If you see millions of dollars’ worth of gold bars every day at work, it’s not unusual to think what life would be like if they ended up in your hands.
At a press conference today (April 27), the cast of upcoming Disney+ K-drama Gold Land shared about their experiences working on the series and what they would do in real life if they owned those precious gold bars.
Park Bo-young, 36, plays protagonist Kim Hui-ju, an airport security officer who unexpectedly comes into possession of 150 billion won (S$129 million) worth of gold bars tied to an illegal smuggling ring. Eventually, she becomes obsessed with the gold and her own desire to keep it for herself grows.
Her airline co-pilot boyfriend Lee Do-gyeong (Lee Hyun-wook) is caught between love and greed and makes dangerous decisions in a bid to protect both her and the gold bars.
“A part of me does want to keep my hands on the gold, so I think I lived vicariously through Hui-ju and I enjoyed being greedy,” said Bo-young to the press.
“But actually, it isn’t a happy life because you’re always on edge. Now that I’ve lived as her, I don’t want the gold anymore. But if I did have it, I would use some of it and then donate it for good purposes.”
Admitting that he had thought a lot about what he would do if he had the gold, 40-year-old Hyun-wook said: “I would want to find out how much I can spend in one day and think about what I can afford. If I can flex and do whatever I want with the money, what are all the things I could get? But I could also donate it. I’m curious to see how far I’d be able to go.”
Hui-ju’s mother Yeon Seong-ok, played by Moon Jeong-hee, is a selfish person who chases after her own desires but finds herself worn out in her pursuit. She has a distant love-hate relationship with her daughter and wishes for her to not wind down the same path.
Highlighting a scene where Seong-ok motivates Hui-ju to keep the gold, the 50-year-old said: “I wasn’t too surprised when I was working with the gold bars, because they were just props, but my jaw dropped when looking at them because seeing a kilogramme of them, your greed just kicks in.
“I’d never thought of myself as a greedy type of person, but when I saw the gold bars, I wanted to steal them.”
Lee Kwang-soo plays the drama’s main antagonist Park Ho-cheol, a gang director who is obsessed with wealth and greed.
Unlike his character, the 40-year-old classified himself as more of the “scaredy-cat” type, confessing that if the gold were to end up with him, he would do his best to return it to its owner.
“When you return a wallet to its owner, they sometimes give you compensation for that. I would take that money and put it in my bank,” he said, leaving Hyun-wook to joke that it made him look bad.
A creative squabble
The actors also talked about the styling and looks for their characters.
Bo-young shared that she had to lose weight as Hui-ju did not have a happy family, and because she is constantly on the run with the gold, she is always nervous and on edge.
“Director Kim (Sung-hoon) wanted me to look drained and worn-out. He also said that maybe having no makeup would work better, so at first I thought I would put on a bit but eventually, I put almost none at all,” said Bo-young.
Kim Sung-cheol, 34, plays debt collector Jang Wook who strikes up an alliance with Hui-ju, but begins to eye the gold for himself. Like Bo-young, he also put on next to no makeup for the role and only used sunscreen, needing only five minutes to get ready for filming.
Similarly, viewers may also notice Jeong-hee looking a little frail on screen, but this was not a creative choice. She revealed that when filming commenced, her longtime pet dog had died and more than ever, her character had resonated with her in the moment.
Speaking about the creative process behind his villainous character, Kwang-soo proudly declared that he thought of the accessories that Ho-cheol sports on screen, namely his gold tooth gems.
“I thought that his backstory could be hinted at with his accessories and the way he carries himself,” explained the comedian. “I gave those ideas and when people really loved what they saw from the stills, I noticed that the director stole the credit for it.
“I want to make sure people hear it from me that it was my idea.”
Refuting Kwang-soo’s claims, Sung-hoon argued that there had been a misunderstanding between them. He said: “Kwang-soo asked me if we should do silver-plated teeth instead to avoid the cliches of gold, or we could design it like a windowpane. I didn’t understand it very well.”
In mock anger, the actor threatened to show the receipts of their shared conversation, while the press conference host ultimately chalked up Ho-cheol’s appearance as a partnership created between the duo, which the cast laughed at.
Gold Land, which also stars Kim Hee-won and Lee Seol, will premiere on Disney+ on April 29.
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