In the new romantic comedy TV series “She Was Pretty,” the casting of the four main characters is “perfect,” said director Jung Dae-yoon.

“All four actors are perfect fits,” Jung said at a press conference for the series in Seoul on Monday.

“She Was Pretty,” starring Hwang Jung-eum, Park Seo-joon, Go Joon-hee and boy band Super Junior’s Choi Si-won, centers on two childhood lovers who become reacquainted as adults, after each has gone through significant transformations.

(MBC)

Actress Hwang Jung-eum plays the role of Kim Hye-jin, who was formerly a beautiful, intelligent, wealthy and talented “it-girl,” but who has lost both her looks and wealth following her struggles growing up. Kim starts working as an intern in the publishing office of a fashion magazine, whose deputy editor is Ji Sung-joon, played by Park Seo-joon. Though Ji used to be a short, chubby and shy young boy, he has now become a handsome and charismatic professional.

Hwang Jung-eum (MBC)

Choi Si-won takes up the role of Kim Sin-hyuk, the magazine’s charming and humorous feature editor, while Go Joon-hee plays Min Ha-ri, the best friend of Hye-jin.

Jung said that he kept his eye on actress Hwang from the very early planning stages, calling her “irreplaceable.”

“So many TV series today focus on ‘attractive’ female leads,” he said. “Or you have a very attractive actress who pretends to be unattractive. It’s not believable, and I found that to be a very worn-out theme. So I wanted a heroine that really seemed plain.

Choi Si-won (MBC)

“Of course, that is not to say that Jung-eum is unattractive in any way,” Jung added with a laugh, saying that he believed she could portray the character best.

Regarding Choi Si-won’s role, Jung said: “Sin-hyuk is a diverse character who puts on many different facial expressions, and Si-won is incredibly expressive. I marveled at how one person could make so many faces.”

Actress Go Joon-hee plays the role of Min Ha-ri, an attractive, fashionable and somewhat intimidating woman. Deep inside, however, Min is warm and vulnerable, just like the actress herself, said Jung.

Go Joon-hee (MBC)

“Min Ha-ri is a very complicated and difficult character, but that’s exactly how Joon-hee is as a person. I needed only to point the camera at her to capture all those complex layers,” he said.

Regarding Park Seo-joon, Jung said that he had been “eyeing (Park) since his early acting career,” and was ecstatic at the chance to finally work with him.

Park Seo-joon (MBC)

“She Was Pretty” will air on MBC on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9:55 p.m. from Sept. 16 and is set to run for 16 episodes.

By Rumy Doo (bigbird@heraldcorp.com)