The stars of the upcoming drama “Shark: The Storm”;; recently took part in a photo shoot with fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar Korea!
Originally released in 2021, “Shark: The Beginning”;; made waves as TVING’s first original film. Now returning as a six-episode series titled “Shark: The Storm,”;; the sequel continues the journey of Cha Woo Sol (Kim Min Seok), who, after being released from prison, dedicates himself to becoming a professional mixed martial arts fighter. But just as he begins to reclaim his life, he finds himself entangled in a brutal fight for survival against a new and ruthless enemy, Hyun Woo Yong (Lee Hyun Wook). No longer fighting just to survive, Woo Sol now rises to protect those he holds dear.
In an interview following the shoot, Kim Min Seok shared his thoughts with a smile when asked about “Shark”;; returning as a six-part drama after four years. “I’m excited, but also a little nervous,”;; he said. “I watched the trailer and was surprised by how young everyone looked back then.”;;
Kim Min Seok went on to discuss his character’s growth. “Cha Woo Sol used to only fight when pushed, but now he’s someone who doesn’t hesitate to throw a punch to protect others. I saw it as a challenge to show intense action scenes in a natural way while still keeping the character’s innocence from ‘Shark: The Beginning.’”;;
Lee Hyun Wook, who made a special appearance in “Shark: The Beginning,”;; remarked, “It was fun to shoot [‘Shark: The Storm’] because I got to expand on the villain Hyun Woo Yong, a character who had only appeared briefly before.”;;
He also explained how he brought the character to life. “Even though the series is based on a webtoon of the same name, I didn’t read it all the way through,”;; he said. “Instead, I used some of my own habits—like silently staring when someone says something ridiculous or when I don’t know how to respond—to make the character feel more raw and real.”;;
Lee Jung Hyun, who plays Cha Woo Sol’s closest friend Han Sung Yong, shared his thoughts on returning to the role. “It was much more comfortable this time because I had confidence going in, knowing I was continuing a character I’d already played,”;; he said. “Han Sung Yong in ‘Shark: The Storm’ is someone who has experienced the bitterness of life, and I played him with a more dry and subdued tone. Viewers might notice that he’s changed.”;;
The heart of both the original film and the new drama is action, and Kim Min Seok talked about the hard work behind the fight scenes. “The one-on-one fights last more than 10 minutes, so we practiced the choreography three times a week for about six hours each time. All actors who have done action scenes probably think, ‘We worked the hardest,’ and we feel the same. It was really tough.”;;
He added, “We stayed up for several nights without sleeping to film those scenes, and I hope people can feel how much effort we put in. I want them to say, ‘How did they even film that? That’s crazy.’”;;
Lee Hyun Wook also shared his pride in the drama’s action scenes. “To exaggerate a bit, it felt like training at the Korea National Training Center—it was really intense,”;; he said. “Our drama probably has some of the longest one-on-one fight scenes in drama history. Before editing, I heard the fight scenes lasted about 20 minutes.”;;
Finally, when asked if they have goals they want to achieve with the same fierce energy as their characters, who fight hard to protect what matters, Kim Min Seok replied, “I don’t really have a specific goal. I work hard to do my best every year, and I’ll keep doing that tomorrow and the day after. I’m happy as long as I have no regrets, and I plan to keep living that way.”;;
Lee Hyun Wook said, “I want to live my life while working hard at acting until I have no regrets. I may compromise to some extent during that journey, but I don’t want to bend when it comes to things that go against my values.”;;
Finally, Lee Jung Hyun said, “Even if I leave this industry, I want to be someone who can comfortably try other things without any regrets.”;; He added, “Saying I want to achieve something sounds too grand to me. Because I think just sticking it out for a long time is impressive. No matter how much experience I gain, there may always be some people who dislike my acting. But because I love acting so much, I keep promising myself to work at improving my craft. That’s who I am right now. I want to keep improving and keep going for a long time.”;;
Kim Min Seok, Lee Hyun Wook, and Lee Jung Hyun’s full pictorial and interview can be found in the June issue of Harper’s Bazaar Korea.
Meanwhile, “Shark: The Storm”;; is available to stream on TVING.
Watch Kim Min Seok in “A Good Day to Be a Dog”;; on Viki below:
And watch Lee Hyun Wook in “The Queen Who Crowns”;; on Viki here:
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