"A favorable trend for revenge dramas like 'Manager Kim'"... Killer actress Gong Hyo-jin makes her MBC comeback after 15 years as a 'Married Woman Killer' [Comprehensive]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actress Gong Hyo-jin presents a genre work as entertaining as SBS's "Manager Kim," a hit revenge drama, through "Married Woman Killer."

On the afternoon of the 30th, a production presentation for the MBC Friday-Saturday drama "Married Woman Killer" (script by Kim Eun-hee, directed by Yoon Jong-ho and Kim Ji-hoon) was held at the Golden Mouse Hall in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Director Yoon Jong-ho, actors Gong Hyo-jin, Jung Jun-won, Lee Sang-eun, Moo Jin-seong, Choi Woo-sung, and Lee Eun-saem attended.

"Married Woman Killer" is a drama depicting the struggles of a working mother with the world's most ruthless profession to protect her work-life balance. The story unfolds with balanced tension between the differing convictions of Yoo Bo-na (played by Gong Hyo-jin), a killer who eliminates criminals; Kwon Tae-sung (played by Jung Jun-won), Bo-na's husband and a social affairs reporter who tracks the truth behind the case to the end; and Lee Dong-jin (played by Lee Sang-eun), Tae-sung's best friend and a detective destined to catch criminals. "Married Woman Killer" is drawing attention as the next project from director Yoon Jong-ho, who led a syndromic-level hit with "The Escape of the President."

In the drama, the Crane Electronic Sales Team 3 is a client processing unit that operates under the guise of ordinary office workers while maintaining a thorough double life. From genius hacker Ki Young-do (played by Moo Jin-seong), weapons specialist Bong Tae-min (played by Kim Nam-hee), and poison specialist Oh Hyun-nam (played by Ha Yul-ri) to medical accident specialist Ko Young-gap (played by Heo Jae-ho) and administrative affairs manager Yang Ye-sol (played by Kim Ga-hee), each possessing their own area of expertise, they privately eliminate ruthless criminals who cleverly evade the law and resolve the grievances of victims.

Regarding "Married Woman Killer," Director Yoon Jong-ho said, "Since my previous work ('The Escape of the President') received so much love, I focused on expressing the emotions of the characters well this time, even though it is a different genre. While the tone is different, I hope you will enjoy it."

Director Yoon pointed out that what sets "Married Woman Killer" apart from existing genre works: "The charm point of this drama is the setting itself that a woman is a sniper. Crime thrillers are usually led by men, but we show Bo-na living a unique yet ordinary life where she balances motherhood and being a killer. We also focused heavily on relationships."

Gong Hyo-jin returns to MBC drama for the first time in 15 years since "Best Love" aired in 2011. She said, "I was surprised by the number 15. It felt unbelievable and that time had passed so quickly." She continued, "I watched 'Best Love' briefly as a memory, and those memories came flooding back. There were memorable achievements back then, and the characters were great. 'Pasta' also allowed me to unexpectedly become 'Gong-buri,' and 'Best Love' was too good. I have returned as an 'MBC daughter-in-law,'" she added with a smile.

Regarding her character Yoo Bo-na in "Married Woman Killer," Gong Hyo-jin said, "As I read the webtoon, I felt that Bo-na's ability to hide her emotions well in her expressions and dialogue was a charm point." She explained, "Bo-na is a housewife raising a daughter, a wife to one husband, and an unknown figure returning to work."

Having been active mostly in rom-coms until now, she is making a new image transformation with this genre work. Gong Hyo-jin said, "The killer role seems to have been much more difficult than I imagined. Acting out the dual gap of having a daughter and husband at home was harder than expected." She added, "A major charm of our drama is showing the everyday life of being a daughter-in-law in one family and a wife to a certain husband, while also presenting the image of a working mother who works hard in a balanced way."

Gong Hyo-jin married singer Kevin Oh in 2022 and is now celebrating her fourth wedding anniversary. When asked what kind of wife and daughter-in-law she actually is, she said, "I wonder what I would be like if my mother-in-law weren't around. Through this work, I learned well what kind of person a mother-in-law is. Since I am married, it seems easier for me to act in this role."

She continued, "The director is a lover. When I asked the director, he said he calls us 'our daughter,' 'our princess,' and 'our treasure.' There really is a 'lover' husband. I am also in a very sweet newlywed life, but there are still worlds I don't know about. In the drama, Tae-sung is an 'alien man,' but to play a loving husband, we encouraged each other saying 'we can do it' and supported him." She laughed, "In the drama, my mother-in-law keeps bullying me. She treats me as a daughter-in-law who stole her son. But since I have a personality similar to my mother-in-law, there are times when I get along better with my actual husband than with my mother-in-law."

Regarding his role as Kwon Tae-sung, Jung Jun-won introduced him as "Bo-na's husband and a person for whom family is the most precious thing in a world where he knows only his wife and daughter. At work, he is a passionate reporter with a sense of justice." In reality, Jung Jun-won, known as an "alien man," has transformed into a "lover" husband this time. He said, "I don't think I'm the type who can't express myself, but since styles of affection vary from person to person, what I feel is 100 might look less to others."

Regarding his role as Lee Dong-jin, Lee Sang-eun explained, "He is a police officer who wants to catch 'Kingfisher' more than anyone. Dong-jin has a painful past in the past that is related to Kingfisher." Lee Sang-eun revealed, "We thought about how we should deal with killers who carry out private sanctions while filming." He said, "This time, I played a character with a painful family history. Tae-sung and I dreamed of being reporters since our school days, but he changed his dream and has a painful story." He added, "While others cheer for Kingfisher, Dong-jin looks at Kingfisher from a different perspective."

Moo Jin-seong said, "Ki Young-do is a hacker who respects Senior Bo-na and silently watches over her from behind." Choi Woo-sung said, "Nam Bu-seo Detective Division Strong Crime Team 2 member Nam Sung-hoon is a character who dives deep into anything he gets involved with until the end. He helps Senior Bo-na." Lee Eun-saem introduced herself as playing Kwon Se-a, Tae-sung's youngest sister.

When asked about viewership pledges, Gong Hyo-jin said, "Wasn't SBS's 'Manager Kim' also a revenge drama? It seems like revenge dramas are currently riding a favorable trend." Lee Sang-eun stated, "If (MBC channel) ratings exceed 11%, I will do a challenge on stage with the song that becomes popular that week."

Gong Hyo-jin expressed her expectations: "This is my drama after 15 years. I hope it does well and conquers the summer."

"Married Woman Killer" is based on the popular Kakao webtoon of the same name and will premiere at 9:50 p.m. on July 31.

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*This content was translated by AI.