By Lee Gyu-lee
Singer and actor Jung Ji-hoon, also known as Rain, is returning to the small screen in the new original series Red Swan on Disney+, two years after playing the lead in TvN’s comedy medical series Ghost Doctor.
The action romance series, which premieres on July 3, revolves around former world-class golfer Oh Wan-soo (Kim Ha-neul), who married into the wealthy family that owns the Hwain Group, and her bodyguard Seo Do-yoon (Jung), who goes to work for the group to investigate his friend’s death.
Oh left her golfing career after marrying the group’s heir and has been running the group’s charity foundation. One day, she narrowly escapes an assassination attempt with the help of Seo during an event held by the foundation in Manila, in the Philippines.
Afterwards, when she finds herself the target of death threats, Oh begins to discover the wealthy family’s dark secrets, along with Seo.
The 10-part series is directed by Park Hong-kyun, who led the smash-hit series Queen Seondeok (2009) and The Greatest Love (2011).
“I’ve been a fan of director Park since I was young,” Jung said. “There have been a few opportunities to work together in the past, but unfortunately, none came through.
“And with Kim, I’ve also said she and I will do a project at one point, and we finally got the chance to work together.
“When I read the script, I realised I didn’t have to do much. [My character] didn’t have many lines. But he had to have a heavy and impactful impression. So I put effort into setting his tone, starting by focusing on vocal exercises.”
Jung plays a former police officer turned bodyguard with martial arts expertise who previously served as a presidential security agent.
Park revealed that Jung filmed a lot of the action scenes himself, performing the stunts without a double.
“Jung is a master when it comes to action scenes. So it was more comfortable and easier to work on this series, compared to action scenes from previous works,” the director said.
“For action scenes, you alternate with a stunt double, and there are various challenges, but Jung has practically mastered it, so viewers can look forward to great results.”
Park said he was concerned that as Seo was not a central character within the Hwain family, his impact on the series might not be strong enough.
“But Jung overcame this concern with his excellent acting skills,” he said, adding that Jung is “a delicate actor who’s excellent at expressing emotions”.
Kim said that she was drawn to the romance between the bodyguard and his client.
“I really enjoyed the [1992] movie The Bodyguard. So it’s interesting to see such a plot.
“And as various events occur within that plot, I got curious as I read diverse stories unfolding in each episode. I felt like I was sucked into the script while reading it.”