Mun Ka-Young’s Character Is Cynical About Love In ‘The Interest Of Love’

It was the finely crafted screenplay that persuaded actress Mun Ka-young to consider a role in the upcoming drama, The Interest of Love. The SLL drama is based on a 2019 novel Sarangui Yihae, written by Lee Hyeok-Jin and adapted by screenwriters Lee Seo-hyun and Lee Hyun-jung.

“The script was the first thing that caught my eye, as it was so well written,” said Mun. “And most of all, I was full of excitement to be able to show a new face of myself as actress Mun Ka-young that I had never shown before.”

Mun’s resume of recent drama roles includes Tempted, True Beauty, Find Me In Your Memory and Link: Eat, Love, Kill. In Tempted, a k-drama version of Les Dangerous Liaisons, the actress plays a cruel neurotic heiress. In True Beauty she’s a bullied student who needs make-up to feel confident. In Find Me In Your Memory, she’s a model-turned-actress and in the fantasy drama Link: Eat, Kill, Love, she’s a job seeker.

Her character in The Interest of Love is Ahn Soo-young, a woman who does not believe love can last.

“Ahn Soo-young is a character who continues to endure a difficult life and seems rock solid outwardly,” said Mun. “However, at the same time, she holds anxiety, being fragile, and not knowing when she will be broken.”

Soo-young will have another chance at love in The Interest of Love, which has been described as a “realistic romance.” When asked what a “realistic romance” means to her, the actress said, “My story and yours. Not the love you’ve heard of or you might think could’ve existed. A realistic love story means the love story and emotions we all experience at one time in our life.”

In the drama Soo-young will meet Ha Sang-Soo, played by Yoo Yeon-seok. He’s a man who likes his quiet predictable life and he knows that love can be chaotic. When these characters embark on a relationship, it will change both their lives.

For Mun, the best part of acting is creating memorable characters. “If you imagine something and know that you can create that person, you’ll come to know that this is a fascinating work.”

Mun started acting 16 years ago, when she was only 10. That’s when her family returned to Korea from Germany, where she was born. Because she started acting at such a young age, Mun says she has grown up alongside the characters she played. Each script caused her to reflect on her own values and helped her grow.

“I have grown with scripts,” said Mun. “While reading, choosing, and acting out different scripts. I read and accepted the scripts and my thinking, mindset, and values would have influenced that process even though I haven’t intended to do so. My filmography itself represents me therefore, I think.”

Although The Interest of Love is based on a novel, Mun does not generally read books with an eye to whether they might be adapted to the small or large screen. That would interfere with her love of reading.

“Reading books belongs to my private space,” she said. “And my work is my public space. Anyone who loved the original story knows the fear of the original being recreated into a movie or drama. That explains why I am very cautious in selecting a script when it has the original version. The Interest of Love is based on the book. I made a choice and I’m sure the drama will offer more than that.”

The SLL drama airs on Dec. 21 and can be seen in the US on NetflixNFLX
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