Poor single mom No Ae-jeong (Song Ji-hyo) can’t catch a break. All the former film school student has ever wanted was to make movies, but life got in the way. Now that she’s excited to make a film after being promoted from bookkeeper to producer, she discovers the company has gone belly up and now a former gangster (Kim Min-jun) wants to collect. She has one last hope: She has found a manuscript the company owns the copyright to, “Love is Nonexistant,” written by a very popular writer, that she wants to turn into a film. The gangster agrees to invest but only if she gets the writer to do the screenplay and to get a popular actor (Song Jong-ho) in it. Ae-jeong, combining a fear for her loved ones’ lives and her can-do spirit, promises to do it, but then finds out that the writer is actually her spurned ex-boyfriend (Son Ho-jun) and the book is actually inspired by her! Even as she tries to get the movie off the ground, her precocious daughter Um Chae-young) jas started asking questions about who her father is–and her first suspect is no other than her new homeroom teacher (Koo Ja-sung). But it turns out all four of these men have connections to Ah-jeong and “Was It Love” will reveal it all–but will it be in time to get the movie made?
“Was It Love” is the new romantic comedy from Netflix and JTBC, a comeback vehicle for Ji-hyo and her four handsome leading men, all popular K-drama actors. It also tackles the idea of what it means to survive as a woman and what means to do something on your own.
Here is everything you need to know about the cast of “Was It Love”:
Song Ji-hyo as Noh Ah-jeong
Ji-hyo is one of the biggest K-drama actresses and this is the 38-year-old’s first series since 2018’s “Lovely Horribly.” Ji-hyo made a name for herself as the mean girl Min Hyo-rin in 2006’s “Princess Hours” on TV. She actually is known for her movies, having first appeared in 2003’s “Wishing Stairs”; she received both critical acclaim and controversy for her nude scenes and acting in “Sex is Zero 2” and “A Frozen Flower,” a daring move for a rising actress. It’s also how she developed a reputation for being a serious actress, but she won audiences over as the first–and for a long time, only–female host on the long-running variety show “Running Man.” That’s one of her many hosting stints, which include “Inkigayo” and “Song Ji-hyo’s Beauty View.” She also appeared in the suspense film, “Intruder,” earlier this year. “Was It Love” is her show, and a chance for the renewed global Hallyu wave to see her range and personality at work and in play.
Son Hu-jun as Oh Dae-oh
Best known as a singer (he was the frontman for boyband Tachyon), Ho-jun has thrown his hat into the K-drama ring with a passion. The 36-year-old YG Entertainment talent made his screen debut in 2006’s “Jump 2” and could be recognized in “Reply 1994” as Haitai. His most prominent outing before “Was It Love” was 2018’s “My Secret Terrius” as Jin Young-tae. He appeared in the film “Stellar” early this year, and you can catch him right now on tvN’s “3 Meals a Day: Fishing Village,” his third time on the show. This is his biggest to date.
Song Jong-ho as Ryu Jin
The 43-year-old Jong-ho started off as a runway model before moving into acting, now boasting a long TV career starting all the way back to 1999’s “Invitation.” You probably will remember him the most from “Reply 1997” as Yoon Tae-woong, “A Korean Odyssey” as Kang Dae-sung” and from “Arthdal Chronicles” as Yiseuroobeu. “Was It Love” is his whoppong 32nd K-drama series. Did you know this is his third collaboration with Hi-jyo? They appeared together in “The Fugitive of Joseon” and Ji-hyo had a cameo in “A Girl Who Can See Smells.”
Koo Ja-sung as Oh Jeon-woo
The youngest of Hi-jyo’s leading men, Ja-sung is mostly known as a model–“Was It Love” is only fourth K-drama in a career that only began in 2017. This is a great showcase for him as he will be the one who will most likely get a boost from the show.
Kim Min-jun as Koo Pa-doo
The striking, dangerous good looks of this 43-year-old actor makes him easy to recognize, often as villains, in roles from “Lovers in Prague,” but most notably Wideok in “Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth” and Prince Joo Sung in the 2017 Joseon-era “My Sassy Girl.” He’s done a bunch of movies most notably 2012’s “The Concubine.” He is a former model and a club DJ.
Kim Da-som as Joo Ah-rin
She is better known as Dasom, formerly part of the girl group Sistar, but like Hu-jun, she has devoted herself to acting both in film and TV. She’s still making music, and “Was It Love” is her biggest role in a TV career that only starts in 2012; she has only appeared in two movies, including appearing as the lead Gi Hong in 2015’s “Like a French Film.” This show is a chance for her to gain wider recognition.
Eum Chae-yuong as Noh Ha-nee
Audiences may have found their newest favorite child actress in 13-year-old Chae-yuong. Despite her age, “Was It Love” is her 10th K-drama; she’s played the classic “young” version of lead characters in “A Place in the Sun” and “Live Up to Your Name.” She will win you over in this funny turn. Since she only started acting in 2016, that’s 2 K-dramas a year; in fact, in 2016, she had four (!) K-dramas.
“Was It Love” has a solid cast of supporting actors. The youth is provided by Baek So-hee (“Mystic Pop-up Bar”) who is Hi-jyo’s coworker. Ji-hyo’s hilarious bar-owning best friend is played by Kim Yong-ah (“Hyena”). The most interesting thing about the supporting cast is that it includes two of the best actresses who play mothers. Kim Mi-kyung (“Hi Bye, Mama!) plays Ji-hyo’s mother and Seo Jung-yeon (“The King: Eternal Monarch”) plays a management company executive named Jennifer Song
“Was It Love” is now streaming on Netflix, with new episodes every week.
Source: Inquirer.net
