'Genie, Make A Wish' Writer Kim Eun-sook, "Kim Woo-bin is a Thousand Faces, Suzy is a Strange and Beautiful Woman"

'Star Writer' Kim Eun-sook shared her thoughts ahead of the release of 〈Genie, Make A Wish〉.

Set to be released on Netflix on October 3rd (Friday) ahead of Chuseok, 〈Genie, Make A Wish〉 is a stress-free, fantasy romantic comedy about a genie (Kim Woo-bin) who awakens after a thousand years and meets the emotionally detached human Ga-young (Suzy), as they navigate three wishes.

〈Genie, Make A Wish〉 is the latest work by writer Kim Eun-sook, known for her previous works such as 〈The Glory〉, 〈Mr. Sunshine〉, and 〈Goblin〉. Kim Eun-sook described her new work as a 'stress-free, zero-sweet potato, familiar taste fantasy romantic comedy.' She continued, "The easiest and fastest way for those tired of everyday life to find happiness is through 'drama.' Among the many genres, romantic comedy is a magical genre that allows viewers to feel excited as they watch wonderful actors portray love in a sweet and heartwarming way, helping them forget their weary daily lives and heal through laughter and tears."

Below is the full Q&A with writer Kim Eun-sook.

Q. What does the 'romantic comedy' genre mean to writer Kim Eun-sook?

The easiest and fastest way for those tired of everyday life to find happiness is through 'drama.' Among the many genres, romantic comedy is a magical genre that allows viewers to feel excited as they watch wonderful actors portray love in a sweet and heartwarming way, helping them forget their weary daily lives and heal through laughter and tears.

Q. What was your experience like working with actors Kim Woo-bin and Suzy, who play Genie and Ga-young?

Genie is a character that must be both cool and broken, and must express all emotions and facial expressions the actor possesses. He must portray a playful face, a handsome face, a cold face, a lonely face, and above all, a face in love. Watching Kim Woo-bin, I understood why he is said to have a 'thousand faces.'

Ga-young is an ironically rare character with the external appearance of a 'psychopath' and the internal essence of 'human goodwill.' The only guide to living in this world is her grandmother's rules and the routines she has created, so she constantly battles with Genie, who pushes her outside of her map, in a quiet yet fierce manner. This strange and beautiful woman is how I envisioned Ga-young, and despite being a difficult character, Suzy reassured me by saying she was actually very excited.

Q. How did you design and portray the other characters in 〈Genie, Make A Wish〉 besides Genie and Ga-young?

I recommend watching without any information about Genie’s brother 'Soo-hyun', the mysterious woman 'Mi-joo', and Ga-young's friend, the dentist 'Min-ji.' There will be fun in gradually discovering the information sprinkled throughout the drama and predicting how their relationships will unfold.

Additionally, there are other main characters known as 'wishers.' When creating these characters, I thought a lot about deficiency. Every human life has deficiencies, and when asked to express a wish, most people try to fill those deficiencies. However, the way to do so can be good or evil, which led me to ask questions like 'How do humans deal with deficiencies?' and 'How should I handle my own deficiencies?' while building the characters of the wishers.

Q. Were there any important considerations when setting the spatial background of the work?

Since the lamp is a space where Genie has been imprisoned for 983 years, I wanted it to have a desolate feeling. Later, as Ga-young fills the lamp with various items, I wanted to show how this once desolate place becomes a cozy space full of life. I wanted to visually express Genie’s emotional changes in this way, and when I first saw it on video, the staff thought of it as 'my genie.' Cheongpung Village is set as a Korean countryside village where green mountains and life-giving land and water beautifully blend, contrasting with Genie’s space in the Dubai desert.

Q. Any message for fans waiting for 〈Genie, Make A Wish〉?

Since the theme of the work revolves around three wishes, I inevitably had to work on somewhat heavy themes such as human desires and nature, the duality of good and evil, and the depth of love. However, since it is a 'romantic comedy,' I tried to write the more terrible scenes in a cute way, resulting in the strange and beautiful 〈Genie, Make A Wish〉 being born into the world. So this Chuseok, I hope everyone gathers together and gets lost in the charm of 〈Genie, Make A Wish〉. Rather than nagging about marriage or jobs, I hope you have a rich Chuseok filled with fluffy conversations like 'What is our daughter's wish?' and 'What is your wish, mom?'.