New TV series portrays mature love with humor

SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) — To the many men and women wondering if they still have a chance at love, the new TV drama “Second to Last Love” will say, “Yes. And it won’t be your last.”

In the upcoming SBS series, successful TV drama producer Kang Min-joo (Kim Hee-ae) moves to the countryside to be with herself in the early stages of menopause. There, she meets local civil servant Go Sang-sik (Ji Jin-hee), whose main concern is to do his job within the boundaries of common sense. Both are 46 years old and both have all but given up on love.

The feisty Kang tells herself her last love may have passed her by without her knowing it, while the sincere widower Go is too busy tending to the needs of his teenage daughter and family, as well as the local residents.

“I wanted to offer some comfort to our mothers and fathers who make up the core generation of our society,” said Choi Yoon-jeong, the drama’s screenwriter, during a press conference promoting the series at SBS headquarters in western Seoul. “I would like many people to enjoy it, regardless of their age.”

The cast of “Second to Last Love” pose for a photo during a press conference promoting the drama at SBS headquarters in Seoul on July 27, 2016.

The drama is loosely based on the Japanese TV series of the same name, but unlike the original version, “Second to Last Love” is expected to be a quick-paced rom-com with plenty of humor.

Beyond the laughs, the series also aims to give viewers a chance to look back on life, according to its producer Choi Young-hoon.

“I heard that native Americans, when they ride across vast plains, take a moment to look back to check that their souls are keeping up with them,” he said. “I wanted to talk about self-reflection and taking time to look back with the adults of our time who have come this far focusing only on moving forward.”

Joining the producer and screenwriter on the stage, Kim, a veteran actress who most recently starred in the 2015 SBS drama “Mrs. Cop,” said she thinks the drama will strike a chord with all generations. To the younger generations, it could offer a glimpse of what’s in store later in their lives.

She also said the drama turned out to be much more action-packed than she expected.

“The bungee jumping scene was the most memorable,” she said. “I didn’t actually jump, but I had to be (on the jumping platform) for four hours. It was really tough.”

In the scene where she fell into the water, Kim said she struggled till midnight to get it right.

“But it’s cool. It’s not everyday someone my age gets to film underwater,” the actress said good-humoredly.

Ji, who is best known to foreigners for his role as the male protagonist in the period drama “Daejanggeum,” was certainly not excluded from the “action” as he broke his nose during a scene where he was punched in the face.

“I had it put back in place and it’s healing,” he said, adding nonchalantly, “It does start bleeding if I sneeze too hard.”

On love, the actor shared the lessons he learned with the coming of age.

“In my 20s, I thought that was everything. I only had to think about myself,” he said. “Now, it’s different. There’s family, friends, and if you have a lover, he or she has family, too. These are some of the things we’ll show (through the drama).”

The weekend series will premiere at 9:55 p.m. on Saturday.

Ji Jin-hee (L) and Kim Hee-ae pose for a photo during a press conference promoting their drama “Second to Last Love” at SBS headquarters in Seoul on July 27, 2016.