“I was determined to learn the script and the dialect, so I wrote it down in a note-taking format. I tried to quickly acquire the dialect by marking it in my own way, like learning a song.”
Yoon Seo-ah, one of the main stars who shone in the recently concluded tvN weekend drama ‘The Tyrant's Chef’, shared behind-the-scenes stories about joining the project and her lingering feelings after the finale.
‘The Tyrant's Chef’ is a survival fantasy romantic comedy drama that tells the story of chef Yeon Ji-young (played by Lim Yoon-a) who time slips to the past at the peak of her career and meets the king Lee Heon (played by Lee Chae-min), who possesses an absolute sense of taste.
Starting with a viewership rating of 4.9% (based on Nielsen Korea nationwide), the show experienced a steep rise and achieved its highest rating of 17.1% in the final episode, marking a successful conclusion. It not only became the highest-rated show on tvN this year but also set the best record among all mini-series aired this year.
In ‘The Tyrant's Chef’, Yoon Seo-ah played the role of Seo Gil-geum, a strong supporter of Ji-young from the future and a character with an ‘absolute sense of smell’, receiving much love from viewers throughout the broadcast. She perfectly portrayed Gil-geum's journey from a girl living in the wild to a member of ‘Team Suragan’ alongside Yeon Ji-young.
Particularly, it surprised viewers to learn that she was cast as Gil-geum just three days before filming began. Yoon Seo-ah explained, “The director liked my previous work in ‘Ok-ssi Buin Jeon’ and I think I was cast because of our past connection from an audition.”
Although she quickly started learning the script by writing it down, she did not face significant difficulties in building the character of Gil-geum.
“Since it was a role that had a lot of character traits, I thought I could just conceptualize the speech and actions. During the script reading, the director mentioned that it would be more interesting if the modern Ji-young and the historical Gil-geum contrasted with each other. I focused on those aspects and tried to develop them.”
Yoon Seo-ah received a lot of help from actor Hong Jin-ki, who played the role of Maeng Sook-soo, in mastering the Jeolla dialect, which became Gil-geum's trademark. She also enhanced her performance with voice acting.
“I tried hard to perfect the dialect, but I felt I couldn't reach the level of those who actually speak it. I thought it would be good to get help with my voice to better portray Gil-geum. I aimed for a sharper and more lively voice, thinking that if I could bring out a rustic quality, the speech would come out more naturally, so I think I exaggerated it a bit.”
As Gil-geum was a strong supporter of the protagonist Yeon Ji-young, she naturally became close to actress Lim Yoon-a, with whom she spent a lot of time on set. Yoon Seo-ah, who was a huge fan of Girls' Generation during her school days and even performed their hit song ‘Oh!’ in a talent show, shared, “I couldn't believe that she asked for my number first, and I was shocked.”
“I think Yoon-a and I had great chemistry. Since I was suddenly added to the project, whenever I showed any signs of nervousness, she would come over first to help me with the script, and we practiced the lines countless times right before shooting. That's why our chemistry probably looked good.”
Yoon Seo-ah also mentioned that she received a lot of consideration from Lim Yoon-a on set, describing her as “like a generous tree that shares everything, from hot packs to hand warmers.”
“There was a time when I felt like I was catching a cold, and she warmed up some herbal tea for me with a hot pack, and thankfully, I got through it well. She took care of me both as a senior actress and like a real older sister, so it felt really family-like.”
Yoon Seo-ah also gained attention for her role as Baek Yi, the maid of Lady Tae-young, in her previous work ‘Ok-ssi Buin Jeon’. To show a different side from Baek Yi as Gil-geum, she put in even more detailed effort.
“I really wanted the differences between the two characters to be noticeable. Baek Yi is a low-status girl who receives a lot of love from her master, so she is well-groomed and full of love, while Gil-geum lost her parents at a young age and lived in the wild to escape from the chaos, so she has rough and unrefined aspects. I think I focused on those parts while acting. I also tried to use a variety of expressions for surprise, using my eyes, nose, and mouth.”
With all the efforts she put in, the success of the project was significant. Yoon Seo-ah shared that her school friends still keep in touch, and she also talked about her family's reactions.
“They were really grateful that I got to play a character that could last long. In my previous works, I often played roles that died quickly. The results were really good, and every day they would capture the ratings, related articles, and funny comments and share them in our family group chat. I was really glad that I could repay my parents through what I wanted to do, and it made me feel like I should work even harder.”
Despite playing a significant role in this year's highest-rated mini-series, unfortunately, no one recognized her on the street. This was because the modern Yoon Seo-ah looks very different from the plain appearance of Gil-geum in Joseon-era clothing.
“Right now, I think people don’t recognize me because I look modern. Since Sun-geum appeared as a mid-point character in the drama, I’m thinking of posting some photos on social media to help people get used to my look. (laughs)”([Interview②] continues]
[Kim Mi-ji, Star Today Reporter]
