Seo Kang-jun explores the complexities of love in new drama

Actor Seo Kang-jun, who has maintained a career for approximately 13 years since his debut without any public dating news or significant dating rumors, has shared his thoughts on love by portraying the complex emotions and relational cracks of a long-term relationship through his latest work.

On the 25th, fashion magazine 'Harper's Bazaar' released a pictorial and interview featuring Seo Kang-jun and Ahn Eun-jin, who are appearing in the drama 'A Love Other Than Yours.' In the pictorial, the two expressed the subtle emotions where the familiarity, boredom, affection, and conflict of a couple in their 10th year of a relationship intersect.

'A Love Other Than Yours' depicts the process where a couple who has been dating the same person for 10 years faces cracks in their relationship when they suddenly feel an unfamiliar flutter toward someone else. Rather than a simple love triangle or an affair narrative, the work looks into the fading and variation of emotions that occur in long-term relationships, as well as the sustainability of the emotion called love.

Seo Kang-jun plays Namgoong Ho, an assistant manager at Hunmin Confectionery who possesses sociability and a sense of humor. Namgoong Ho is a character who has loved film director Lee Mi-do (Ahn Eun-jin) for a long time and finds happiness simply in the fact that his partner relies on him.

Regarding Namgoong Ho, Seo explained, "He is a person who can endure no matter how much Mi-do leans on him," and "a person who finds happiness in giving." He continued to analyze the structure of the relationship, saying, "Mi-do must lean on him, and Namgoong Ho is a being who gains strength when Mi-do leans on him."

This is an interpretation that views love not merely as emotional exchange, but as a psychological relationship where each person complements the other's deficiencies. Seo also revealed that he has similar tendencies, stating, "Doesn't everyone have the desire for their partner to be happy?"

In particular, he mentioned that his perspective on viewing the cracks in a relationship changed while acting out the setting of a long-term relationship. He said, "There are many more derivative emotions than the simple concept of being hurt," and "Couldn't anyone be shaken?"

He emphasized, "I try to understand the position of the shaken partner, and I also get angry at myself for understanding them. Those emotions are intertwined. This drama is a truly honest work."

Seo's remarks align with the nature of the work, which looks at the process of human emotions changing rather than judging love through a binary of good and evil. The boredom that arises in a long-term relationship does not necessarily mean an absence of love, and conversely, just because love continues does not mean the relationship always maintains the same form.

Seo's attitude toward the work as an actor is also more specific. Regarding the emotions his character experiences, he did not approach them with the superficial emotion of a 'hurt lover,' but instead emphasized a complex psychological structure where understanding, anger, affection, and resignation operate simultaneously.

He expressed high satisfaction with his acting chemistry with Ahn Eun-jin. Seo highly praised Ahn's ability to immerse herself in the situation, saying, "Expressions are only possible when you see even the detailed inner thoughts of the character." He added, "We each lack something the other has. However, the point we reach on set is the same."

Since his debut as an actor in 2013, Seo has expanded his acting range from romance to thriller through various works such as 'Cheese in the Trap,' 'The Third Charm,' 'If We Were to Meet on a Good Day,' 'Are You Human Too?', and 'Grid.' In particular, he has expanded his scope of activity as an actor who delicately expresses the inner textures of characters, moving beyond his clear visuals and image as a youth star.

In this work, his character Namgoong Ho is also expected to show a human side that gets hurt and shaken while trying to protect a long-standing love, rather than being consumed simply as a typical sweet lover.

Interest is growing in how Seo, who has focused on his works and acting rather than personal life controversies since his debut, will convincingly implement the interior of an extremely familiar relationship like a '10-year couple,' regardless of his actual experience. There is a possibility that a new side of him will be revealed in that he acts out a time where familiarity and boredom coexist, rather than the hottest moments of love.

The pictorial and interview of Seo Kang-jun and Ahn Eun-jin will be released in the September issue of 'Harper's Bazaar.'