"Moon in the Day" Kim Young-dae, "This Kind of Drama Is Needed"

"Moon in the Day" Kim Young-dae, expressed regret over the ratings.

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Kim Young-dae met with iMBC Entertainment at the Outer Universe office building in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 18th and interviewed with the end of the ENA Wednesday-Thursday drama "Moon in the Day".

Based on the Naver webtoon of the same name, "Moon in the Day" is a dangerous and affectionate revenge drama about a man who falls in love with a woman he has to kill. Kim Young-dae played the role of Han Joo-oh, a self-announced top Korean star, and the role of Do-ha, an unbeaten Shilla general who is favored by the king.

"Moon in the Day" began its first broadcast with a 1.6% viewership on November 1st and ended with 1.5% on the 14th. With the end of the show with a somewhat disappointing rating (based on Nielsen Korea), Kim Young-dae said, "I also feel bad for some parts", adding, "It's a work that many people have worked hard in unison for a long time, but it's a pity because the ratings are low".

"However, despite the low ratings, the viewers who watched it responded well", he said, adding, "There was a lot of lingering effects in the work, and I think it was a good stimulus in the long run".

"Each episode may have lacked provocative and viewer ratings, but overall, I think "Moon in the Day" was a good piece. There are various kinds of dramas. I think such dramas are also necessary", Kim Young-dae said.

Kim Young-dae, who tried acting as a double role for the first time in his life with "Moon in the Day", said, "It was my first time playing two roles. The most important thing for me was that I wanted the two characters to be clearly different. When I first saw Do-ha and Joo-ho through the script, it was difficult, and it was hard to approach them. Do-ha was especially difficult, and I thought a lot about how I can express this character well? I decided that I would not look like the same characters if I played them as opposites as much as possible by keeping the gap between them. So Joo-ho looked more hyper, and on the other hand, Do-ha looked scary and heavy. I did it and it was okay because I was clearly seen as a different person".

"Moon in the Day" is based on Naver Webtoon of the same name, which has accumulated 700 million views. Kim Young-dae confessed that he felt pressured by the popularity of the original webtoon. "Actually, at first, I didn't know about the webtoon when I received the script. I was recommended by my CEO and started reading the webtoon, and it was really popular. There was a fandom there. I found out after I was offered to be in the drama, and since then, I had been under a lot of pressure", he confessed.

"I've already decided to appear on "Moon in the Day", but I didn't think I should drop out of it for the pressure on the original popularity, so I tried to do it with responsibility", he said. "I wanted to express it well, and the burden was not a bad burden, but a burden that stimulated me".

Kim Young-dae joined "Moon in the Day" immediately after MBC's historical drama "The Forbidden Marriage" that first aired on December 9th, 2022 and ended on January 21st, 2023. "They were the same historical dramas, but "Moon in the Day" was a completely different one", Kim said. "It was a fusion of historical drama, and the tone of "The Forbidden Marriage" was more modern. As it is a romantic comedy, It felt more like a modern rom-com using a historical drama tone than a serious historical drama", Kim Young-dae said. "I tried to reflect the times because "Moon in the Day" was from the Shilla period and had a stronger melodrama than a romance comedy. I think it was difficult because they both felt different".

Meanwhile, the full episode of "Moon in the Day" is currently available on the OTT platform TVING.