AO EXCLUSIVE: “Chief Detective 1958” aims to show fundamental messages on how to pursue justice
Ready your hearts for another mind-blowing and thrilling series that will surely make your heart pound!
Chief Detective 1958 depicts the story of a young detective, Park Young Han, who teams up with his three passionate detectives to fight crimes in their country. It is a prequel to the legendary 1971-1989 series, Chief Inspector. It takes us way back to mind-blowing 1958, the year when Detective Park was first stationed in Seoul.
Ahead of the premiere of the series, an exclusive press conference was held on April 18 with the presence of the charismatic cast members namely, Lee Je Hoon, Lee Dong Hwi, Choi Woo Sung, and Hyun Yoon Soo alongside Director Kim Sung Hoon.
Why 1958?
According to Director Kim Sung Hoon, when they are creating a prequel, it has to bring nostalgia but also give you something new, so they wanted to do both. When creating a prequel, he said that he focused on the characters’ process as they tried to protect justice, where their motivation came from, and what led them to become amazing detectives.
Director Kim shared why the backdrop of the series is 1958, it’s because at that time, there was a lot of social unrest and a lot of cases and to show the young side of Park Young Hwan they thought that 1958 was the perfect year. “We tried to move to the 1960s due to reasons of adding things to the show but for this to become the prequel and show off the young side of the characters I think, the late 50s was the correct choice. Starting from 1958 to 1962, we had a lot of different cases and through those cases, we can show the different sides of the young detectives,” he added.
With regards to modern forensics and scientific investigations, Director Kim said that there weren’t many things that you could do in the 1950s about investigations but despite all odds, these four people get together showing their passion and rage in solving the cases and that’s the charm of this series.
The Charismatic Cast Members
Lee Je Hoon as Park Young Hwan
Lee Je Hoon transforms into a pessimistic homicide detective named Park Young Han. When asked if he got some advice from the OG actor, Choi Bool Am, he said that when they did a script reading, he didn’t feel nervous because he prepared a lot but being in front of Mr. Choi and reading out the lines of the young detective, Park Young Han, he said that he felt nervous. “I don’t even remember if I did for that table read because I was losing my mind, I was so nervous”. He shared that actor Choi told him that Detective Park is a guy who has a lot of rage inside. He talked to him about the humanistic aspects of the show and Detective Park, so instead of trying to look like Mr. Choi, he thought he wanted to take after his inner feelings.
He said he wanted to show the personal growth within Park Young Han as a young detective in this prequel. At first, you’ll see him as rash, but he has this passion for catching all the bad guys and if you watch him grow, you will want to cheer and root for him. He also said that he has a love story with Seo Eun Soo so he thinks that the viewers will enjoy the romance in the show.
Je Hoon also mentioned that the process of production was not an easy fit, but he was just so excited to see how the world reacted to what they had created. He also added that he is proud of the work they have done, and he can say for sure that they did their very best.
Lee Dong Hwi as Kim Sang Sun
Lee Dong Hwi plays the role of Kim Sang Sun, a “mad dog” detective in the series. Lee Dong Hwi shared that he doesn’t much have memory of the original show because he was so little back then, but after he became an actor, he knew about this OG drama. He got more interested in the original show while he was looking into this drama. He also said that he watched a lot of clips about this show, and thought that it’s such a cool show. The original characters have an amazing performance, and they want to take after their philosophy in the way they portray their characters.
Choi Woo Sung as Cho Kyung Hwan
The role of Cho Kyung Hwan will be portrayed by actor Choi Woo Sung, a “Korean Hulk” in the drama. Woo Sung shared that when he was cast to play Cho Kyung Hwan in the series, he was curious who this character was. When he was researching about it, he learned that the character he would portray was a big guy so he thought about how he would become this big guy. He started eating and gained 25kg of his weight because he wanted to pull this character off and he looked at how his role looked in the original show and tried to take after him.
Yoon Hyun Soo as Seo Ho Jeong
Yoon Hyun Soo portrays the role of the youngest detective in the series, named Seo Ho Jeong. Hyun Soo said that when he passed in the audition, his family was so happy especially his grandpa who is a big fan of the original show, and gave him a big hug when he did an audition.
Lee Je Hoon and Lee Dong Hwi’s Chemistry
Lee Dong Hwi said that along with Woo Sung and Hyun Soo, they felt that they could rely on Lee Je Hoon. Je Hoon made them into one team, and they felt that they could collaborate well on the cases. He could emotionally relate to his character and feel the chemistry between all of them. “It was 100% chemistry with Je Hoon.”
Lee Je Hoon said that Dong Hwi means love to him. He said that it was so nice to be working together with him. He also shared that he’s older than Dong Hwi and the other cast so they would expect him to lead them, but Je Hoon pointed out that he relied on Dong Hwi because he is such a great person to work with.
The two young members also shared their chemistry with their seniors. Woo Sung said that Je Hoon and Dong Hwi were so nice to them and they let them be. Hyun Soo expressed that it was an honor for him to be with them and revealed that Dong Hwi is his role model.
Message to the Viewers
The press conference wrapped up with the messages from the cast and director.
Woo Sung and Hyun Soo hope that everyone will watch and enjoy the show.
“We did our very best, I hope that the result will also show how much love and effort we poured into it. I believe that I played a transitional character this time around so I hope you will look forward to it as well.” Lee Dong Hwi’s final message.
“I hope that within these cold times that we live in, you will feel the warmth and a sense of humanism in our drama series. So, every Friday and Saturday night, be sure to check it out on Disney+. Thank you so much,” Lee Je Hoon’s heartfelt message.
Director Kim Sung Hoon was the last person who delivered his final message. He said, “We tried to tell a story that’s worthy of watching. In challenging times of all four members of the cast, they did an amazing job. As their very first audience, I can say with confidence, that I enjoyed watching them, and even with the final edit, I’m very happy with how it turned out. I truly hope that it will be a great gift for all of you. Thank you.”
Chief Detective 1958 is now streaming on Disney+!
All Photos are Courtesy of MBC
