Kim Hye-soo and Cho Yeo-jeong team up for 'Affairs Are Not the Problem Now'

Coupang Play is set to target the OTT market this summer with its new original series 'Affairs Are Not the Problem Now,' featuring a powerhouse lineup and a proven production team. The series marks the first major collaboration between Kim Hye-soo and Cho Yeo-jeong. With a solid cast including Kim Ji-hun and Kim Jae-cheol, and production by First Man Studio—the company behind the global hit 'Squid Game'—expectations are soaring even before the premiere.

Coupang Play announced that 'Affairs Are Not the Problem Now' will premiere on the 31st at 8 PM, releasing a teaser poster alongside the news. While the series uses the familiar themes of infidelity and divorce as a starting point, it is a black comedy where massive secrets and a chain of events unfold far beyond those initial premises. The production team emphasized the genre-driven appeal, stating, "An event much larger than what the title implies will shake the lives of the characters," distancing the show from traditional melodramas.

The project is helmed by director Chang H. Ree, recognized for his genre sensibilities in 'A Killer Paradox' and 'Strangers from Hell,' with a script by writers Jeong Eun-kyeong and Park Su-rin. Attention is also focused on the production quality, given the involvement of First Man Studio, which has proven its competitiveness in the global content market.

'Affairs Are Not the Problem Now' is a black comedy depicting the spiral of an influencer couple, who gained fame by projecting an image of an ideal family, and a doctor couple embroiled in a messy divorce lawsuit, as they become caught in unexpected incidents that lead to an uncontrollable catastrophe.

Although the series puts infidelity at the forefront, this is merely the starting point of the narrative. As the characters' hidden secrets are revealed, the plot expands in unexpected directions, using the irony unique to black comedy to explore human desire, hypocrisy, and the cracks in relationships.

The released teaser poster symbolically captures this atmosphere.

In contrast to the image of Kyung-hee, an influencer smiling brightly with a selfie stick in an upscale residential area, the mansion's windows reveal the silhouettes of a man and woman embracing, alongside a broken family photo, a character eavesdropping through a wall, and two girls holding hands. The imagery is being praised for visually compressing the anxiety and instability hidden behind a seemingly perfect daily life.

The biggest highlight is undoubtedly the first full-scale acting collaboration between Kim Hye-soo and Cho Yeo-jeong.

This marks the first time these two veteran actors, who have long represented Korean cinema and television, will take on central roles that oscillate between confrontation and cooperation in a single work. As both are stars with major hits that drew over 10 million viewers, their meeting is being dubbed an encounter of 'Double Ten Million Actors.'

Kim Hye-soo plays Kyung-hee, a successful influencer. While she projects a glamorous life on SNS that everyone envies, she is a complex character harboring secrets she can tell no one.

Kim has proven her wide acting spectrum across genres in films such as 'Tazza: The High Rollers,' 'The Thieves,' 'Coin Locker Girl,' 'Smugglers,' and dramas like 'Signal' and 'Juvenile Justice.' In this work, she promises another transformation through a character possessing both a glamorous exterior and an unstable interior.

Cho Yeo-jeong plays Su-jeong, a dignified dermatology clinic director. While she appears to lead a stable professional life, her world gradually unravels amidst a fierce divorce lawsuit and unexpected incidents.

Cho, who has delivered nuanced psychological performances in films like 'Parasite' and 'Coin Locker Girl' and dramas like '99 Billion Woman,' is expected to drive the tension of the series through complex emotional arcs.

Kim Ji-hun plays Jae-hong, Kyung-hee's younger husband, and Kim Jae-cheol plays Bo-seong, the husband involved in the divorce lawsuit with Su-jeong. As the interests of the four characters become intricately intertwined, the psychological warfare and conflict are expected to escalate.

'Affairs Are Not the Problem Now' is not a simple melodrama, but focuses on deconstructing the image of a 'perfect life' consumed by modern society.

The decision to cast influencers and doctors—professions symbolizing high social trust and success—serves to highlight the gap between private desire and public image. Through the process of these individuals crumbling before massive secrets, the series aims to explore the duality of modern life and the fragility of relationships using the grammar of black comedy.

Notably, rather than consuming the subject of infidelity for shock value, the series employs a narrative strategy to spotlight human psychology, social hypocrisy, and the cracks within the family unit. With fast-paced developments, twist-driven plots, and intense psychological clashes, the series is expected to offer a tension distinct from traditional genre works.

Coupang Play continues to expand its investment in original content to strengthen its competitiveness in the OTT market. All eyes are on whether 'Affairs Are Not the Problem Now'—a combination of the symbolic presence of Kim Hye-soo and Cho Yeo-jeong, the direction of Chang H. Ree, and the production power of First Man Studio—can become the breakout hit of the summer OTT market.