AO EXCLUSIVE: The ensemble cast of “Gold Land” and their overflowing chemistry on set!
Greed and betrayal collide in this new survival thriller series that has finally debuted on Disney+!
Gold Land tells the story of Hee Ju, who accidentally came into possession of 150 billion Korean won worth of gold bars from a smuggling organization. She finds herself on the run from some of Korea’s most dangerous men.
Ahead of the premiere of the series, an exclusive press conference was held on April 27 with the presence of the powerhouse cast, Park Bo Young, Kim Sung Cheol, Lee Hyun Wook, Kim Hee Won, Moon Jeong Hee, and Lee Kwang Soo, alongside Director Kim Sung Hoon, to talk about the drama, their roles, and their chemistry on set.
The Cast Members and Their Roles
Park Bo Young as Kim Hee Ju
Following her drama, Light Shop Keeper, Park Bo Young is back and takes on the role of Kim Hee Ju, a determined security screening officer at an international airport, desperate to escape her past. This is Bo Young’s first crime thriller series, and according to her, this is a genre that she wanted to try.
When asked about how she and the director molded her role, Bo Young shared that to perfectly show her character in the series, the director wanted her to look very thin, drained, and worn out, and that maybe not putting on make-up would work better. “At first, I thought maybe I needed a little bit of make-up, so I put a little bit of make-up on, but later on I really put almost no make-up on myself,” she explained. Director Kim added, “You will see a whole new facet of Bo Young.”
Kim Sung Cheol as Woogy
Kim Sung Cheol portrays the role of Jang Wook (a.k.a Woogy), a member of the criminal organization chasing Hee Ju and someone who lived in the same neighborhood as her when they were young. Sung Cheol described his role as shallow and very frank, which leads to a mysterious aura around his character and adds tension to the narrative. He also shared that he thought that it would make the most sense for him not to put on any makeup. “It only took me about 5 minutes to get ready to go shooting. I would just put on some sunscreen,” he added.
Lee Hyun Wook as Lee Do Kyung
Lee Hyun Wook transforms into an airline co-pilot named Lee Do Kyung, Hee Ju’s boyfriend, who lures her into the possession of gold bars. Director Kim described his character as someone who is slowly falling into his desires. When asked about his memorable scene in the series, Hyun Wook chose the scene where Ho Cheol comes to see Do Kyung in the hospital. “Kwang Soo did an incredible job. He was so intimidating in that scene, and so I think you can see a very raw response from me.“
Kim Hee Won as Kim Jin Man
Following his debut as a director in Light Shop Keeper, Kim Hee Won is back as an actor playing the role of Detective Kim Jin Man. When asked about why he chose this show, he answered, “I chose this show because it was the best that I’ve seen that year. It was a total page turner, and it was so fun to read the script. and also, the cast, I knew that they would do a great job, and I’m going to be a good fit for the show.”
According to Director Kim, Jin Man holds the key to the latter part of the series, and Hee Won did a great job showing the complexities of his character. “And because he was also a director, I feel like he really understood me,” the director pointed out.
Moon Jeong Hee as Yeo Sun Ok
Moon Jeong Hee plays Yeo Sun Ok, Kim Hee Ju’s mother in the series. Playing this role, Jeong Hee shared that he lost a lot of weight. Jeong Hee describes her character as someone who is not driven by motherly love. She’s selfish and someone who constantly chases after her own desires and greed, so that she finds herself worn out.
Lee Kwang Soo as Park Ho Cheol
After starring as Park Do Kyung in The Manipulated, Lee Kwang Soo is back to play another villain role named Park Ho Cheol in this series. According to Kwang Soo, his tooth gem, his accessories, and the scars on his face were his idea to perfectly show the details of his role.
Kwang Soo also mentioned how his villain role is different from his role in The Manipulated. He said he has a lot of action sequences, and he loves being in them. “There are different types of greed, and I have never been a character with this much greed, so this is going to be the great villain from the other villain roles that I’ve played so far,” he added.
Park Bo Young’s Chemistry with Her Co-stars
When asked about the chemistry of Bo Young with her co-stars, she responded, “With Sung Cheol, it’s very hard to see what kind of dynamic the two (Woogy and Hee Ju) have because it’s very layered. On set, Sung Cheol had a lot of ad-libs, and he surprised me with his different performances. Thanks to his variety of ways of performing, I think it kept our dynamics very interesting until the very end.” She also shared that Sung Cheol calls him noona (older sister) on set and said that if she had a baby brother, she would love to have one like him.
Bo Young also shared what her chemistry with Hyun Wook was like on set, “He’s a very sweet guy. He would always ask me, ‘Would this work better for you?’ or ‘Would that look better for you?’ so I could feel that he’s being really nice to me, and I think you can feel that on the screen as well.”
Furthermore, Bo Young said that she is very happy that she was able to work with Kwang Soo again through this series. Kwang Soo remarked, “I felt very much at ease around her. I have confidence and trust in her that she would be able to play off of my energy, so I was very satisfied with my chemistry with Bo Young.”
Park Bo Young, Kim Sung Cheol, Lee Hyun Wook, Moon Jeong Hee, and Lee Kwang Soo hope that the viewers give Gold Land a lot of love and support and enjoy the show.
Moreover, Director Kim said, “We spent over six months filming the show, and we had a lot of fun together. You’ll be able to see new sides of these actors in ‘Gold Land’.” The actors did a great job showing the greed and desires of each character, which added to the narrative, and that’s enough reason to watch this drama.
Gold Land is now streaming on Disney+. 2 new episodes will be released every Wednesday until the season finale on May 27.
Images courtesy of Disney+ Philippines
