FLOWER OF EVIL
KEYWORDS
KEPT
LEE JOON GI
AND
MOON CHAE WON
ON THEIR TOES
A recent Flower of Evil
promotional interview kept the minds of Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Woo buzzing
around. The duo, who had been interviewed separately, were kept all on their
toes when they were asked to use keywords to describe their filming
experience. Their quick and unhesitating responses with well-chosen words
reflect their worldly experience.
 
Both were asked about the genre of Flower of Evil and their
answers were similar: ‘Intense
Emotional Chase Thriller’. One detects a conspiracy here.
   
Lee Joon Gi tried to show how melodramatic Baek Hee Sung could be by sweetly cooing Cha Ji Won's name. Kim Cheol-Gyu, the director, had in an earlier interview, the
Script Reading interview, described Flower of Evil as a ‘melodrama’ in the guise of ‘suspense and mystery’.
 
In another promotional session in which the lead actors
interviewed each other, Moon Chae Won had described Flower of Evil as ‘80% melodrama’ and ‘20% suspense’.
   
In the drama, Baek Hee Sung wears ‘a mask’ to hide his
real identity.
There are frenetic chases and a lot of action. A known
fact is that Baek Hee Sung will be
pursued by car and on foot by Cha Ji Won, his homicide detective wife. Whether there will be other
pursuits or a manhunt by the other homicide detectives is yet to be known.
According to Lee Joon Gi, the metalcraft studio is a ‘trap’.
Is he referring to Baek Hee Sung’s
metalcraft studio or the one owned by Do
Minseok, Baek Hee Sung’s
deceased father? Since Do Minseok
is a serial killer, he must have lured his victims and trapped them in his
studio.
Baek Hee Sung has been living a lie for 14 years. He would be filled with fear and paranoia when his wife unearths his secrets. What about his struggle to grasp reality? Psychologically
stressed, he would certainly reveal his distorted mental perceptions.
According to them, Flower of Evil is a Suspense
Melodrama. The difference between a Thriller and a Suspense drama is blurry but
who wants to argue?
Flower of Evil is
a complicated but thrilling story filled with suspense, mystery, excitement,
surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Let’s not forget the many tear-jerking
moments and intense emotions with the mounting suspicion and shocking exposure of the murders. Cha Ji Won will have to confront the moral issues of right and wrong and battle an inner struggle.
Will Cha Ji Won suffer reprisals if she sides with her husband? Will
she earn his complete distrust if she keeps to the letter of the law? The
breakdown of the monumental love between Baek
Hee Sung, a psychopath and Cha Ji
Won, his homicide detective wife, makes for a great tear-jerker.
Lee Joon Gi revealed that he loves action scenes. ‘Action is me.’ The athletic megastar
has many martial arts achievements under his belt. He has black
belts in Taekwondo, Taekkyeon and Hapkido, and a Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu blue belt after learning it for 2 years. There are other athletic
achievements which will take time to list out.
In one scene of a teaser, Baek Hee Sung impressively executes a handstand
and leaps effortlessly over a wall. Placing his hands on the
wall, he lifted both his long legs swiftly off the ground. A spectacular physical feat indeed.
 
In the 2018 JTBC show, Ask Us Anything, the superstar recounted that at age 24 when he went for his audition for The King and
The Clown, he did a handstand and also split his legs. Lee Joon Gi then gave them a demonstration of how he won the director's heart.
When interviewer asked him about his splits, Lee laughingly admits that doing the splits is one of his specialties. In that JTBC show, Lee had been requested to replicate Jean Claud Van Damme’s signature pose. Lee’s
flexibility and athleticism are impressive.
 
Moon Chae Won is the exact opposite of Lee Joon Gi. She finds
action to be quite difficult, tough and painful.
 
