KIM SO-HYUN CHOOSES SONG KANG FOR JO-JO
Kim So-hyun chooses Sun-oh for Kim Jo-jo. This is what the actress who plays Jo-jo in the rom-com series “Love Alarm” told the Philippine press during a Zoom interview on March 8. When he heard her answer, an excited Song Kang pointed to himself while showing off his toothy smile. Song plays the character of Sun-oh. “I always chose Hye-yeong (Jung Ga-ram) in Season 1. It’s very hard for me to go back on my previous words. But for once, I will give the reasons I pick Sun-oh,” she said. “Sunoh is a very passionate person. He seems a little bit proud or condescending sometimes. But he’s a very committed, devoted and considerate person when it comes to love.”
Love triangle
“Love Alarm” follows the love triangle of Jo-jo, Sun-oh and Hye-yeong. The first season introduced the app that reveals their true feelings to the person they like when they are within 10-meters of each other. At the end of the season, Jo-jo installed a Shield app unique only to her. The Shield keeps the owner from ringing the alarm of another person even when her Love Alarm is on. The situation becomes tricky because in the six-episode Season 2, everybody has gotten accustomed to the app. It outdated the words “I love you” and people have become dependent on the Love Alarm to know the sincerity of the person they are with. It can be exhilarating when there are multiple people ringing your alarm and sad when there’s none. Thus, the question: Which one would be better—you ringing someone else’s alarm or yours never ringing? “I will choose mine never ringing because I care less about my heart. My feelings being exposed to the other person is more important to me than me getting constantly notified of other people’s feelings toward me,” Kim said. “Of course it could be flattering in a way, but at the same time, that’s going to place a burden on my shoulders.” Song was asked if love is something that can be learned. “I think you can try to love someone, but that doesn’t change your feelings themselves. You can do your best and still try to love someone but that would not do anything to help change your feelings,” he said.
Honesty
Kim believes that when it comes to love, honesty is important. She was asked what she would tell people who find themselves in the same situation as Jo-jo. She said, “I think that’s the most difficult and tricky situation—being confused between two people, but there’s nothing you can do about (their feelings). The best that you can do is to be honest and true to your feelings so that the least people would get hurt.” The two actors revealed the challenges of playing their roles. Kim said that one of the most difficult parts of being Jojo is how to approach the trauma her character has. She put a lot of thought into empathize with her character without exaggerating her pain. Song said that Sun-oh grew so much in the second season. “Sun-oh becomes a much more mature person. He has become stronger in a way so I had to put a lot of thought into how to express that throughout the six episodes. It wasn’t that difficult because I have a lot of affection for the role of Sun-oh,” he said. “That’s a character that I hold dear to my heart so I watched Season 1 every day to prepare for Season 2. And although there were some tricky moments I still try to enjoy every second of it.”
A lot of doors
One could even say that Song owes Sun-oh a lot. The character opened a lot of doors for him including “Sweet Home” and the upcoming drama “Navillera.” Director Kim Jin-woo revealed that the 10-meter rule was also observed whenever possible. “In this story, as you know, 10 meters is very symbolic. It’s a symbolic distance of how close you have to be to let the other person know how you feel. To stay loyal to the story, we tried to maintain 10 meters between the characters when it was possible,” he said. The director also said that the chemistry between the actors came naturally because they are close to the ages of the characters they play. He said, “The way they convey their emotions, the way they express those emotions is already way beyond what I can direct them to do. Their chemistry is amazing.” He said that all the actors surprised him because they all gave off different energy. He said that all of the cast went above and beyond to give life to their respective characters. The director said that the success of “Love Alarm” is because a lot of people found the app interesting and intriguing. “If such an app exists in the real world, will it support some unknown aspects of human emotion that maybe we are not even aware of?” he asked. The app does make people address the feelings that they are sometimes unsure of themselves. “It taps the human curiosity and of course, there’s the universal topic of romance. The chemistry of the actors also appealed to a global audience.”