Chae-Young reflects on her role in 'Esquire' and working with Lee Jin-Wook, expressing admiration and insights from their collaboration.
November/3/2025 20:11Related Groups & Members
Former DIA's Chae-Young revealed her thoughts on co-starring with senior Lee Jin-Wook in 'Esquire: Lawyers Who Dream of Being Lawyers' (hereafter 'Esquire'). Chae-Young passionately played the role of Kang Hyomin, a rookie lawyer from Seoul National University Law School, in the recently concluded JTBC weekend drama 'Esquire' (written by Park Mihyun, directed by Kim Jaehong). 'Esquire' is an office growth drama where the justice-driven but socially inexperienced rookie lawyer Kang Hyomin, who somehow emits a cold aura around her, grows into a complete lawyer through her top partner lawyer Yoon Seokhoon (Lee Jin-Wook). Chae-Young expressed her character Kang Hyomin, who is smart and reliable, in her own unique way, receiving positive feedback from viewers. In a recent interview with Newsen at BH Entertainment's building in Gangnam, Seoul, Chae-Young shared her experience of working with Lee Jin-Wook, saying, 'It was my first time meeting a senior actor as a co-star. Of course, we are from the same agency, but I was very nervous and prepared a lot, but my senior was very easygoing.' She continued, 'Seeing my senior, I thought, 'If I accumulate that much experience, can I become like that?' I felt I had to learn from him. Sometimes when I feel nervous or want to do well, things don't go well. I thought I should learn from his composed demeanor and was surprised.' Some netizens reacted by suggesting that Chae-Young received 'special treatment' because she and Lee Jin-Wook are from the same agency. When asked if she felt regretful, Chae-Young replied, 'Rather than feeling regret, I thought it was natural for some to think that way. It was one of the projects I was offered, so I didn't mind much.' Lee Jin-Wook, in a previous interview, revealed that he adjusted the romance level with 16 years younger Chae-Young. 'It's a sad story, but there's an age gap,' he began. 'For the parties involved in the romance, the age difference is not important. Recently, there is a trend of not caring about such things, but I think there would be a rejection when it is broadcasted as a work. I still think there is a rejection in the social atmosphere of Korea, so there were parts that I adjusted.' In response, Chae-Young said, 'There wasn't a huge adjustment, but I really agreed with that opinion. I thought a love line with various possibilities would be more interesting. I thought it would be more interesting if reactions like 'Is this love? No? You guys, this is love' came out. I thought it would be interesting to make people think about whether it is really love as a man or a crush out of respect for a senior.' She continued, when asked how she interpreted and acted, 'I considered various possible endings, but personally, I interpreted it as respect for my senior. Hyomin also doesn't know much about love and has a childish side, so I interpreted it that way.' Lee Jin-Wook also mentioned his efforts to get closer to Chae-Young in a previous interview. He said, 'Chae-Young shares gummies with the staff when they are tired. I actually don't like gummies. But when I was told, 'You eat them,' I raised my hand and said, 'Me too! Me too!' I also went to her and asked, 'Chae-Young, do you have any gummies?' There were also parts where I unnecessarily tried to talk to her.' Hearing this, Chae-Young made a face as if betrayed, saying, 'I thought you liked them.' She then laughed and said, 'I usually don't eat them, but when filming, I suddenly want to eat them. At that time, many famous and delicious products came out. I thought, 'Let's all eat together,' and shared.' She added, 'My senior really approached me in a friendly manner. I don't know if it's okay to express it this way, but he has a really bright, boyish beauty. Since he approached me first like that, I was able to relax too. But if all of that was acting...' which made everyone laugh. Chae-Young also described Lee Jin-Wook as 'the mood maker. There's a term called 'appearance craftsman.' When he appears, the surroundings really brighten up.' She added, 'We filmed while laughing and having fun on set.'
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