우재연
| 2026-03-10 16:54:12
TV series-press conference
Starring Ju Ji-hoon, Ha Ji-won, 'Climax' gives voice to desires nobody talks about
By Woo Jae-yeon
SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- ENA's new series "Climax" is a work that "scratches exactly where it itches," actor Ju Ji-hoon said Tuesday.
"The script felt like giving voice to the desires that everyone carries silently but never dares to speak aloud," the actor said at a press conference in Seoul. "That was what drew me to participate in it."
He portrays Bang Tae-seob, a man who, according to the actor, "has no connection, no ties and no network, and gets knocked around and worn down by the world, yet burns with a desperate ambition to rise above it all, struggling with everything he has."
Tae-seob transforms himself into a prosecutor of relentless ambition and ice-cold judgment, who pursues power at any cost and makes one devastating choice after another in his climb to the top.
Actress Ha Ji-won makes her small-screen return after a four-year absence since the KBS drama "Curtain Call," taking on the role of Choo Sang-ah, a once-celebrated actress and the wife of Tae-seob.
Ha described her character as someone caught between "a glamorous past and an anxious, unstable present living side by side."
She said she aimed to capture the wavering and vulnerable mental status of a woman who seeks to reclaim her former glory, while making coldly calculated decisions to get there.
"I had been curious about people and human relationships for six, seven years when this project came along," she said. "It felt like it was hitting all the right notes -- desires, power and the choices that we all have to face at some point. It just felt like too good a project to pass up."
As for portraying an actress, Ha admitted it was "very challenging."
"I worked closely with the director to shed Ha Ji-won and truly become Sang-ah," she said. "It sent me deep into questions about who I am and why I act -- questions I first wrestled with seven or eight years ago and still haven't fully answered. This series made me feel like I was starting all over again as an actor."
The 10-episode drama marks the television debut of "Miss Baek" director Lee Ji-won, who also wrote the script for the series.
"I put enormous effort into giving each episode its own climax and a cliffhanger ending," she said. "While writing this, I experienced burnout for the first time in my life."
She said some of the episodes and events in the series were inspired by what she had witnessed or heard firsthand since entering the film industry in 2001.
Actress Nana plays Hwang Jung-won, a mysterious woman who helps Tae-seob on secret missions. She was careful not to give too much away at the press event, noting that her character is "difficult to describe precisely," as it carried major spoilers for the drama.
"Climax" premiers at 10 p.m. on Monday on the local cable channel, with simultaneous releases on Genie TV and Disney+.
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