Yoo Yeon-seok Discusses His Role in New SBS Drama 'Shin-i-rang Law Office'
Actor Yoo Yeon-seok, who shares the same agency, Starship Entertainment, with IVE's Jang Won-young, has revealed the efforts he put into his new drama character.

The production presentation for SBS's new Friday-Saturday drama 'Shin-i-rang Law Office' (hereafter 'Shin-i-rang') was held on the afternoon of the 11th at the SBS headquarters in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. Director Shin Jung-hoon, along with actors Yoo Yeon-seok, Lee Som, and Kim Kyung-nam, attended the event. 'Shin-i-rang' is a unique and heartwarming adventure that follows 'possessed lawyer' Shin-i-rang, who resolves the grudges of the deceased, and 'cold-blooded elite lawyer' Han Na-hyun, who is determined to win at all costs.

Yoo Yeon-seok Discusses His Role in New SBS Drama 'Shin-i-rang Law Office'
Yoo Yeon-seok plays the role of Shin-i-rang, who opens his first law office in a former shaman's house and unexpectedly gains the ability to see ghosts. Yoo shared, "I've never experienced possession myself, so I sought advice from a shaman who consulted on the project. They explained everything I was curious about in detail. Interestingly, they mentioned that actors often have a similar fate to shamans, which made me feel like this role was meant for me. Their encouragement gave me strength. I also watched various videos to observe real-life possession. The setting where I get possessed by a ghost who was a former idol and high school girl was particularly challenging."

Yoo Yeon-seok Discusses His Role in New SBS Drama 'Shin-i-rang Law Office'
He continued, "On a YouTube channel with PD Na Young-seok, I once did a random play dance to IVE's songs, which ended disastrously. The director suggested that if I'm going to be possessed, I should do it properly this time. I trained with a real dancer for about two months. I monitored IVE members and studied their ending poses. After filming, I showed the video at a Starship retreat, and the response was great. We even recorded a video together, which I'll reveal a bit on the broadcast."

As a musical actor, he added, "'Hedwig' focuses on one character, but this drama required me to portray different possessions each week, which was not easy. Usually, characters stabilize towards the end, but this time, I couldn't let my guard down until the very last moment. It felt like playing a new character every week."

'Shin-i-rang' premieres on SBS at 9:50 PM on the 13th.

Lee So-jung, Ten Asia Reporter forusojung@tenasia.co.kr
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