Kim Woo-bin Decides to Appear in 'Genie, Make A Wish' After Falling in Love with Kim Eun-sook's Script

Actor Kim Woo-bin revealed that the first reason for his appearance in the Netflix original series 〈Genie, Make A Wish〉 (hereafter 〈Genie〉) was the script by writer Kim Eun-sook.

On the 13th, Kim Woo-bin met with reporters at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and said, "I decided to appear because the script was so good at first," adding, "I like writer Kim Eun-sook's sense of humor."

He plays the role of the genie who has been trapped in a lamp for nearly a thousand years in 〈Genie〉. With long hair covering a room and a flamboyant outfit, he has attracted attention with his playful tone and actions.

The drama includes parody scenes where he dresses up and delivers lines like Moon Dong-eun from 〈The Glory〉 and Young-do from 〈The Heirs〉. Kim Woo-bin received praise for his clever portrayal of these scenes.

He mentioned, "I was glad because I thought it was a parody scene that could only be done because it was writer Kim Eun-sook," and added, "In the first draft, there was a parody of Moon Dong-eun, but it was removed in the revised script, so I called the writer and said, 'I want to do it.'"

Regarding criticisms that some of writer Kim's lines are somewhat childish or that the emotional lines are hard to understand, he responded, "It's the same for all works that receive mixed reactions," and said, "Since there are many stories contained, it's natural for various opinions to arise."

The most challenging part for Kim Woo-bin was not the so-called 'cringy' lines or parody scenes, but the Arabic lines. He said, "There are 52 Arabic lines in my script, and I memorized them by repeating each line about a thousand times," and smiled proudly, saying, "So I ended up repeating it 52,000 times."

Due to the unique setting, many scenes were filmed locally in Dubai. Representative scenes include Gi Ga-young (played by Suzy) walking in the desert or scenes set in an Arab market. Kim Woo-bin explained, "I was very surprised that senior Song Hye-kyo (who made a special appearance) came all the way to Dubai," adding, "Although it looks like it was filmed in Dubai, there are also scenes filmed in Korea and vice versa."

〈Genie, Make A Wish〉 experienced a change in directors from Lee Byung-hun to Ahn Gil-ho during filming. Kim Woo-bin said, "There was no major discomfort when the director was replaced. The styles of the two directors were not very different," but he also expressed, "Since I worked with director Lee Byung-hun on the movie 〈Twenty〉, I wish we could have finished this together, but I feel regret that we couldn't."

At the production presentation, where neither the writer nor the PD attended, Kim Woo-bin took on difficult questions and has been actively promoting the work through interviews and YouTube broadcasts since its release. He stated, "I have deep affection for this work because the script, the character, and the staff I work with are all so good."

This affection and sense of responsibility are evident not only in 〈Genie〉 but also in all the works he has filmed so far. He mentioned that he still keeps the school uniforms he wore in 〈A Gentleman's Dignity〉, 〈School 2013〉, and 〈The Heirs〉, saying, "This time I had to dress up as Young-do, but I was told I couldn't find the uniform from 〈The Heirs〉, so I offered what I had. Now that uniform doesn't fit me, so I just kept the buttons and name tag and replicated it."

When asked about his next goal, he revealed a changed sense of purpose after battling cancer. He said, "Since my hiatus, I don't set grand goals anymore," and added, "I just try my best with the tasks given to me each day and live well with the people I love; other than being healthy, I have no goals."

Kim Woo-bin was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in May 2017 and returned after about two and a half years of hiatus. He said, "In the past, I always had many goals and felt like I was living today for tomorrow, but now I feel like I am living today for today," indicating a change in his perspective.