but I was surprised by such a reaction because there are no sexual or explicit scenes." Director Lim also said, "I was surprised that people were embarrassed by the story, and I thought our society is more conservative than I thought."

It was during the coronavirus pandemic that some of the famous independent film directors turned to OTT services. Jeon said, "It was a time when theaters were dead and OTT services were active. There were no other options but theaters for us, and we became anxious. At that time, I just wanted to make drama series because they were popular, and there seem to be a lot of more fun things coming out from online streaming platforms. It was hard to write a long series alone, so I asked Lim to complete the scenario with me, and we ended up filming the series together.”

As movies and dramas are basically different, the existing inertia was also abandoned in directing. The directors also thought about popularity. "Movies are a more image-oriented genre, and dramas are more about dialog. I tried to write it in an interesting way," Lim said. "The public doesn't like easy and obvious things. We tried to fill in the details and worked on the series believing that some people will like our style,” Jeon said. "However, we both like full shots, but we used a lot of tight shots.” Lim also said, "Basically, when I take a conversation scene, I don't take more than a medium shot, but I try to show the characters as much as possible."

When you watch the series, you might think, "It's like an independent film.” For a work, it may be an advantage or a disadvantage. It seems like an unconventional work that asks provocative questions about sex, but the development process and ending feel a bit typical. As a black comedy, it seems like it tries to be socially relevant.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.