"PPL ·Intensity, If It Was Uncomfortable, I Would Have Thought About It"... Director Lee Seung-young of 'Manager Kim' with 23% Ratings Shares His True Feelings [★FULL Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

• Interview with Director Lee Seung-young of SBS Friday-Saturday Drama "Manager Kim"

Director Lee Seung-young of "Manager Kim" opened up about various behind-the-scenes stories related to the work as it concluded. He honestly discussed everything from his reaction to the unexpected box office success, adapting the original work, chemistry with actor So Ji-sub, PPL controversy, use of AI, and the possibility of a second season.

Recently, an interview with Director Lee Seung-young was held at a café in Seoul Jongno-gu to commemorate the conclusion of SBS Friday-Saturday drama "Manager Kim." The series, which concluded on the 25th, is a father universe revenge action drama where a father who is "the most ordinary in the world" becomes "the most dangerous man in the world" to fight for his only daughter.

According to ratings survey company Nielsen Korea, the final episode recorded a national viewership rating of 23.0%. In particular, the peak viewership soared to 27.1%, achieving another feat of shattering its own highest record.

Regarding his feelings upon the conclusion, Director Lee said, "We held a wrap party after filming ended and a final broadcast celebration on the last day. At the wrap party, I sincerely expressed that it was fun to go through the filming process and that I regretted not being able to film more. We agreed to humbly accept the results." He added, "During the final broadcast celebration, the actors shared stories of phenomena they personally experienced and people recognizing them, spending a happy and enjoyable time. I am truly glad because everyone who participated in 'Manager Kim' could be happy."

Regarding the viewership that exceeded expectations, he admitted it was an unexpected result. Director Lee stated, "I didn't expect it. The first episode's ratings came out well, and the promotion team and actors promoted hard, so I had expectations, but I didn't think it would reach that level." He continued, "Usually, I sleep with my phone under my pillow, but the next day after the second broadcast, the vibration kept going off. Thinking something happened, I checked the text message and it said '(Ratings) Surpassed 10%, 15%.' We exchanged texts wondering what was going on."

So Ji-sub, who took on the title role, also shared a behind-the-scenes story that he couldn't gauge the success in the early stages. Director Lee said, "(So Ji-sub) often said, 'Usually, I can sense whether filming will be successful or not, but this time I have no idea.' I thought it was fun too, but if the public didn't like it, I might have to retire. Whatever the result, I decided to accept it humbly."

He cited a harmonious script and the actors' performances as factors for the work's success. He explained, "The script itself was a popular and fun script that well-harmonized action, fatherly love, and emotional comedy. While filming, the actors put their souls into their characters, which doubled the sincerity." He also conveyed the situation on set: "Action requires sufficient resources and time, but despite not having enough, many teams worked hard to film it. I felt it turned out better than expected. Rather than assuming it would definitely succeed, I thought we should humbly accept the results since we did our best to create a good script."

He also expressed his grateful heart toward the actors who filled the set. Director Lee said, "There were too many actors to mention them one by one, but even after the second broadcast ended, I received contact from the supporting actors who participated on set." He emphasized, "Those who participated in 'Manager Kim' joined with a sense of ownership regardless of whether they were leads, supporting roles, or bit parts." He added, "Everyone's character was so good that you couldn't tell if it was acting or sincerity. Many people gathered like workaholics. I saw many immersed in their roles. They were more perfectionists than me, and I felt their sincerity."

"Manager Kim" is based on a webtoon of the same name. Director Lee explained the process of building characters within a work based on a webtoon. He stated, "The Manager Kim in the original work is a heroic figure. However, even heroes get scared and don't know what to do when they lose something precious. I thought this was the core of the Manager Kim character, so I wanted to bring that point over."

He conveyed, "I felt the surrounding characters were vibrant. To lead a drama narrative of about 10 hours, I judged that the characters must be alive to sustain it. I wanted to further strengthen them by utilizing the strengths of the original characters."

Regarding variations in the story flow, he said, "In the original work, the daughter character disappears right from the start, and the father goes to find her. However, in our story, she had to be a character valuable enough that not only the father but also the viewers would feel they 'need to save her.'" He continued, "I thought it was important to show the process of evoking sympathy by displaying how she is treated in school bullying situations, and the writer implemented this well in the first episode. This was also the main focus during casting."

Regarding reflecting the style of the original work, he said, "One part I liked about the original was the characters' styles. There were many good elements like hair and costumes, and my thoughts aligned with the makeup team, so we tried to bring over as much as possible that would help the work." He added, "There were other variations, but we brought over the unique strengths of the original well."

He also shared his thoughts on implementing realism. Director Lee said, "Since the original is a webtoon, there was a feeling of being slightly floating off the ground in terms of realism. It might look plausible in a comic, but drama is another realm." He stated, "We tried to implement realism where things that could actually happen would occur overall and feel realistic. On the other hand, we aimed to depict comedy elements more comically, making it one of our main goals to ensure the two blend well."

Regarding So Ji-sub, who anchored the drama, he said, "Actor So has great action skills and acts well as a father, so there is much to praise. I had opportunities to offer casting proposals to Actor So with different works in 2019 and 2024, but they didn't come to fruition. When casting actors, we do a lot of research, so I thought I knew Actor So quite well."

The performance of So Ji-sub met on set gave an even deeper resonance. Director Lee said, "During the first day of filming, there was a depth and detail I had never seen before, which surprised me too much. By the time of the first shoot, I felt like saying, 'I didn't know you well until now, I'm sorry.' I was surprised to see many new sides of Actor So." He shared an on-set anecdote: "At the final broadcast celebration, he said he would re-watch all of Actor So's previous works. When I asked if it was because I hadn't seen them or because they were deeper this time, he laughed."

He also expressed his thoughts on the year-end award ceremonies. Director Lee said, "I have never received an award, so I don't have much interest in awards. Actor So also said he wanted to do a season system rather than awards; he is truly that kind of person. He wants to work more. If given an award, he would accept it gratefully, but he didn't seem greedy, and I was the same."

However, there was some desire for the Best Couple Award. Director Lee said, "I think it would be fun if actors Choi Tae-hoon and Yoon Kyung-ho received the Best Couple Award. It would be nice to laugh one more time at the awards ceremony." He conveyed, "Actually, the two are best friends and were the ones who ate together the most during filming. They kept talking about the scenes where they exchanged the most dialogue while discussing the work. So they seem like a real best couple."

The story continued regarding Yoon Kyung-ho, who undertook a vow of silence as a viewership pledge. "Yoon Kyung-ho is truly someone who speaks constantly. I had a chance to go to the makeup room and talked for 30 to 40 minutes; the topics were really diverse, including work, family, etc. He was more cheerful than noisy, and I think he has a very good talent." Director Lee smiled while saying, "On the day we surpassed (ratings) 15%, Actor Yoon Kyung-ho was on a trip to Japan but contacted me. He was worried about the vow of silence. Since his usual conversation volume is high, it must have been hard for him."

Director Lee also spoke frankly about issues related to "Manager Kim."

First, regarding PPL (product placement) mentions raised by some, he explained, "It is an action drama and a terrestrial broadcast work, with considerable resources invested, and the current drama industry environment is very difficult." He added, "In this process, (PPL) was inevitable and unavoidable. If it cannot be avoided, we tried to incorporate it into the work as well as possible." He conveyed, "I think there were aspects that caused discomfort to viewers, so I believe we need to work harder in the future. Just because a drama is successful does not mean we can direct or approach things however we want."

Regarding violence and intensity control, he emphasized, "There were censorship standards from the very beginning of filming, and I read them carefully." He stated, "In the directing process, we tried to adhere to censorship by reducing direct expressions, such as using indirect mirror reflections or narrowing angles." He continued, "The core of this story was the desperation that 'the daughter could die.' While adhering to censorship, we thought a lot about how to maximize that desperation. If it was uncomfortable for you to watch, I think it is a point we need to consider how to express in the future."

"Manager Kim" also attracted great attention as the first Korean commercial drama to introduce a full AI sequence of 3 minutes. Regarding this, Director Lee stated, "In the script, Manager Kim's current appearance was mostly featured, and the fact that he was an assassin weapon in the past was only mentioned verbally. However, we had to show his active past, and there was a goal to show the maximum level as an assassin weapon in terms of scale and difficulty."

Director Lee explained, "Since we tried live-action filming, it was a huge scene that could shake the story's center. Still, when resources were limited and I thought we might have to give up, I thought of using AI." He said, "At that time, only six months prior, the technical situation to implement this properly did not exist. As technology updated every week, we observed trends and accepted developing technologies to create it. It was an adventure that might not be completed, but the AI team and directing staff worked responsibly with intention."

However, he showed a cautious attitude when asked about Season 2. In the "Manager Kim" ending, the character Lee Do-gyu from the original work's universe appeared, attracting attention. Director Lee stated, "Formal discussions for Season 2 have just begun to positively start talking about it. Lee Do-gyu is a popular and powerful character even in the original work, so I am thinking more carefully."

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*This content was translated by AI.