The second press preview for the soon-to-be-released Korean movie “Sun-jeong” took place in a Lotte Cinema in Seoul Monday.

(OSEN)

Set against the backdrop of a remote hamlet in South Jeolla Province in the early 1990s, the film tells the story of five boys who all have a crush on one girl, played by Kim So-hyun.

Korean boy band EXO’s member D.O., or Doh Kyung-soo, plays the timid and self-effacing Bum-sil, who falls in love with the beloved Soo-wok (Kim So-hyun).

D.O. (Jupiter Film)

A so-called “kiss scene under an umbrella” will “be the piece de resistance, when both Bum-sil and Soo-wok find themselves in love.

Doh and Kim both said they felt like they were “in the mood of first love.”

“I had a crush on my first love when I was a 12th grader,” Doh said. “Emotions I felt back then helped me understand the role.”

“I acted as if I really fell in love with Bum-sil,” Kim said. “My heart throbbed as I got used to the role.”

D.O. (OSEN)

The movie “Sun-jeong,” meaning “pure love” in Korean, is the first one Doh played a main character.

“I was somewhat burdened and felt nervous,” Doh said. “But my colleagues, senior actors, director and the staff helped me.”

The number “17” has a special significance in the movie, staff said at the preview.

“The brainchild of the movie was, ‘what if a 40-year-old man recalls the moment when he was 17,’” said director Lee Eun-hee, who is making his movie debut.

Kim So-hyun (Jupiter Film)

“When the movie started filming last year, I was 17 years old as well,” said actress Kim. “I couldn’t understand (the 17-year-old) Soo-wok’s decision in the read-through session, but by the time I was acting her, I got to understand her choice.”

(Jupiter Film)

The movie, whose filming kicked off June 2015, is set to be released February, according to the Korean Film Council, but the projected date of release did not materialize.

By Son Ji-hyoung (json@heraldcorp.com)

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