Another question posed requires Lee Joon Gi to describe
himself. By his own admission, he is a playful boy. Lee Joon Gi is
known to be extroverted, happy and full of life. Unlike Lee, Moon Chae Won is
introverted, reticent and fights shy of publicity.
In the drama, both actors have to act the opposite of their own
personality and character, which is a point of great interest to Director Kim
Cheol Kyu.
Director Kim, in another interview, had described Lee Joon Gi
and Moon Chae Won quite vividly. According to him, the former is active, cheerful,
full of energy and has a sense of humour but he has to portray ‘an
emotionally restrained character’ in Flower of Evil.
Though the latter is calm, quiet and introverted in real life, she has to portray a
character who is very active, full of emotion and overflowing with love in the drama.
Intrigued by their ability to slip seamlessly into their drama characters,
Director Kim did not hesitate to point out to the future viewers that they should be
cognizant of this beguiling fact.
It seems that the drama subscribes to the theory that Opposites Attract. It opposes the similarity-attraction theory which
argues that people are attracted to others who are similar.
Fate has brought the two sharply different individuals together.
Cha Ji Won is ecstatic about
marrying Baek Hee Sung and finds
marital bliss with him. Their life
seems to be a model of domestic harmony.
But, fate intervenes again. Baek
Hee Sung and Cha Ji Won are
thrust into the opposite sides of the law. The impending doom in their future
creates a feeling of anxiety. Is there no hope? The ambiguity and suspense in
the story might mislead fans to make some false assumptions about Baek Hee Sung.
The interviewer asked about Seo Hyun Woo who plays Kim Moojin, an unethical investigative
journalist. Lee Joon Gi regretted that, as Baek Hee Sung, he had to
give the pesky journalist ‘a hard time’ in the drama.
When asked what the audience should look out for, Lee highlights
‘Love and Truth’ while Moon Chae
Won teases ‘Who will handcuff the
criminal?’
  
An interesting question is, ‘Who
is the real criminal?’ The drama
seems convoluted and puzzling. Many questions in the minds of the fans remain
unanswered.
The multihyphenate was asked about his singing talent and he
says he sings for fun. He plays down his talent for singing. An amazing
singer and dancer, Lee has been holding major concerts right across Asia
since his The King and The Clown
days. Lee has performed in the major cities of Mainland China and Japan, Hong
Kong, Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore City and Seoul.
  
When asked about Director Kim, Lee Joon Gi playfully imitates
what the director normally says when he yells, ‘Cut’. ‘It’s good!’ ‘It’s
okay!’
Moon Chae Won describes Director Kim Chul Gyu as awesome. He is
‘also like an actor’.
In a previous interview, when Lee Joon Gi put a question to
Moon Chae Won about working with Director Kim, she playfully described him as
‘… the sort of ideal male I’ve been
personally thinking about. I am kind of in love with the director behind his back.’
Lee seemed incredulous. ‘Oh, really?’ By Lee’s reaction,
it did appear that he didn’t believe her. It was hilarious.
When the interviewer asked her to describe Lee Joon Gi, Moon
Chae Won was not, in the least, hesitant, ‘He’s
handsome.’
All fans would rejoice with the answer. They
will swear that it is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as Lee has
been ranked in the top quarter of the TC CANDLER Asia’s 'The 100 Most Handsome Faces in Asia 2019'.
When Lee Joon Gi was asked a similar question, the very
experienced actor cleverly circumvented it by pretending that he was being
asked about Cha Ji Won, instead of
Moon Chae Won. ‘Wife I love’. Perhaps,
if it was translated as the ‘Wife I’d
love’, it would change the meaning of his answer.
 
Moon Chae Won was restrained in her answer to the question on
her chemistry with Lee. She suggested that the audience should watch the
drama and feel it for themselves. Fans expect that their chemistry would
shoot through the roof.
There’s a short romantic clip showing Baek Hee Sung whispering lovingly and gently while caressing Cha
Ji Won’s face, ‘You’re the only one for
me, Ji Won’. Her heart must have hammered hard. A shiver must have run
down her spine when he gazed at her. Her legs must have weakened and she
probably couldn’t breathe. One can imagine that the viewers must have swooned
over him. It wouldn’t be surprising if this romantic scene keeps playing over
and over again in their minds.
In another interview after the Script Reading session, Director
Kim had specially emphasized that the script is original, refreshing and
thrilling. Well, no wife in her sane mind would imagine her husband,
especially a loving and attentive one, to be a brutal criminal. It is not an
everyday thing that the man you’ve been in bed with for 14 years is a suspected
serial killer. The horror of being lied to and living with a man with blood
on his hands would be a soul shattering experience.
 
At the end of the interview, Lee Joon Gi invited the public to
watch the drama and promised that Flower
of Evil would be the Best
intense emotional chase thriller and Moon Chae Won advised the would-be
viewers to stay healthy.
   
There will be a live Production Presentation on 22 July 2020
(Wednesday) at 2 p.m. K.S.T.
Flower of Evil Director Kim Chul-Gyu, Lee Joon Gi, Moon
Chae Won, Jang Hee Jin and Seo Hyun Woo would be present.
 
The most highly anticipated drama of 2020 will premiere at
10:50 p.m. K.S.T. on 29 July 2020 (Wednesday-Thursday drama) in South Korea,
and at 9:45 on 30 July 2020 (Thursday-Friday Drama) on TVN Asia. The
16-episode drama is written by Yoo Jung Hee, directed by Kim Cheol Gyu,
and produced by Monster Union and Studio Dragon.
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