Kim Da-mi on reuniting with Choi Woo-shik for 'Our Beloved Summer'

Actress Kim Da-mi played the character of Kook Yeon-su in the romance series, "Our Beloved Summer." Courtesy of Andmarq

By Lee Gyu-lee

Actors Kim Da-mi and Choi Woo-shik showed off their chemistry as protagonist and antagonist characters in the 2018 action film, "The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion." About three years after her breakout role as a high school girl with a superpower, Kim has found new on-screen chemistry with Choi as a long-term couple in the SBS romantic comedy series, "Our Beloved Summer."

"Because we already knew each other well, we were able to work together smoothly. I can't imagine how I could've created my character without having Choi as his character, Choi Ung. We had so much fun and had each other's backs throughout the series," Kim said in a video interview with The Korea Times, last week.

The romance series, based on the webcomic by Han Kyoung-chal, follows the story of a couple consisting of a free-spirited illustrator, Choi Ung (Choi), and a workaholic PR specialist, Kook Yeon-su (Kim). The two became high school sweethearts after filming a documentary 10 years ago, but parted ways after a five-year relationship.

But when the documentary resurfaces and goes viral online, the two are forced to film a follow-up documentary five years after their breakup, which leads them to find their way back to each other. The series was directed by newcomer Kim Yoon-jin and written by scriptwriter Lee Na-eun.

The series ended on Jan. 25 with a 5.3-percent viewership rating, but has created a buzz online with its realistic romance of the couple and their heartwarming coming-of-age story. It landed on Netflix's official weekly top 10 charts for non-English TV shows in December, climbing to the fourth spot in the third week of January.

A scene from the series, "Our Beloved Summer" / Courtesy of SBS

The actress said that she felt strongly that the series would become a well-made piece from the script.

"I really enjoyed the script and when I heard that Choi will be the other lead, I thought it would be fun. And after meeting the director and writer, I felt that we can build up synergy to make this series a good one," she said. "(The story) had such realistic depiction. There were no dramatic subplots or events, but it delves deeper into each character. I think the viewers loved the series because the story didn't have any villains."

Kim expressed that she has been longing to portray a more realistic character, as her previous roles in "The Witch" and TV series "Itaewon Class" were intense characters.

"I've always wanted to do a romance, as it's closely related to our daily lives … I wanted to portray a realistic and normal character. So I tried to resonate with the energy that the production set had," she said.

"Instead of trying to make something up, (Choi and I) discussed how we can deliver the emotions we felt through the screen and how we can make our chemistry as realistic and natural as possible. And these helped me in creating the character of Yeon-su."

She added that she hopes to work with Choi again in different genres. "We worked on an action genre with our previous film, 'The Witch,' but I hope we can also do other projects that portray different emotions," she said. "It could be in the action genre or a deep, powerful melodrama. I feel like I can enjoy working on various projects with Choi."

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