MANILA — For actors, new roles often open up new points of view. And such was the case for Lee Sung-kyung and Kim Young-kwang, who gained fresh perspectives on love through their latest K-drama “Call It Love.”

Streaming on Disney+, the series follows Sim Woo-joo (Sung-kyung), whose family is kicked out of their house by her late father’s mistress. Angered at the turn of events, she decides to exact revenge on the mistress’ lonely son Han Dong-jin (Young-kwang), but soon finds herself falling in love with him.

In a recent press conference for the show’s finale, Sung-kyung shared that she found a new perspective on love thanks to the drama.

“The characters in our story lived lives filled with monotone colors. And once love entered their lives, they became so colorful. Literally life was breathed into their daily lives,” Sung-kyung said through an interpreter.

“When Dong-jin lost the love of his life, he lost light in his life and carried on that way. Woo-joo had been living her life barely, depending on the love she held for her family,” she explained, mentioning the main characters' gloomy situation prior to meeting each other.

“So I feel like love is something that really lets people live, whether you laugh or cry because of it. I feel like love is what makes life seem like life itself,” Sung-kyung added.

Young-kwang, meanwhile, struggled to define love.

“When I sit here and think of our drama… I feel like it’s hard to define love in very certain words. I think love is something that can convey everything so it’s something that can be described in every way possible. But at the same time, [it’s] something that’s very hard to describe,” the actor said.

But asked to pick between plotting revenge or falling in love, Young-kwang responded, “Wouldn't taking revenge be more difficult?”

“Because I feel like personally and due to my personal character, I feel like if I had to take revenge on someone, it would hurt too much, whereas falling in love, it just happens unknowingly. So I would definitely say it's a lot more fun to be in love,” he said.

Sung-kyung offered a different answer. “For me, being in love is much more difficult because when it comes to love, not everything goes your way,” she said.

“As for revenge, I think you have the choice of not wanting to take revenge. But if I had to, I think [taking revenge is] better or easier because it’s up to me. I have more control over what I decide to do,” she said.

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GRATEFUL FOR SUPPORT

Both Sung-kyung and Young-kwang thanked those who supported “Call It Love” and patiently waited for new episodes to drop every week since its February 22 premiere.

“I was very grateful and am very happy how so many members of the audience really related to all the emotional changes and developments of [the characters],” Sung-kyung said.

“I know there is a waiting time between each episode and I feel very grateful that the audience spent those times waiting to see what would happen… I really hoped that after the final episode is out, these emotions and responses will continue to linger,” she said.

• Not just a revenge story: K-drama ‘Call It Love’ hopes to give ‘solace’ to viewers

The actress believes what sets “Call It Love” apart from other dramas is its pacing, which she likened to “slowly turning a book page by page.”

“The pace at which you want to go through the story… really changes the way you consume the story. And I think that’s the case with ‘Call It Love.’ I think when you follow the story with your own breath [and] pace, it reveals different things for everybody,” Sung-kyung explained.

PICKING FUTURE PROJECTS

With “Call It Love” wrapping up, its lead stars, who are known to be best friends in real life, also shared their criteria in picking projects.

“When I'm reading the script, I like to imagine myself portraying that particular character. I try to see if the character and I would be a good fit,” said Young-kwang, adding that he also looks at the project’s entertainment value.

• Why ‘good friends’ Lee Sungkyung, Kim Youngkwang avoided each other on K-drama set

Sung-kyung, on the other hand, said she has “to be drawn to the character and story so that it makes me feel like I want to do this.”

“I think I’m mostly drawn to stories like slice-of-life stories where you really look into the way people live their actual lives. If not that, I’m drawn to works that have a particular take or unique angle,” she said.

“At the end of the day, I want my fans to be happy with whatever I do. And I want to bring them joy. And of course, I’m drawn to works that I feel like I can do a good job in and also make me want to do a good job,” she added.

For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the Hallyu Corner microsite.

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