Park Seo Joon Confronts “Age-Gap” Concerns In His Upcoming JTBC K-Drama

At the production presentation for JTBC‘s upcoming romantic K-Drama Surely Tomorrow, male lead Park Seo Joon (also known as Park Seo Jun) addressed the concerns about his 11-year age gap with the female lead Won Ji An with a playful joke about his appearance.

Park Seo Joon’s Upcoming K-Drama Sparks Controversy For Age Gap With Female Lead

The actor commented that, while it was “definitely a burden” to portray his character, Lee Gyeong Do, at ages 20, 28, and 38, he still felt that it “had to be him” for the show to come alive as intended.

I thought the drama needed that to feel complete.

— Park Seo Joon

There was also a bit of pressure, according to the actor, when it came to being paired with a co-star 11 years younger than him. Park Seo Joon joked that the pressure motivated him to “take extra good care of himself” in preparation for the romance.

Because of the real age difference, I was concerned before meeting Ji An. I thought the gap might be obvious visually. But she has been incredibly mature. I don’t know what she’s experienced in life, but she felt seasoned and stable. That helped me let go of a lot of the pressure. Still, the pressure pushed me to take extra good care of myself.

— Park Seo Joon

In response, Won Ji An also noted that she didn’t feel uncomfortable with the age gap.

I didn’t feel burdened. I don’t think there’s much of a visual gap either. People tend to see me as a bit older than my age, so I never thought I’d look too young next to him.

— Won Ji An

Surely Tomorrow follows the story of Lee Gyeong Do and Seo Ji Woo—exes who dated twice in their twenties and broke up—as they reunite years later in unexpected roles as the reporter who covered a cheating scandal and the scandal-plagued man’s wife. It is set to premiere on December 6.

Watch the trailer here: