“New Year Blues” Cast Shares Insights On Their Characters, Filming, And More

A new star-studded film, New Year Blues, is on its way! In the meantime, the cast has been busy telling everyone all about it!

New Year Blues will tell the story of four couples who must overcome problems as they face the beginning of a new year.

Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Yeon Hee play Jae Heon and Jin Ah, respectively. They are two struggling young people who meet in Argentina.

I recently felt grateful for the Argentina scenes. We filmed them before COVID-19, so I didn’t know how precious it was then. All my memories from Argentina, like eating beef and drinking wine, feel like stories to me now.

—Yoo Yeon Seok

Yeon Hee also mentioned COVID-19 and that she feels like she couldn’t have even imagined a pandemic happening.

I was able to look back on my 20s while we were filming. I was busy but I feel like I didn’t know how to appreciate it and had many negative thoughts. There was a time when wasn’t able to love myself. People in their 20s always feel a lot of things like that. There’s a lot of anxiety about the future, concerns about your career, and how you’ll make a living, so I wanted to express that in the film in a relatable way.”

—Lee Yeon Hee

Lee Dong Hwi will be playing a travel agency CEO, Yong Chan, who tries to hide that he has been robbed of his entire fortune from his fiancée Yao Lin (Chen Du Ling).

Chinese was hard to learn but many teachers helped me. I even tried to memorize my lines in my sleep. I think I was helped by my mother too, since she enjoys watching Chinese dramas. I hope the COVID-19 situation will improve so I can meet Chen Du Ling again soon.”

—Lee Dong Hwi

Kim Kang Woo will play the detective Ji Ho with pairing being played by Yoo In Na. She plays Hyo Young, a rehabilitation trainer who seeks his protection as she wraps up a divorce.

I wanted Ji Ho to seem like the kind of middle-aged man you would see in real life. My character might seem scary since he is from the violent crimes squad, but he’s just a regular guy who has been divorced for four years.

—Kim Kang Woo

Hyo Young isn’t good at expressing herself. She looks strong on the outside but is soft-hearted. But she doesn’t want to show that to other people. I tried to portray that subtle disconnect in a realistic way. Since she’s a trainer, I worked hard at exercising. When the director suggested that I cut my hair short, I got it cut into a bob that day.

—Yoo In Na

Yoo Tae Oh will be playing a snowboarder named Rae Hwan that is on the national Paralympic team. Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung will be taking the role of his gardener girlfriend, Oh Wol.

I was drawn to the movie because I haven’t seen many films involving a Paralympic athlete. Although he has a physical disability, it’s not a problem for him and or his relationship with Oh Wol. The story of a couple overcoming other peoples’ prejudice and how their love would develop felt charming.

—Yoo Tae Oh

Sooyoung shared that she had never played such an optimistic character, so it was challenging for her. However, she said it felt healing compared to the other difficult and dark works she has done.

The couples’ stories are all have their own different and interesting elements. No matter what the audience wants, it has it all.

— Sooyoung

New Year Blues will premiere in Korea on February 10! International availability is still to be discussed.