How did 'Our Blues' get IRL couple Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-ah in the same K-drama?
Getting in-real-life couples to star in a K-drama is as rare as getting your favorite K-pop idols to collaborate together. There are several iconic K-drama couples like Ji-sung and Lee Bo-young, Park Shin-hye and Choi Tae-joon, but we rarely get to see them on the screen together. In fact, fans are predicting that ‘Crash Landing On You’ co-stars Hyun-bin and Son Ye-jin will not act together anymore after their marriage. And so everyone was pleasantly surprised when we got the iconic couple Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-ah in the same drama.
Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-ah probably have one of the most romantic backgrounds ever. They started dating in 2015 but unfortunately, Woo-bin was diagnosed with cancer in 2017. However, fans were touched when it was reported that Min-ah had stayed by his side throughout his treatment and taken care of him till he recovered. And now they have been cast in their first K-drama together, ‘Our Blues’. The drama is already pretty iconic as it stars veterans like Lee Byung-hun, Lee Jung-eun and Uhm Jung-hwa. It is also the first solo project for global sensation, BTS’ Jimin as he will be singing his first solo OST for it.
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Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-ah's first drama together
What's more, this is Kim Woo-bin’s first acting project in 6 years since his recovery. Fans found it adorable that it would be his girlfriend, Shin Min-ah. However, with the unfolding of the plot and teasers for ‘Our Blues’, fans were a little disheartened that they were not paired together in the drama. Woo-bin’s character has a romantic storyline with Han Ji-min while Min-ah is paired up with Lee Byung-hun. And it looks like this was the trick on how to get the in-real-life couple to star in a drama together according to the makers.
The casting offer
On April 7, the production of ‘Our Blues’ had a press conference ahead of the K-drama’s premiere on April 9. In it, scriptwriter Noh Hee-kyung revealed how they got around to casting the couple. She shared, “I had a feeling that if I tried to cast them having a love line in the drama, they would say no. So I asked them if they would do the drama if they each had different love lines, and they said okay. I felt that they chose to do this project because they were professionals. I wasn't worried about it. They were also very cool about it.”
While Shin Min-ah was last seen in the K-drama ‘Hometown Cha Cha Cha’ which was a remake of the film ‘Mr. Hong’ starring none other than her ‘Our Blues’ co-star Uhm Jung-hwa. But with this being Woo-bin’s first K-drama in a while, he shared, “I was able to greet viewers through variety programs or ads, but now I am finally able to greet them in a formal project, and I'm so thankful and happy to have the opportunity. When I found out that I would be working with so many great senior actors, I got very nervous…But I am also excited for this project. It's rare to have the chance to work with so many great stars all at once."
The K-drama ‘Our Blues’ will air on tvN and Netflix from April 9, every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 pm KST (7:10 am ET).