Chae Jong Hyeop and Kim So Hyun joined W Korea magazine for a stunning pictorial!

After posing for the photo shoot, the two stars of the new series “Serendipity’s Embrace” sat down for an interview to talk about their drama, share their thoughts on first love, and reflect on their school days.

The highly anticipated webtoon-based drama “Serendipity’s Embrace” has already generated a lot of buzz. The series is directed by Song Hyun Wook, known for hit dramas “Another Miss Oh” and “Beauty Inside,” and written by emerging writer Park Geu Ro.

When asked about how they ended up joining the drama, Chae Jong Hyeop said, “The title caught my attention. It’s a story about a first love found by chance. It vaguely reminded me of my school days.”

Kim So Hyun added, “When I first received the script, I hadn’t read the webtoon. As I read it, I felt a great deal of excitement. It’s not easy for a script to be fun to read without major plot developments or provocative elements. That alone made me want to give it a try. I also felt that if I didn’t work on a youth drama like this now, I might not have the chance later.”

When asked about his memories of first love, Chae Jong Hyeop replied, “What can I say about first love? I think it’s a word that reminds me of those moments.” [in the past]It’s hard to define first love exactly. It can be the first person you liked or the first person you dated. For me, I think first love is the person who first comes to mind when you hear that word.”

Meanwhile, Kim So Hyun shared, “Through this drama, I developed a lot of fantasies about first love. When I think about first love, I think it might feel like the emotions I had when I was young and still wearing a school uniform. I liked the depiction of first love in ‘Serendipity’s Embrace’ because it felt more realistic.”

Talking about the type of students they were at 19, Kim So Hyun said, “Since I started acting when I was very young, I don’t have many memories of my school days. At 19, I experienced difficult growing pains. It was a transitional period before I became an adult, and I felt like I was gradually losing myself. When I was young and someone asked me, ‘What kind of person do you think you are? ’ I had a lot to say, but from a certain point on, I didn’t know what to say anymore. I struggled with the questions, ‘What kind of person am I? What do I like? ’ After I turned 20, I slowly overcame these concerns. As I visited new places and met new people, I learned more about my tastes, and my personality became clearer.”

Chae Jong Hyeop shared, “I lived intensely. I spent my high school years in South Africa, struggling with graduation, language barriers, racism, loneliness, and finding my way. I started going to the gym and gained confidence through exercise. That’s when I started modeling locally.”

“My foreign friends were taller and had better proportions than me, so I often failed auditions,” he continued. “In the end, I came to Korea. Now that I’ve become an actor, I feel like I’ve found what I wanted. I wonder if this is all a coincidence.”

When asked what kind of person his character Hoo Young is, Chae Jong Hyeop said, “Hoo Young is smart, but he has many shortcomings. He doesn’t know how to express his emotions and has a clumsy side. He sometimes appears dry, harsh, or cynical. But when he meets the loving Hong Joo, he slowly falls deeper and deeper in love with her, and the walls around his heart begin to crumble.”

Kim So Hyun described her character Hong Joo by saying, “Hong Joo has a lot of love to give. She loves deeply and gets hurt easily. Because she is alone without a family, she is afraid of being alone if someone abandons her. There is a pure and quirky side to her. So when Hoo Young meets her again after 10 years, he sees that she is still the same as when she was in school, to the point where he asks her, ‘How can you still be exactly the same? ’”

As we get older, love often takes a backseat to other priorities. Questions about timing and busy schedules are bound to arise as the drama unfolds. When asked about the best time to love, Kim So Hyun replied, “When are you ready to love yourself? Isn’t that the only way you can truly love others? If you meet someone when your self-esteem is low, it will be a difficult relationship.”

Chae Jong Hyeop responded, “When I can hug someone and when I can lean on someone without breaking down. It’s actually the same thing. It should be a mutually beneficial relationship, not a fight or a battle.”

Regarding what the drama aims to convey, Chae Jong Hyeop said, “The thing about fate is that you never know when it will come, and a coincidence can be the beginning of something.”

Kim So Hyun added, “That’s why you should make decisions without regrets. Life is full of moments of choice, and no matter what decision you make, there is no right answer. ‘Serendipity’s Embrace’ will be more interesting to watch if you consider the characters’ choices and ask yourself, ‘What choice would I make in that situation? ’ As you watch [the dating show] “I am alone.”

As for their impressions of each other, Chae Jong Hyeop said, “Some people might expect So Hyun to be a somewhat cold person, but that’s not true at all. She’s a very warm, cheerful, and positive friend.”

Kim So Hyun added, “Jong Hyeop always has a smiling face, whether it’s at photo shoots or on social media. But there’s a calmer, more serious side to him than you might think. Even on set, he needs time alone, so he can sometimes be seen listening to music alone.”