Exclusive: Seo In-guk and Park So-dam on K-drama Death’s Game, Bollywood, India

A new K-drama ‘Death’s Game’, featuring Parasite actor Park So-dam and 'Doom At Your Service' actor Seo In-guk, is now available on Prime Video. The show is a fantasy thriller revolving around the life of Yee-jae, who undergoes 12 deaths as a part of punishment after trying to take his own life. For his 12 lives, actors like Lee Jae-wook, Lee Do-hyun and Jang Seung-jo, amongst others, played pivotal roles.

In an exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, Seo In-guk and Park So-dam discussed the series and the lessons it taught them during the process. They also shared their admiration for a quality they each admire in the other. The two Hallyu stars revealed their fondness for Indian films and expressed their intention to visit India in the near future.

Excerpts from the chat:

Q. To Seo In-guk: The role seems so challenging. What is it about yourself as an actor that you learnt while working on this project?

Seo In-guk: I think those moments where you learn something new about yourself, they always come a bit later in the process. When you’re in the moment, you don't really realise anything, but after time passes, and you rewatch what you’ve created, you get to learn new things about yourself. We haven’t watched the final cut yet, but looking back at some moments, some of the things I learnt about myself were how I’m able to portray certain extreme emotions. Some very loser-like! But I’m finding that I’m capable of expressing more extreme emotions than before.

Q. To Park So-dam: In Death’s Game, you’re playing Death. And this is the first time you’re performing in a fantasy genre. If you had a supernatural power, what would you like and why?

Park So-dam: I think because my character is someone who punishes and judges, I felt like I was given a very heavy burden on my shoulders. But at the same time, Death is one who’s rooting for Yee-jae the most and someone who wishes he hadn’t made certain choices in life. And she really wants to give him another chance. So I was personally very thankful to the director for allowing me to portray that character that wants to give him a life lesson and wants to give him another chance. And if I could have a superpower, I’d obviously not go through 12 different times, but I would love to be able to give myself one more chance at life.

Q. What is one thing about each other that you learned while working on this project?

Seo In-guk: So-dam is someone who is so in sync with her character while shooting, and so detailed and nuanced with her performance. Watching her perform led me to think that I should also look at my portrayal of Yee-jae and learn from her to be more detailed and nuanced.

Park So-dam: In-guk is very considerate of others and makes you feel at ease. There were many scenes where Yee-jae went through emotional outbursts, and In-guk is so good at being so immersed in those moments.

Q. Reincarnation and fantasy genres are very common in India. Did you ever have a chance to watch an Indian/Bollywood film? And any plans to visit India very soon?

Seo In-guk: Yes I actually have watched quite a lot of Bollywood content. Unfortunately, I can’t recall the titles, but I really enjoyed the action and comedy genres and I know there’s a lot of great Indian content out there. I haven’t had the chance to visit India yet, but I’ve heard that there are many Indian fans out there, so if given the opportunity, I’d love to visit India and create many memories together.

Park So-dam: I really enjoyed the film '3 Idiots' and there’s a recent popular Korean travel variety show where they travel to India. I was amazed by the variety of backdrops and sceneries of India, and it made me really want to visit India one day.

‘Death’s Game’ Part 2 will be released on Prime Video on January 5, 2023.