Meet Lee Seung-gi and Bae Suzy, leading man and lady of new Netlfix series Vagabond. The action-packed series streams now.

The stars of Vagabond, a new South Korean Netflix series, talk BTS and more

Stuntman Cha Dal-geon [played by Lee Seung-gi] uncovers a hugescale corruption scheme behind a plane crash that kills his nephew and 200 other passengers en route to Morocco. His hunt for the truth intertwines with Go Hae-ri (Bae Suzy), a covert operative who works for the National Intelligence Service. Along their quest, there are adrenaline-pumping action sequences, espionage, political intrigue, comedy and a sprinkle of romance for good measure.

That sums the plot of Vagabond, a new South Korean series on Netflix. GURU chats with Lee Seung-gi and Bae Suzy, leading man and lady of the action-packed series to find out how far they would go to discover the truth.

What did you do to prepare for such physically challenging roles?

Lee Seung-gi: We spent two-three months training together at an action school. On a personal level, both of us work a lot on managing our stamina and learning the necessary skills for the series. For the fight scenes, I trained in krav maga and other martial arts. There’s a lot of running scenes so I had to work hard to get my body into the condition that’s right for extensive running, as well.

Bae Suzy: I also learned a lot about martial arts. I play a secret agent so I had to be trained in gun shooting, kicking and the likes.

How do you feel about working on another series together? [They co-starred in Gu Family Book in 2013].

Lee Seung-gi: When Suzy decided to take the role, the producers and I were so happy. We felt the series was finally being completed. It was nice working with her six years ago and she went on to build her career as an actress, so it’s easier for us to work together as actors. We already have a friendship, too so it was the easiest experience to work on set.

Bae Suzy: I was really excited that I was able to work with him again. And we had such good memories from the past project so I had high hopes for this. We were able to meet up after years of growth so we were able to work together even better.

What differentiates Vagabond from other action series?

Lee Seung-gi: There are many questions around that. In the traditional action series, the protagonist is usually a professionally trained agent who loses their memory or retired or a killer who gets betrayed or something like that. But this series, Cha Dal-geon is a stuntman, an inexperienced civilian, who’s involved in this huge conspiracy. And he and Go Hae-ri, an NIS secret agent, start to uncover the truth behind it. So I think protagonists are the biggest difference between Vagabond and other action series.

Bae Suzy: I agree. I find the aspect of civilians uncovering the truth behind a conspiracy interesting. Both characters work together but his character at some points in the series would act more like a spy more than my character. There’s also interesting chemistry between them.

What’s the message of Vagabond?

Lee Seung-gi: I’ve given this question some thought and this is my personal take. The concept of good and evil can be interpreted and accepted differently from an individual to another. And in the midst of a conflict of interest, I believe respect for one another and right of individuals shouldn’t be violated. But when such elements are being sacrificed for a bigger good of society or bigger cause — that’s going to happen in the series — the viewers will question what actually is justice then. That I believe is the message Vagabond tries to convey.

Bae Suzy: We’re playing the roles of regular people. And these two people are going to fight the bigger power and I believe viewers can relate to them. While shooting, I thought a lot about the “choices” we have to make — big or small. Both our characters and others in the series are making certain choices throughout the series and those choices are making difference to their world. And I think the message of the series lies in such changes that result from our choices.

What’s the most daring stunt you’ve done for the series?

Lee Seung-gi: In the teaser, you can see that I jump from a rooftop and onto a car. The director assumed that I was going to use a stuntman for the scene but I did it myself. And because of that, we were able to get a

lot of different cuts and footages from the scene. There was this car chasing scene where the car actually rolled over but that didn’t happen during the rehearsals. The car flew further than planned and almost hit the camera. Fortunately, no one got hurt. If you watch the entire series, the combined action sequences are more abundant than what you see in an action movie. The fact that we shot so many action scenes without serious injury just shows how prepared the crew was.

Netlfix’s South Korea content is making waves across the globe, how do you feel about being a part of this phenomenon?

Bae Suzy: As a Korean, I feel proud of the fact that Korean content is being loved by people around the world and that makes me feel like I should work harder. I think it [global popularity of Korean content on Netflix] is possible because of those who came before me who worked so hard to pave the way for us.

Lee Seung-gi: I think there are many factors contributing to the popularity of Korean content. People who are working in the industry are never satisfied with what they have and they put a lot of thought in what they make. This boosts the quality of Korean content. In terms of setting the new bar, I believe Vagabond is the first Korean series that it’s entirely pre-produced before its launch that also includes a lot of action scenes. That’s why it took one year to complete shooting [included two months in Morocco and Portugal]. Thanks to the collective effort, we were able to create Vagabond and if we receive good feedback, the series could become the next guideline and inspire even better quality.

The 16-episode series is available on Netflix.