15 January 2024 – South Korea
Disney+‘s first K-drama of the year – A Shop for Killers had their press conference yesterday. Casts of the show (Lee Dongwook, Kim Hyejun, Seo Hyunwoo, Jo Hansun, Park Jibin and Geum Hannah) together with Director Lee Kwon are all donned in black, very aptly matching the vibe of this drama.
The drama revolves around Jeong Jian (played by Kim Hyejun) struggling to survive attacks by killers after her uncle Jeong Jinman (played by Lee Dongwook) passed away. This drama is intriguing, packed with stylish new action scenes, which will leave viewer wanting for more.
Jinman operated A Shop For Killer when he was still alive (albeit without the knowing of Jian). He was a very controlling uncle who was very strict with Jian. This is directly opposite of Lee Dongwook, who is a sweet guy by nature. To be in character, Dongwook had to be ruthless. Dongwook shared that he has his fair share of action scenes in the past, from hanging from wires to magic and long swords – but this time round, it was more of firearms and short daggers. It was quite a new experience for him and practicing was pretty tough.
Jian lost her parents when she was little and her uncle raised her up. After hearing news of her uncle’s passing, she found out about the shop that her uncle was operating and that led her into trouble as now killers are after her, even though she did not know what threats is she under and who is threatening her. Hyejun shared that in the drama, she had to learn muay thai and during her first day at action school, it was so tough that she felt like running away. But thankfully the school director helped her to get immersed in her character of Jian.
Seo Hyunwoo who’s acting as Lee Sungjo in the show, is a ruthless sniper. Hyunwoo shared that as he prepares himself for this character, he need to be proficent in using the sniper gun and has to be ruthless. Sungjo also talks with an accent and used to work with Jinman and now, he has to pick a side to stand in the drama.
Jo Hansun acting as Beil shared that even though he had taken on villan roles before, the role of Beil was something new. Being someone who is very ruthless who fears nothing and feels no remorse and is never nervous.
Bae Jungmin (played by Park Jibin) is Jian‘s old classmate who is currently majoring in Computer Science. Jungmin is someone who is really tech savvy and helps Jian hack into the system that was run by Jinman but in the process, ends up getting into trouble himself.
Geum Hannah plays the role of So Minhye in the drama. She is a very mysterious and proficient killer that is very well liked by other killers in the show. In the drama, Jian has to choose if she is to put her trust in Minhye or not. Hannah also had some chinese lines in one of the episode and she shared that she was so nervous for that scene and felt that it was more difficult than her action scenes. Thankfully, she has a Chinese friend who was proficient in Korean and helped her a lot in getting her lines right with the correct pronounciation.
There were also other casts whom did not attend the press conference, but Director Lee thought he needed to introduce them. They are Lee Taeyoung playing the role of Brother, who is a little eccentric and lives in the basement of Jinman’s house.
For the role of Pasin (played by Kim Min), Director Lee initially wanted to cast a Thailand actor but he wasn’t able to find one. When he saw the profile of Kim Min, he didn’t think that Kim Min was actually Korean! Passion is the saviour of Jian and Jinman and he teaches Jian muay thai in the drama.
Do stream A Shop For Killers on Disney+ from 17 Jan onwards to find out why did all these characters come to Jinman’s house.