South Korean actor and singer Seo In Guk returns to romance after a decade of playing intense and complex characters.
In sharp suits, with a prickly personality, he is the uptight boss in Prime Video’s office romcom See You At Work Tomorrow.
He plays Kang Si Woo, a man who values principles and efficiency above everything else, earning himself the title of the “3 NOs Man” — No Smiles, No People and No Sorry. Getting entangled with a colleague, Ji Yoon (Park Ji Hyun), was never part of the memo.
The quintessential Korean workplace romances are the flavour this summer. As sparks fly across the boardroom, the push and pull of attraction, and keeping the relationship under wraps proves as cumbersome as navigating work politics… perhaps that’s what makes the genre irresistible to actors as well as audiences.
“The fact that there’s so much risk involved in an office romance — on one hand, the characters are trying to express their emotions without getting caught, while also being discreet about their relationship — hooks viewers in. They feel like they’re in on the secret with the characters. I think that itself is very intriguing for the audience, adding to the contrast between that secrecy and how comfortable they are around one another outside of work. I feel like that’s something that really resonates with audiences,” says Seo In Guk over a Zoom call from Seoul.
Park Ji Hyun echoes the sentiment. “When you watch an office romance drama, emotions that are portrayed in these stories are something that you can’t really express outwardly in your real life because you can’t get caught, and you can’t let other people know. I think watching something like that on the screen — it’s more dramatic and spectacular than in real life. I feel like people live vicariously through the characters and that’s why this genre has such a great charm.”
Playing a high performer and burnt out employee whose career and love life gets upended, Park Ji Hyun (Reborn Rich, Flex X Cop) adds, “I was just very happy to be able to portray the process of my character falling in love. Because it was an office romance drama, there was that fun of having to hide it and those heart fluttering moments where you don’t want to get caught, and falling in love with a colleague in the same organisation was fun to portray.”
Seo In Guk, who has starred in two back to back office romances this year, including Boyfriend on Demand opposite Jisoo earlier this year, says his approach was pragmatic in understanding the equation between the couple.
“Though being in a relationship, they still need to work, right? Even though you try to separate your work and love life, it does throw challenges. Sometimes if you’re too strict with keeping it a secret, the other person may feel upset, and if the line becomes a little blurry, then it makes working very uncomfortable. So I tried to really focus on how do we express that as entertainingly as possible, and how do we make it so that it’s convincing and relatable to people who actually have experienced office romance,” he adds with a laugh.
From playing a high schooler in the 1990s in Reply 1997 to a warm hearted chaebol heir in Shopping King Louie, which earned him his acting stripes, he followed it up with grittier roles — a genius profiler in Hello Monster, a grim reaper in Death’s Game and a shaman in Cafe Minamdang. The 38 year old Seo In Guk’s versatility has garnered both critical and commercial acclaim. His seamless ease across genres, the actor reveals, comes down primarily to the script and the character arc when making his choices.”
“The most important factor for me is the narrative. Then the character that leads the storyline, and the narrative… who do they meet? How do they respond to it? What events do they go through and how do they grow? All of that is crucial for me,” he says.
He reveals that when considering a potential project, actors are usually given about four episodes to read, and that is enough for him to gauge his interest — though the process comes with its own challenges.
“If I feel it’s intriguing up to the point I have been given the story, then I know the storyline fits my style. However, sometimes even when you have a great narrative, you can’t get yourself to love the character — that’s a difficult one to choose. Then there are times when you feel drawn to the character but don’t really like the plot, and I find myself not being able to reach for those characters as well. Also, one’s responsibility doesn’t end there. I want to create something that is appealing for viewers along with the other members of the cast,” he says.
He signs off with the hope that fans in India enjoy the office romance and get as entertained as he and the cast were while making it. See You At Work Tomorrow premieres on June 22 on Prime Video.