"No 'cathartic' moments"... Writer Park Hae-young of 'Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness' Delivers 'Small Comfort' Through Koo Kyo-hwan and Go Yoon-jung [Comprehensive]

*This content was translated by AI.

Writer Park Hae-young has returned. She is set to offer small comfort through the drama 'Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness' alongside top-tier actors such as Koo Kyo-hwan and Go Yoon-jung.

On the 17th, a production conference for the new JTBC Saturday-Sunday drama 'Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness' (script by Park Hae-young, directed by Cha Young-hoon, hereinafter 'Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness') was held at the Stanford Hotel in Sangam, Mapo-gu, Seoul. The event was attended by director Cha Young-hoon, along with actors Koo Kyo-hwan, Go Yoon-jung, Oh Jung-se, Kang Mal-geum, Park Hae-joon, and Han Sun-hwa.

'Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness' is a work that follows humans seeking peace as they struggle with madness born of envy and jealousy when they are the only ones unable to cope among accomplished friends.

This project, which brings together writer Park Hae-young of 'My Mister' and 'My Liberation Notes' with director Cha Young-hoon of 'When the Camellia Blooms' and 'Welcome to Samdal-ri', has drawn great expectations.

Director Cha Young-hoon stated regarding 'Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness': "We all do our best to live as valuable, special, and important people. However, while it is fine if we become such people ourselves, we often wish to be more valuable, special, and important than others. This is why inferior emotions such as envy and jealousy arise."

He continued: "The protagonist of this drama is a person who has lived through envy and jealousy. The main character is Hwang Dong-man (played by Koo Kyo-hwan), who has been preparing to become a film director. Those around him have all succeeded. He lives engulfed in emotions such as worthlessness, self-doubt, inferiority, and anxiety. Then, a person appears who tells him 'you have value', 'your mere existence has value'. Empowered by such encouragement, Dong-man overcomes his sense of worthlessness. Those around him also embrace Dong-man, and they too overcome their own sense of worthlessness", he added.

Director Cha Young-hoon stated that "there is no 'cathartic' story of Dong-man becoming a million-viewer director. However, he believes this is a work that offers small comfort by saying 'Today's failures, frustrations, shame, and self-doubt are not just yours. Everyone lives this way. So, do not dwell on what upset you, and as you go on living, a day will come when you will laugh and talk.'"

Additionally, Director Cha Young-hoon shared his impressions of meeting writer Park Hae-young. He said: "I had to be good unconditionally. I wanted to be so good. I did not want to miss even a single line of stage direction in the dialogue. I wanted to express the ideals I felt. I think the actors felt the same way."

He continued: "When delivering certain lines, they can change due to breathing or pronunciation. However, our actors worked hard to bring out every letter and action exactly as written in the stage directions. In doing so, they made us realize 'this was the meaning'. They truly tried to express it faithfully", he added.

In the drama, Koo Kyo-hwan plays Hwang Dong-man, a film director who has been preparing for his debut for 20 years, living within the emotions of envy and jealousy. Go Yoon-jung plays Byun Eun-ah, a planning PD at film company Choi Films.

The two actors shared their impressions of joining 'Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness'. Koo Kyo-hwan said: "When I first read the script, I thought 'I really want to do this', '|I am getting the opportunity to meet such a character'. I only had the thought '|I want to do this'".

He added: "I felt as if Dong-man actually exists somewhere. I want to make a film with Dong-man".

Go Yoon-jung shared her impressions of working with writer Park Hae-young. She said: "Rather than pressure, I felt a sense of Seol Re-go (Auditor). It was an honor and fascinating. I felt a strong sense of '|I am honored to be written by you'".

Park Hae-joon noted that the drama is filled with beautiful lines written by writer Park Hae-young. He stated: "There were many lines that deeply resonated with me. Beautiful lines are scattered throughout, so I think everyone will take away lines that touch their own hearts".

Koo Kyo-hwan and Go Yoon-jung shared their impressions of working together in the drama.

Regarding Go Yoon-jung, Koo Kyo-hwan said: "You will see in the scenes that Hwang Dong-man unilaterally spews out sentences and lines", and "|I was surprised by Go Yoon-jung's reactions and the emotions she expressed with her eyes. '|She is an actor who knows how to create an atmosphere'. I received a lot of help from Go Yoon-jung".

Go Yoon-jung also expressed her respect for Koo Kyo-hwan's acting. She said: "I felt some pressure right before filming began, but since there were many scenes filmed with Koo Kyo-hwan on set, the pressure naturally disappeared", and "|I did not intentionally try to rely on him, but I naturally ended up relying on him".

She continued: "Koo Kyo-hwan has so many lines. I have a lot of white space. I prepared to fill the gaps without making it boring, but he made me unable to stay still to such an extent that my preparation seemed pointless. Because he acted so diversely, natural reactions came out in every shot", she explained.

Director Cha Dong-hoon did not hold back his praise for the actors. He said: "I did not hire them because of a particular aspect of their acting; rather, the feeling I got while working with them was too good. Koo Kyo-hwan lived as Hwang Dong-man for six months. I experienced the process where Koo Kyo-hwan gradually faded and Hwang Dong-man became more vivid".

Regarding Go Yoon-jung, he continued: "Her eyes are truly deep. During the early filming, it felt as if I was being drawn into them. When I looked into her eyes and she spoke, I had the feeling '|She is speaking?'. She expressed a deep and profound feeling very well", he praised.

Regarding Oh Jung-se, who has worked with him since 'When the Camellia Blooms', he said: "|She says she tried to express 98%, but I think she expressed 120%". Regarding Kang Mal-geum, he added: "|I wonder if one can immerse oneself and create such detail. There was such sincerity".

Additionally, Director Cha Dong-hoon stated regarding Park Hae-joon: "The character must not have been easy. He had to express very deep emotions in a very quiet and calm manner". Regarding Han Sun-hwa, he said: "|She actually appears from the middle of the story onward. She did her best during the first script reading", expressing his gratitude.

Meanwhile, 'Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness' will premiere on the 18th at 10:40 p.m.

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*This content was translated by AI.