Kang Tae-oh: "Soul Change of 'Moon River', Memorizing Like Studying English with Kim Se-jeong's Recording"

The prince clad in a blue royal robe speaks in a thick dialect. The solemn expression is nowhere to be found, and he pouts with droopy eyebrows.

In the MBC drama 〈Moon River〉 (hereafter 〈Moon River〉), the crown prince Lee Kang (played by Kang Tae-oh) frequently shows contrasting appearances as if he has two faces. This is because the souls of Lee Kang and his father’s servant Park Dal (Kim Se-jeong) have swapped.

As a result, Kang Tae-oh had to express the solemn prince at times and the lively spirit of a female merchant in the marketplace at other times. I met actor Kang Tae-oh, who successfully performed the challenging 'gender soul change' acting, on the 17th at a cafe in Gangnam, Seoul.

⬦ Analyzing 'Kim Se-jeong' Down to the Nano Level, from Eye Rolling Habits to Skirt Grabbing Gestures...

He expressed that it was not easy to portray the character with swapped souls and said, "I asked Se-jeong to read the lines, and I kept following the recordings like studying English. I tried to memorize the intonation and rhythm completely," he explained.

Not only the speech but also the gestures were analyzed in detail and expressed differently. Kang Tae-oh said, "Since Se-jeong habitually rolls her eyes when she thinks, I applied that when expressing the soul swap. Women in the Joseon era wore skirts, so I included movements of holding the robe while running."

He continued, "The headband should originally be worn according to the eyebrows, but when the moon's soul entered, I raised the headband higher and slightly lifted the hat to give a softer image," revealing his meticulous acting points.

As his immersion in acting deepened, he later found it confusing to return to Lee Kang's acting as the moon's acting became more natural. He laughed, saying, "In the end, I felt more comfortable with the moon's soul entering Lee Kang's body, and suddenly the dialect popped out when I had to act as Lee Kang."

⬦ "Enlisting When the Water Rises? It's Actually Good"... A Strengthened Inner Self

Kang Tae-oh debuted in 2013 with the web drama 〈After School Lucky Draw〉 and has appeared in various dramas such as 〈Joseon Roco - Nokdujeon〉 (2019), 〈Run On〉 (2020), and 〈One Day, the Entrance to Our House Was Invaded by Destruction〉 (2021).

The role that widely introduced his name to the public was Lee Jun-ho, a kind employee of the law firm in 〈Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young-woo〉 (2022). Although he received great love, he had to enlist immediately, experiencing a three-year hiatus right after gaining popularity.

When asked if he felt regretful about this situation, he replied, "The agency was quite regretful, but I was okay (because I received love) and I was glad that I had continuous projects even after discharge."

However, he emphasized that he wanted to take on different roles than before his discharge. Kang Tae-oh explained, "After discharge, I wanted to show a contrasting image. Since Lee Jun-ho had a kind image, I chose the cold and rigid So Baek-ho in 〈Potato Research Institute〉 as my first role after discharge."

He also mentioned, "I wanted to do a historical drama once more," and added, "Many people remember my character Cha Yul-moo from 〈Nokdujeon〉 six years ago, so I was worried about meeting their expectations, but I prepared by looking back at my old video compilations."

⬦ Next is Action and Thriller... "Please Look Forward to a New Kang Tae-oh"

He also expressed his desire to continue challenging new roles. "This time in 〈Moon River〉, I practiced a bit of action, and it was fun. If I do an action genre, I might show a new side of myself that I didn't know about. I also want to show my appearance in genres like thriller or dark melodrama that I haven't done yet."