At a press conference held Tuesday morning at Josun Palace in Seoul’s Gangnam district, Kim Seon-ho opened up about the challenge of playing a character who slips between multiple languages in Netflix’s new romantic comedy "Can This Love Be Translated?"
“I performed in Japanese, Italian, English and Korean in this project,” he said, noting that layering emotion on top of precise pronunciation was the real hurdle. “I studied the scripts exactly as written, then worked on how to make it feel lived-in as an actor―grammar and all.” He added that he prepped for about four months before cameras rolled and kept studying throughout filming. “There’s a limit to how much you can master at once, so I focused on the languages required in each scene.”
"Can This Love Be Translated?" follows elite multilingual interpreter Joo Hojin (Kim) as he’s assigned to the world’s biggest star, Cha Muhee (Go Youn-jung), and finds his meticulously ordered life thrown off balance. The series unites the famed Hong Sisters―writers Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran ("Alchemy of Souls," "Hotel del Luna," and more)―with director Yoo Young-eun ("Bloody Heart").
On screen, Joo Hojin is fluent in six languages―Italian, English, Japanese, Chinese, French and Korean―yet ironically clumsy when it comes to the language of love. As he gets entangled with Muhee, even this cool-headed pro starts to wobble.
Kim, who showcased physical prowess in recent projects like "The Childe" and "The Tyrant," said the multilingual acting demanded even more. “Nothing about acting is ever easy, but switching between several languages within the same scene was especially tough,” he admitted with a laugh. “I’d prepare intensely and get through those takes, but then we’d move to the next scene in Korean and suddenly I’d find myself tripping over my own native tongue.”
Director Yoo Young-eun praised the casting as a perfect fit. “Beyond the language load, Hojin is a neat, understated character, so nuanced emotion was crucial. With Kim Seon-ho, we knew we could trust that,” she said. “Whether it’s comedy, romance or that cool, composed edge, he brought it all. He’s truly one of a kind―an irreplaceable casting.”
"Can This Love Be Translated?" premieres Jan. 16 on Netflix.
[Photo: Baik Seung-Chul]
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)
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