'Phantom Lawyer's Yoo Yeon-seok Trained Girl-Group Dances for 2 Months; IVE Praised It as "So Good"

Yoo Yeon-seok revealed why he spent two months practicing girl-group choreography.

At the production presentation for SBS’s new Friday-Saturday drama "Phantom Lawyer" (written by Kim Ga-young and Kang Chul-kyu, directed by Shin Jung-hoon) held on March 11 at SBS headquarters in Mokdong, Seoul, Yoo shared that he had to nail idol-style dancing because he plays scenes where he’s possessed by the spirit of a former idol―a high school girl ghost.

"Phantom Lawyer" follows “possessed attorney” Shin I-rang (played by Yoo Yeon-seok), who helps the dead release their pent-up han, and “cold-blooded elite attorney” Han Na-hyun (played by Esom), who stakes everything on a win. It’s a strange yet warm adventure of setting things right for the departed.

Shin I-rang is a late-blooming lawyer who opens a firm in Unit 501 of the Okcheon Building, a space that used to be a shaman’s house. From then on, he starts seeing ghosts. When he’s possessed by the furious souls of the wronged, he becomes a “possessed attorney” who resolves their grievances. That means Yoo takes on a new persona every episode―a true one-man multi-role challenge.

One of those personas is a high school girl ghost who used to be an idol. “On a YouTube channel I did with producer Na Young-seok, I once did Random Play Dance and totally butchered an IVE routine,” Yoo said. “This time, I thought, ‘If I’m going to be possessed, I should do it right.’ I trained with a real dancer for about two months. I worked really hard. I also monitored IVE’s videos to study their expressions and ending poses.”

IVE is also in the same agency family as Yoo. “After filming, there was a Starship company outing,” he shared. “Shooting had already wrapped, so I showed IVE the video I filmed, and they said it was ‘so good’ and praised me. We even recorded a clip together. I’ve kept that one for my personal collection, but I’ll tease a bit of it after the drama airs.”

Though Yoo has appeared in a wide range of projects, this is his first full-on dive into comedy. “I always try to show a new side of myself in each work,” he said. “When I read this script, I felt I could present a different version of me every week. Showing so many characters within one project felt exciting. I think viewers will have fun watching the fresh transformations each episode as I get possessed by various souls.”

Taking on possessions that cross age and gender, Yoo added, “I filmed like my life as an actor depended on it. Every episode, I asked myself, ‘Is it okay to let go this much?’ I threw everything away and gave it my all. I hope you’ll watch with lots of interest and affection.”

"Phantom Lawyer" premieres March 13 at 9:50 p.m. KST. 

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)