Actors Yeo Jin-goo and Lee Se-young, who play the royal couple on the upcoming TV drama “The Crowned Clown,” posed for the cover of Cosmopolitan’s New Year’s issue.

“The Crowned Clown” is also known by the literal translation of its Korean title, “The Man Who Became King.” The show will premiere in January.

The show has a prince-and-pauper theme. On the show, Yeo will play the dual role of Prince Gwanghae, the 15th king of the Joseon Dynasty, and a lowly clown who curiously looks identical to the prince.

Lee will play the queen, who is loved both by her husband and the clown.

The drama is a remake of the movie “Masquerade (2012),” in which Lee Byung-hun played a commoner who clandestinely took the place of a poisoned king to save his country from falling into chaos.

In Cosmopolitan, Lee was quoted as saying she’d wanted the role in the drama even more upon learning that Yeo was to play the male lead.

Yeo also said he’d seen Lee on screen when he was younger and wanted to become as good an actor as her. Also in the interview, Yeo said he wanted to write better poems.

More photos and videos of Yeo and Lee can be found on Cosmopolitan Korea’s Instagram account and website.




By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)