Kim Ha-neul brings classic tropes to new Disney+ show 'Red Swan'

Actor Kim Ha-neul was eager to see the audience's response to classic K-drama cliches with her Disney+ series "Red Swan."

Actor Kim Ha-neul [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

Something old may sometimes feel new when seen for the first time in a while. That was the case for actor Kim Ha-neul when she first encountered the script for her recent Korean Disney+ original series “Red Swan,” which wrapped up on July 31.

“I used to only receive scripts for drama series that were very trendy,” Kim said to local reporters during an interview on Friday in Jongno District, central Seoul. “This was the first time for me to be given a role in quite an old-fashioned drama series, but that was what appealed to me as refreshing.”

“Red Swan” first aired on Disney+ on July 3 and received negative feedback for being exactly that — old-fashioned and full of cliches.

Directed by Park Hong-kyun, famously known for producing hit shows like the MBC historical drama “Queen Seondeok” (2009) and the romance comedy TV series “The Greatest Love” (2011), the 10-episode drama revolves around mysterious death threats and attacks surrounding the Hwain Group, a fictional conglomerate. The series follows the journey of Kim’s character, Oh Wan-soo, a former professional golfer who married into the chaebol's family, and her bodyguard Seo Do-yoon, a police academy graduate, uncovering the truth behind the attacks directed mainly against her.

A still from Disney+ recently finished series ″Red Swan″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

For Kim, such a style intrigued her enough to take the role, adding that she was curious about how viewers, especially a younger audience not used to such an old-school drama style, would respond.

“I thought that there would be people my age waiting for this type of drama, similar to how I always long for songs from the past to come back again,” Kim said.

“‘Red Swan’ was one of the works I was most curious about on how it would turn out.”

The series featured a star-studded lineup with Kim joined by Jung Ji-hoon, Seo Yi-sook, Ki Eun-se, Jung Gyu-woon and Yoon Je-moon. She said she was lucky to have met such great actors.

She said that she got really close to the actors, as they had a lot of conversations behind the scenes discussing each others’ roles. Although that close connection helped the actors most of the time, Kim admitted that it was an obstacle when shooting serious romantic scenes, like when Jung Ji-hoon as Do-yoon had to say, “Will you be my woman?” while looking straight into Kim’s eyes.

A still from Disney+ recently finished series ″Red Swan″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

“We made so many bloopers while shooting the scene,” Kim said, adding that it was so hard for them to hold back laughs.

“I think it took almost 10 takes for that single scene, so we felt so sorry to the crew,” she added.

The actor's eyes also teared up a little bit when talking about the death scene of actor Jung Gyu-woon’s character, Yong-kook, Wan-soo’s husband who had an affair with another woman. The staff and crew put much effort into that scene as it took two days, according to Kim.

“When seeing the last moment of Yong-kook, I felt truly heartbroken as my character Wan-soo and myself,” she said, adding that she actually cried a lot while shooting the scene.

A still from Disney+ recently finished series ″Red Swan″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

In the series, Wan-soo is the chairwoman of a charity foundation called the Now Foundation, but Kim revealed that her character was initially set as an actor.

“At first, I was a bit flustered [when Wan-soo’s job changed to professional golfer] and got worried because my physical appearance did not suit the role,” Kim said.

She also revealed that there were various options for its ending, such as a gun sound, and that it was not initially planned to take place in an airport.

In “Red Swan,” although it touched on some romance between Wan-soo and Do-yoon, Kim says it was not enough for her. In fact, there are more romantic developments between the two but they had to be cut short as the series had to be reduced from 16 to 10 episodes.

A still from Disney+ recently finished series ″Red Swan″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

Kim hopes to do some melodrama work in the future, as she is also renowned for her acting in rom-com shows like SBS’ series “A Gentleman's Dignity” (2012).

“I think the genre matches my emotional sensibilities,” Kim said. “I think I personally have a sensitive and detailed emotion that I cannot express daily because doing so will be exhausting.”

Kim said that she wants to do a role that is bright and expresses various emotions in her next work. "My personal hope is to continue being an actor who can do melodramas.”

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]