Premiering Oct. 3 ahead of Korea’s Chuseok holiday, the Netflix series from writer Kim Eun-sook follows a lamp-dwelling genie (Kim Woo-bin) who wakes from a millennium-long hiatus and crosses paths with Ga-young (Suzy), a woman who doesn’t feel emotion. Their tug-of-war over three wishes promises wild twists―and the reunion of Kim Woo-bin and Suzy nine years after Uncontrollably Fond has fans buzzing.
On the 11th, Netflix dropped a first look at the duo fully transformed into Genie and Ga-young, spotlighting their surprising contrasts.
First up, the so-called devilish Genie cuts a striking figure with a mysterious, commanding gaze. Then the tone flips: in work pants, rubber boots and even a seat cushion, he plops down in the middle of a rice paddy―his menacing aura swapped for pure comedy.
Meanwhile, Ga-young―beautiful and unsettling in equal measure―exudes a chilling presence. She’s expressionless yet magnetic, and in another still she brandishes a kitchen knife over a slab of garaetteok (Korean rice cake), serving up a jolt of dark humor.
Put them together and the chemistry gets delightfully unpredictable. Even when the devilish Genie materializes in full supernatural glory, Ga-young barely looks up from breakfast. He circles, eager to tempt humans with wish-making, but this sociopathic ice queen proves an immovable object. Still, another image teases a charge in the air as they lean in close, eyes locked―hinting that something is shifting between them.
Calling Genie “impossible to sum up in a single phrase,” Kim Woo-bin says, “He’s energetic and strong―sometimes cruel―but he can also be petty, skittish, even a little cute. I wanted him to feel just left of human, so that his movements, speech, expressions, even his build and styling are all slightly off.”
Transforming into a rom-com lead like no other, Suzy explains, “Ga-young is an emotionless woman raised by her grandmother, living by strict rules and routines. She isn’t exactly kind―more unsettling than adorable―but because she sticks to the rules, she ends up more upright than most.” She adds, “While playing her, I tried not to ‘feel.’ Ga-young learned to perform empathy rather than actually experience it, so she can seem robotic, cold, mechanical. I approached the script by trying to think the way Ga-young would.”
The enchanting fantasy rom-com "Genie, Make a Wish" premieres Oct. 3 on Netflix.
[Photo= Netflix]
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)