Lee Sang-yoon calls 'Pandora: Beneath the Paradise' meaningful

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

Sat, September 23, 2023 | 06:10

Shows & Dramas

Lee Sang-yoon calls 'Pandora: Beneath the Paradise' meaningful

Posted : 2023-05-01 17:06

Updated : 2023-05-02 14:31

Actor Lee Sang-yoon played the role of Pyo Jae-hyun in the tvN series "Pandora: Beneath the Paradise." Courtesy of tvN

By Lee Gyu-lee

Actor Lee Sang-yoon shared that playing the villainous character in tvN's "Pandora: Beneath the Paradise" has been a career experience that expanded his acting repertoire.

"It has been a valuable and meaningful time as I was able to show different sides that I've never done in my previous works with this character. This will be remembered as a meaningful project in my acting career," the actor said through the network.

The action series revolves around a woman named Hong Tae-ra (Lee Ji-ah), taking revenge on those who ruined her life. For an unknown reason, she has lost all memory of her past but has managed to settle into a perfect life with a successful husband and tech company CEO, Pyo Jae-hyun (Lee Sang-Yoon), and their lovely daughter.

But her perfect life begins to fall apart when her memories start to come back, leading her to fight those who are behind her tragedy to protect her family.

The series, which was released on March 11, garnered interest with star writer Kim Soon-ok, who scripted the hit series, "The Penthouse: War in Life" (2021), joining as the creator. It is directed by Choi Hyeong-hun, who previously led the 2021 comedy series, "One the Woman," and is scripted by writer Hyun Ji-min.

The 16-part drama ended its run on Sunday with a 4.4 percent viewership rating. The last episode showed the fall of Pyo who has been running a secret, unethical human experiment for his business and has manipulated Hong's past.

A regretful Pyo moves to take a final solution but the final scene leaves things open-ended.

A scene from the tvN series "Pandora: Beneath the Paradise" / Courtesy of tvN

Lee Sang-yoon, who reunited with director Choi after "One the Woman," expressed satisfaction working with the team again.

"It was really great to come together and work again with my previous series 'One the Woman' team, including director Choi. I was happy to have the opportunity to work with writers Kim and Hyun's script," he said.

"I've collected good memories with the series as I work with such awesome fellow actors to create scenes and a fun working environment together. So it feels very bittersweet that the series has come to an end."

The actor expressed appreciation to the series' viewers. "I thank viewers for watching the series and I hope it stays with you," he said.

Lee Ji-ah bid farewell to the series, posting a photo from the program's shooting on her social media and saying "It has been a pleasant and thankful time."

Actor Kwon Hyun-bin, who played Hong's brother, Cha Pill-sung, also shared excitement about having worked on the series.

"It has been an honor to work with actors and directors who I've always admired. So I was nervous to take part, but I thank those for helping me and encouraging me through the process until the end," he said.

"I've had a lot of emotional scenes with Lee Ji-ah. Every time, she would lead and teach me, which I was grateful for. We actually have similar tastes in real life so we would text each other and have become really close."

He added: "Personally, I've especially fallen deeper into the character as I felt a connection and sorry for Pill-sung. I will never forget the experience and emotion that I learned through 'Pandora.'"

gyulee@koreatimes.co.kr