KBS2's latest drama 'Girls' Generation 1979' about the friendship of high school girls in Daegu city, South Korea, in the 1970s, just premiered this September 11. CNBLUE's lead guitarist and vocalist Lee Jong-hyun, who is part of the main cast, spoke about his character Joo Young-choon in the drama and the difference between his personality and that of his character.
As noted by website Soompi, Lee Jong-hyun described his 1979's era character as, "a real man from Gyeongsang Province" and added, "Actually, Young-choon and I aren't similar at all. We're totally polar opposites."
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In 'Girls' Generation 1979,' Joo Young-choon is portrayed as somebody who appears cold and harsh on the outside but over time shows a previously dormant warmer nature. Jong-hyun also talked about the romantic angle between Young Choon and actress Chae Seo-jin's high school character Park Hye-joo.
Though Young-choon cares for Seo-jin' character, she is the one who actually has developed a crush on Young-choon. Talking about this retro romance, Lee Jong-hyun said, "I wanted to deliver that era's pure love and heart-fluttering feelings to the viewers." In September 24, Soompi noted that new official stills from the drama show Lee Jong Hyun wiping away Chae Seo-jin's tears and then proceeding to comfort her by holding her in his arms.
Lee Jong-hyun also talked about getting to speak in a dialect and how he enjoyed the process. "I feel so refreshed. I really wanted to [speak in a dialect] all this time. I hope I can do it more in the future," the Busan native said.
KBS2's 'Girls' Generation 1979' stars Cosmic Girls member Bona in the lead role of Lee Jung-hee. In addition to Chae Seo-jin and Lee Jong-hyun, the drama also stars actor Seo Young-joo as Bae Dong-moon, Yeo Hoe-hyun as Sohn Jin, Dohee as Shim Ae-sook. Supporting the main cast are Lee Bom as Park Gwi-ja, Kwon Hae-hyo as Jung-hee's father, Kim Sun-young as Jung-hee's mother, Park Ha-na as Hong Dong-hwa and Sujin as Kim Eon-joo.
As per AGB Nielsen rating agency, 'Girls' Generation 1979' started out with 4.3 percent ratings in the first episode, in all of South Korea. It climbed 0.5 percent in the next episode but again fell down 0.7 percent in the next two episodes. The drama airs on KBS2 every Monday and Tuesday at 10.00 p.m. KST. The sixth episode airs tonight.
