A Shaman Saves Her Unlucky First Love In K-Drama ‘Head Over Heels'
K-drama fans have seen a lot of Choo Young-woo this year and they are about to have another opportunity. The actor, who debuted in 2021, played a doctor who assists in thrilling medical rescues in Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, a prosecutor in Mercy For None and two lookalike characters The Tale of Lady Ok. This week the actor joins another rising star, Cho Yi-hyun, in a new fantasy rom-com Head Over Heals.
Although The Tale of Lady Ok was the first of those dramas to air—and earned Choo a Baeksang award for Best New Actor—it wasn't the first of those roles that he filmed. At a recent press conference for Head Over Heels he explained the sequence.
'I filmed them in this order: Trauma Code, Mercy for None, Tale of Lady Ok, and then Head Over Heels,' said Choo. 'Mercy for None and Tale of Lady Ok overlapped in schedule and I didn't really have any breaks between projects. But being able to keep working on new projects is something I'm truly grateful for."
Cho studied with a shaman to become comfortable with the rituals.
Head Over Heels is a fantasy rom-com about a high school student/shaman, Seong-A, played by Cho. Seong-A tries to save the life of her very first love, the unlucky Gyeon-U, played by Choo. Gyeon-U is resigned to his unlucky life but worries about the ways his bad luck might rub off on others. Is bad luck contagious? Not sure, he decides to keep people at a distance.
'More than worrying about his own suffering, Gyeon-U is deeply afraid of hurting the people around him,' said Choo. 'I think he believes strongly that his misfortune might spread to others.'
What Gyeon-U needs is a shaman who can help him figure out where his bad luck is coming from. Seong-A's job is to mediate between the human world and the spirit world, but it's not a job you apply for. She didn't choose to be a shaman.
'They say that becoming a shaman isn't something you can choose just because you want to or reject just because you don't,' said Cho. 'It's said to be a calling by the spirits. If someone refuses it, they may suffer from an unexplained illness or bring misfortune to people around them. Seong-A became a shaman simply because she was chosen, like others before her.'
To accurately play the role, Cho studied rituals with a practicing shaman. She also had her saju done, a traditional Korean form of fortune-telling based on the year, month, day, and time of a person's birth. It was a good experience.
'I've had my saju read before,' said Cho. 'Saju is the study of one's fate depending on one's birth date and time. Since my reading came out positive, I want to believe in it.'
The characters played by Cho Ji-hyun and Choo Young-woo attend high school together.
To save her first love Seong-A will have to communicate with diverse spirits, not all of whom are friendly. The drama's stars insist the story's spirit interactions tend to be 'cute' rather than too scary.
The story also introduces a love triangle with Ji-ho, Seong-A's close friend, played by Cha Kang-yoon. Cha, who made his acting debut in 2024, has also been busy lately, appearing in The Midnight Romance in Hagwon, The Art of Negotiation and Resident Playbook. It doesn't require a shaman to predict that these actors have a bright future or that the chemistry between Choo Young-woo and Cho Ji-hyun will be screen-worthy. They acted together before. Cho, who previously appeared in the Hospital Playlist series and the global zombie hit All of Us Are Dead, worked with Choo in the drama School 2021. According to Choo his co-star has only become prettier since the last time they worked together.
Their characters meet when Gyeon-U's grandmother takes him to get his fortune read. Unlike his co-star, Choo has never had his fortune told.
"If someone could actually predict the future accurately, of course I'd be curious, but I don't want to know,' he said.
The tvN drama is based on the 2020-2023 webcomic "Gyeonwoowa Sunnyeo' by An Soo-Min, which can be read via Naver. The story was adapted by Yang Ji-Hun. The drama was directed by Kim Yong-wan, who previously directed If You Wish Upon Me. Head Over Heels streams on Prime Video every Monday and Tuesday, starting June 23.
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