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| yna@yna.co.kr 2026-01-22 15:57:50
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- “Honestly, he’s the complete opposite of me. At times, playing him felt frustrating,” actor Kim Seon-ho said of his character.
In an interview with Yonhap News on Thursday at a cafe in Jongno, central Seoul, Kim said the role of Joo Ho-jin he played in the Netflix original series “Can This Love Be Translated?” was polar opposite to his real-life personality.
“Can This Love Be Translated?” is a romantic comedy that follows multilingual interpreter Joo Ho-jin (Kim), who becomes the interpreter for global top star Cha Moo-hee (Ko Yoon-jung), and the events that unfold between them.
The series centers on communication mishaps between Ho-jin, who is fluent in six languages but finds women’s emotions “untranslatable,” and Moo-hee, who tends to hide her true feelings and speak indirectly, as the two navigate love across different languages.
Kim said with a laugh that Moo-hee’s character was actually closer to his own personality than Ho-jin’s.
“In the drama, Yoon-jung and I are basically switched,” he said. “In real life, Yoon-jung is more of a T type, and I’m an F type. When I couldn’t relate to Ho-jin while reading the script on set, I even asked Yoon-jung to read the lines for me.”
To portray Ho-jin, Kim said he deliberately tried to restrain his emotions.
“I tried to keep my emotions as flat as possible and play him as someone who speaks purely for the purpose of ‘delivery,’” he said. “He might come across as a bit frustrating, but I thought Ho-jin needed that balance for the process of the two characters communicating in their own languages to come through clearly.”
Playing a multilingual interpreter also posed a major challenge.
For about four months, Kim had to fully memorize lines written in four languages — Korean, English, Japanese and Italian — while also paying close attention to his voice and pronunciation due to the nature of the role.
“It was really difficult,” he said. “I drilled myself on the lines exactly as written in the script and then tried to layer emotions onto them. When actual Italian viewers said things like, ‘Your pronunciation is decent,’ or ‘You’re pretty good at foreign languages,’ I felt a real sense of exhilaration.”
He added, “I was especially focused on the tone of my voice the moment it came through the earpiece and on accurate pronunciation. I put a lot of thought into using Ho-jin’s often formal, written-style speech naturally without slurring the sounds. I even looked up vocalization techniques on YouTube and practiced them.”
Kim also did not hold back praise for Ko Yoon-jung, with whom he worked for the first time on the project.
“She’s incredibly quick-witted,” he said. “I kept wondering how someone her age could pick up acting so fast. Watching her immediately grasp her co-star’s intentions and take the lead, I once told her, ‘You’re really a monster,’” he said with a laugh.
While expressing gratitude for the strong global response — including the series ranking second in Netflix’s non-English TV category shortly after release — Kim remained humble.
“I’m not particularly generous when it comes to judging my own acting. I was worried about how people would see it,” he said. “I can’t even describe how happy I am to receive so much support and interest.”
Director Yoo Young-eun, who was also interviewed the same day, likewise expressed gratitude for the positive reactions from viewers worldwide.
“We started filming in June 2024, and the production period was long. Since it was being released simultaneously around the world, I was very nervous,” Yoo said. “I was relieved to see such positive responses.”
Explaining her casting choices, Yoo said, “I thought Kim Seon-ho was an actor who could express even subtle romantic moments and lighthearted comedy very well, while Ko Yoon-jung has a transparent and honest charm. When we did test shoots with the two, their chemistry was better than expected, which made me happy.”
The director said she paid special attention to mise-en-scène during location shoots in Japan, Canada, Italy and other countries.
“I believe emotions resonate most when the location, atmosphere and characters’ feelings align,” she said. “The staff worked extremely hard traveling to so many countries. I hope that effort comes through so viewers feel as if they’re traveling along with us.”
Viewers have been divided over the character “Dorami,” described as another self and the embodiment of Moo-hee’s anxiety.
“Dorami isn’t simply something to be feared,” Yoo said. “She represents another side of Moo-hee, the very wounds from her past that Moo-hee didn’t want to be discovered. It may feel unfamiliar, but I hope viewers find her presence convincing as they watch Dorami act as a kind of interpreter between Ho-jin and Moo-hee.”
Addressing controversy surrounding the political views of Japanese actor Sota Fukushi, who appears in the series, Yoo said the production confirmed during casting that he was not associated with any particular political stance.
“We made our decision after comprehensively considering his affection and respect for Korean productions, as well as his ability to portray the character,” she said.
Yoo concluded by saying, “This is a project made with love by many actors and staff members. It begins as a romance, but I hope it also conveys the journey of Moo-hee and Ho-jin as they come to understand each other’s darkness and wounds and grow together.”
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