[INTERVIEW] Lee Jun-young widens his horizons with 'Dreaming of a Freaking Fairy Tale' (2024)

By Lee Gyu-lee

Singer and actor Lee Jun-young has been rather fearless in taking on various different roles — from an elite, model high schooler in the 2019 thriller series “Class of Lies” to a ruthless bully in the 2023 action film “Brave Citizen.”

In his latest work, Tving’s original series “Dreaming of a Freaking Fairy Tale,” the actor has further expanded his repertoire, challenging himself with a comedic role.

“Since I’m unfamiliar with the comedy genre, I had significant doubts whether I could pull it off. It was quite a challenge for me in my own way. Many people remember me as a villain from my previous works. But I contemplated how I could show another good side of my acting, in a lighter role. So in that sense, I think this series was a big challenge for me,” Lee said during an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday.

The rom-com series, which released all 10 episodes June 28, follows the love story of Shin Jae-rim (Pyo Ye-jin), from humble beginnings, and a wealthy heir, Moon Cha-min (Lee). After losing her dad, Shin tries to make her own path to lessen the burden on her stepmom and stepsisters by marrying into a wealthy family. She gets a job at the high-end social club run by Moon to find her prince charming.

When Moon learns of her plan, he decides to become a fairy godmother, yet the two soon realize they are falling for each other.

The series takes the well-trodden Cinderella story and recreates it with a humorous modern twist, following a lower-class, unemployed girl struggling to find her footing in society and turning to a knight in shining armor as the solution to all her problems rather than forging her own path.

Lee said such a twist in the familiar fairy tale intrigued him to join the project, adding he also wanted to test himself with the comedy genre at this point of his career.

“Everyone knows the fairy tale story of Cinderella. But, when I read this script, it wasn't a cliche. It felt very realistic. I only read up to episode 4 (at first), but found myself eagerly waiting for the next one. So I wanted to give it a try,” he said.

“I’m also very ambitious in terms of acting. I know I have many shortcomings, but I’ve been hearing lately that I’ve gotten more humorous as I’ve become more relaxed … When I experienced a glimpse of comedy back when I was more uptight, it felt too superficial. So I wondered what it would be like to express comedy now in this state of mind.”

The actor said the story resonated with him, of a woman from a younger generation navigating through tough times to eventually follow her dream.

“The series has a fairy tale-like narrative, but the conflicts in the story are not much different from the struggles faced by young people today,” he said.

“When I was younger, I was determined not to give up. I also was one of those who would grit their teeth and push through despite the pain. While working on this, I had time to reflect on those experiences. I hope everyone finds happiness.”

Moon appears to be an arrogant, have-it-all heir who has a carefree, childlike mindset with the motto “follow your joy," despite his trauma from being abandoned by his mom, leading him to develop a deep distrust in women.

However, given its comedic genre, the character has moments of humor, leading Lee to adopt a "bright and sunny" persona, drawing inspiration from "Pororo the Little Penguin," the beloved kid's animation character. He even watched it to better understand and embody the character's cheerful nature.

“Pororo is cheerful, adventurous and ambitious. He doesn't get easily discouraged and overcomes challenges with his friends. Even when he feels down, it only lasts for about two minutes and then he's back to being excited and bright. So I thought it would be worthwhile to try to portray those aspects,” he said.