‘Stealer’ Joo Won returns to drama after 3 years

Actor Joo Won returns to drama after 3 years with ‘Stealer’. Will he, who transformed into a 'just thief' to retrieve stolen cultural assets, be able to steal the hearts of viewers?

On the 11th, the production presentation for tvN's new Wednesday-Thursday drama 'Stealer: Seven Notices of Joseon' (hereinafter referred to as 'Stealer') was broadcast live online. Director Choi Jun-bae, Joo Won, Lee Joo-woo, Jo Han-cheol, Kim Jae-won, Choi Hwa-jeong, and Lee Deok-hwa attended.

'Stealer' is a caper comic action drama in which the mysterious cultural property thief 'Skunk' and the unofficial cultural property recovery team 'Karma' unite to take on those whom the law cannot judge.

On this day, Director Choi said about the subject of 'restitution of cultural assets', "It deals with history, but it is not a serious discussion of the situation on the Korean Peninsula or an attempt to save the country." “I wish there was,” he said.

Joo Won plays the role of Hwang Dae-myeong, a civil servant at the Cultural Heritage Administration during the day, and a skunk who steals cultural assets at night. He said, "Daemyung is an employee of the Cultural Heritage Administration and his salary is Lupine. Skunk is always active at night, so he gets tired. Daemyung and Skunk have different charms. Skunk carries on his father's will to recover cultural assets and carries out the mission. “He is a person who practices,” he said.

He continued, "When it comes to recovering cultural assets, you might think it's a serious thing, but it was solved in a cheerful way. The skunk is not a hero, but rather a search for cultural assets, so it's not all that serious."

Joo Won returns to drama after a long time. It has been three years since SBS' 'Alice' aired in 2020. He said, "I'm so nervous," and "I'm even more nervous than before. I hope the interesting and fun parts I felt when I read the script are conveyed well to the viewers."

Joo Won, who has done a lot of action acting, also said that this action was not easy. Joo Won confessed, “I wore both clothes and a mask, and the mask was different from the ‘Gaksital’ mask. The action team really worked hard.”

Lee Joo-woo played the role of Inspector Choi Min-woo, a righteous police officer. He said, "It's my first time playing the role of a police officer, so I thought about how I could express it well. I also read a book written by an actual police officer and thought a lot about it. Minwoo is a really passionate, hot, and just police officer. I tried to show that side of him." “I did,” he explained.

He also joked about working with Joowon, "It was my first time meeting him, and he's really cool. I think I understand why women like senior Joowon," and "I was nervous and felt pressured without realizing it, but he took good care of me."

Lee Deok-hwa, who plays 'villain' Kim Young-soo, said, "It's the hair." He said, "I've tried various wigs throughout my life, but this is the first time I've seen a white wig like this. Everyone said it looked good on me." He said, making everyone laugh.

Jo Han-cheol played the role of Inspector Jang Tae-in, the head of the cultural heritage task force Karma. He made everyone laugh by saying, "I did a lot of bad things in my previous film, The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family, but this time, I will work hard for my country."

Kim Jae-won plays Shin Chang-hoon, the youngest member of Team Karma. I usually appear in romantic dramas, but I tried my first action role in 'Stealer'. He said, “There is a lot of fighting because Team Karma catches thieves. I went to action school and worked hard.”

Choi Hwa-jeong, who played the role of genius hacker Lee Chun-ja, raised expectations for 'Stealer' by saying, "It is a drama with no frills and 0 calories. It really has 100% impact."

‘Stealer’ will premiere on the 12th at 10:30 PM.

Ten Asia Reporter Kim Seo-yoon seogugu@tenasia.co.kr