Writer Kim Eun-sook has shared her thoughts on “Everything Will Be Achieved.”
The Netflix series “Everything Will Be Achieved,” which will be released on October 3, just before Chuseok, features a genie (played by Kim Woo-bin) who awakens after a thousand years of slumber and meets a human, Ga-young (played by Suzy), who lacks emotions. The story revolves around a stress-free, fantasy romantic comedy where they engage in a wish-making game involving three wishes. The naive genie and the emotionless Ga-young's precarious wish-making promises an extraordinary storyline.
“Everything Will Be Achieved” is the latest work by writer Kim Eun-sook, whose existence is a genre in itself. Known for creating sensational works like “The Glory,” “Mr. Sunshine,” and “Goblin,” she returns with a fantasy romantic comedy that beautifully blends reality and fantasy.
Previously, she described “Everything Will Be Achieved” as “a stress-free, zero-sweet potato, familiar taste fantasy romantic comedy,” sparking curiosity. She continued, “For those exhausted by daily life, the easiest and quickest way to find happiness is through ‘drama.’ Among the many genres, romantic comedy is a magical genre that allows viewers to feel excited as they watch wonderful actors create sweet and heartwarming love stories, helping them forget their weary daily lives and heal through laughter and tears.”
The trailer generated buzz immediately upon release, particularly for the unique characters portrayed by Kim Woo-bin and Suzy. The setting of a genie granting wishes while being a corrupting force, and the fact that the romantic comedy protagonist is a strange yet beautiful woman who cannot feel emotions, twists familiar elements into a fresh and imaginative character dynamic. The acting transformations of Kim Woo-bin and Suzy, who perfectly embodied these roles, also drew attention.
Kim Eun-sook explained, “The genie is a character that must be cool, then broken, and then deadly, requiring the actor to use all their emotions and expressions. They must express a mischievous face, a handsome face, a cold face, a lonely face, and above all, a face in love. Watching Kim Woo-bin, I understood why actors are said to have ‘a thousand faces.’”
Regarding the character Ga-young and Suzy, she added, “Ga-young is ironically a very rare character with the external appearance of a ‘psychopath’ and the internal essence of ‘human goodwill.’ Her only guide to living in this world is her grandmother's rules and the routines she has created, leading to constant battles with the genie, who pushes her outside of her map. This strange and beautiful woman is how I envisioned Ga-young, and despite being a challenging character, Suzy reassured me by expressing her excitement.”
Below is the full Q&A with writer Kim Eun-sook
Q. What does the genre of ‘romantic comedy’ mean to you, Kim Eun-sook?
For those exhausted by daily life, the easiest and quickest way to find happiness is through ‘drama.’ Among the many genres, romantic comedy is a magical genre that allows viewers to feel excited as they watch wonderful actors create sweet and heartwarming love stories, helping them forget their weary daily lives and heal through laughter and tears.
Q. What was your experience working with Kim Woo-bin and Suzy, who play the roles of the genie and Ga-young?
The genie is a character that must be cool, then broken, and then deadly, requiring the actor to use all their emotions and expressions. They must express a mischievous face, a handsome face, a cold face, a lonely face, and above all, a face in love. Watching Kim Woo-bin, I understood why actors are said to have ‘a thousand faces.’
Ga-young is ironically a very rare character with the external appearance of a ‘psychopath’ and the internal essence of ‘human goodwill.’ Her only guide to living in this world is her grandmother's rules and the routines she has created, leading to constant battles with the genie, who pushes her outside of her map. This strange and beautiful woman is how I envisioned Ga-young, and despite being a challenging character, Suzy reassured me by expressing her excitement.
Q. How did you design and develop the other characters in “Everything Will Be Achieved” besides the genie and Ga-young?
I recommend watching the characters ‘Soo-hyun,’ the genie’s brother, ‘Mi-joo,’ the mysterious woman, and ‘Min-ji,’ Ga-young’s friend who is a dentist, without any prior information. There will be fun in gradually discovering the information sprinkled throughout the drama and predicting how their relationships will unfold.
Additionally, there are other main characters known as ‘wishers.’ When creating these characters, I thought a lot about deficiency. Every human life has deficiencies, and when asked to express a wish, most people try to fill that deficiency. However, the way they do so can be good or evil, leading to questions like ‘How do humans deal with deficiencies?’ and ‘How should I handle my own deficiencies?’ as I built the characters of the wishers.
Q. Were there any important considerations when setting the spatial background of the work?
The lamp is a space where the genie has been imprisoned for 983 years, so I wanted it to have a desolate feeling. Later, as Ga-young fills the lamp with various items, I wanted to show how this once distant place becomes a cozy space full of life. I wanted to visually express the genie’s emotional changes in this way, and when I first saw it on screen, the staff members thought of it as ‘my genie.’ Cheongpung Village is set as a space contrasting with the genie’s space in the Dubai desert, envisioned as a beautiful Korean countryside village where green mountains and life-giving land and water harmoniously coexist.
Q. Any message for the fans waiting for “Everything Will Be Achieved”?
Since the theme of the work revolves around three wishes, I inevitably had to work on somewhat heavy themes like human desires and nature, the duality of good and evil, and the depth of love. However, as it is a ‘romantic comedy,’ I tried to write the heavier themes in a cute way, resulting in the strange and beautiful “Everything Will Be Achieved” coming into the world. So, this Chuseok, I hope everyone gathers together and gets lost in the charm of “Everything Will Be Achieved.” Rather than nagging about marriage or jobs, I hope you have a rich Chuseok filled with warm conversations like “What is our daughter’s wish?” and “What is your wish, mom?”
[Yang So-young, Star Today Reporter]
