"Flowers Bloom in the Sand" actors' passionate performances foreshadow healing in a coming-of-age romantic comedy.

From weight gain to dialects, the actors' passionate performances in "Flowers Bloom in the Sand" foreshadowed healing. On the 20th at 2 PM, the production presentation for ENA's new Wednesday-Thursday drama "Flowers Bloom in the Sand" was held at The Saint in Guro-gu, Seoul. Director Kim Jin-woo, lead actors Chang Dong-yun, Lee Joo-myung, Yoon Jong-seok, Kim Bora, Lee Jae-joon, and Lee Ju-sung attended. The drama is a coming-of-age romantic comedy about the reunion of Kim Beok-du, a child prodigy in Korean wrestling, and the leader of the kids, Oh Yoo-kyung. Director Kim Jin-woo compared the drama to a 20-year class reunion, describing it as a story of growth that depicts the growing pains of childhood as "youth" in a warm and personal way. He mentioned that he received the script for the first time and laughed like reading a comic, realizing that he had a similar childhood and wondering why he had forgotten it. He chose the project, thinking that he could convey the atmosphere of that moment to those who have experienced or are experiencing growing pains. Lead actor Chang Dong-yun gained 14kg for his role as Kim Beok-du, a Taebaek-class wrestler. He revealed that he struggled to gain weight within a limited time frame but managed to do so by eating delicious food. Lee Jae-joon, who played Kwak Jin-se, Kim Beok-du's long-time rival, also gained 15-17kg for the role. Chang Dong-yun and Lee Jae-joon trained for two months at the Yongin University wrestling department to transform into wrestlers. They expressed the difficulty of learning the sport and the effort they put into it. The actors also prepared the dialect of Gyeongsangnam-do for the drama. Chang Dong-yun, who is from Daegu, mentioned the challenge of imitating the dialect and expressed his appreciation for Lee Joo-myung's help. Lee Joo-myung, who plays the role of Oh Yoo-kyung, also learned the wrestling techniques for the role. The drama will start airing in South Korea at 9 PM today.