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New drama’s producer, actors promise heart-racing romance

August 10, 2016

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) — The upcoming TV drama “Cinderella and Four Knights” will be a story of love and family building as an orphaned girl meets four very different but equally handsome men, its producer said Wednesday.

The new Friday-Saturday series is a modern day adaptation of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. It stars Park So-dam as the orphaned college student Eun Ha-won, who moves into a house with three billionaire men, played by Jung Il-woo, Ahn Jae-hyun and Lee Jae-shin. Her mission is to change their wayward characters under the protection of a bodyguard, played by Choi Min.

“The main focus will be the ‘shimkung’ romance of (five) uncontrollable young people,” Kwon Hyuk-chan said in a press conference promoting the new series at a hotel in southern Seoul. “Shimkung” is an abbreviation of the words “heart” and “thump.”

“You’ll be able to enjoy it more if you focus on the family building. It will be interesting to see how Eun Ha-won transforms the men who are blood-related but no better than strangers,” he said.

The cast of “Cinderella and Four Knights” pose for a photo at a press conference promoting the series at a hotel in southern Seoul on Aug. 10, 2016.

Jung, who is returning to TV after a two-year hiatus, plays the rebellious Kang Ji-woon. Ahn plays the carefree playboy Kang Hyun-min, while Lee, a member of K-pop boy band CNBLUE, takes on the role of genius singer-songwriter.

“For someone who’s just become an adult, I think it’s their right to experience shimkung,” Kwon said. “I want them to feel all kinds of emotions.”

The producer confessed it was tricky making something new out of a familiar story, but he credited the actors with delivering on that point.

Jung stressed the drama won’t be as obvious as it may seem because each character has a different appeal. As is common during promotional press conferences here, he also made several pledges for different types of response the series may receive.

“If you write on our official homepage that you experienced shimkung, we will select a few among you and turn you into a real Cinderella,” he said, suggesting he would present them with glass slippers.

Should a viewer complain that there was no shimkung, he promised to post a photo of himself in a wig, dressed up as a woman.

“If our drama exceeds 5 percent in viewership, I will treat our fans to a delicious meal at a large eatery for drivers,” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd. The pronunciation for the Korean word “driver” is the same as that for “knight.”

“Cinderella and Four Knights” was entirely pre-filmed and will air simultaneously in 63 countries, including on the video streaming site DramaFever.

The series is set to premiere on the cable channel tvN on Friday at 11:15 p.m. (local time).