Song Ji-hyo to play mysterious witch in TVing original, 'The Witch's Diner'

 

The cast members of "The Witch's Diner," from left, Chae Jong-hyeop, Nam Ji-hyun, Song Ji-hyo and Ha Do-kwon, pose for pictures during an online press conference for the series, Friday. Courtesy of CJ ENM

TVing's new series blends various genres such as romance and horror

By Lee Gyu-lee

Actress Song Ji-hyo is taking another stab at a fantasy horror series following the 2018 KBS series "Lovely Horribly," with the role of a witch in streaming service TVing's upcoming original series, "The Witch's Diner."

"I was into fantasy series at the time when I was offered the script for this series. And I wanted to try portraying a role that had distinguished characteristics," Song said during an online press conference, held on Friday, to promote the series. "So when I read this script, it made me feel like I really should take this role… I fell in love with it."

Based on the novel of the same name by Goo Sang-hee, the 먹튀사이트 fantasy series revolves around the down-and-out Jung Jin (Nam Ji-hyun), who is left with the bankrupt restaurant she used to run with her mother.

One day, a mysterious woman, Cho Hee-ra (Song), offers her partnership in running a new restaurant that offers a rather odd service. Using her powers as a witch, Hee-ra sells its customers a magical dish that grants their wishes, in return for something she requests from them. The business partners proceed then to encounter various customers each with their own stories to tell.

The series is co-directed by So Jae-hyun, the chief producer of hit tvN series like "Stranger" and "It's Okay to Not Be Okay," and Lee Soo-hyun, the director of the thriller series "Awaken" and "Find Me in Your Memory."

Song's character, Hee-ra, is a sharp-tongued witch who seems cold-hearted but has a charisma that attracts people.

The actress said that she wanted to challenge herself with such a unique character. "It would be too much to say that it is a transformation (from my previous roles) but it is a challenge," she said. "I wanted to test how well I can fit myself into such a character."

A poster for the series / Courtesy of CJ ENM

The cast and directors noted that they had been drawn to the story and that, as the novel unfolded, it led them to choose this project.

"The point of this series is that it is a dark fantasy tale. And within that, there's romance, horror, emotional and heartwarming stories, sort of like an assorted gift basket," director So said. "After I was introduced to the original novel, I was awestruck and felt the need to share it with the world."

Actress Nam said that the mixture of genres makes this series more interesting than previous horror and mystery series.

"At first I thought it was a heart-warming drama about people, but some of the things that people have to pay in return for their wishes are terrifying," she said. "This variation on the genre, blended into a single storyline, is the charm of this series."

Both Song and Nam expressed their on-set and off-set chemistry as co-leads.

"For the first part, there weren't a lot of scenes together. But since we began filming the scenes at the restaurant, we had such a good time. There were a lot of difficult scenes and long takes but we got through them easily as we were having so much fun filming together," Nam said.

Song added: "We had such a good vibe, to the point that I felt our scenes together were not enough."

"The Witch's Diner" will be released through TVing on July 16 with new episodes coming out every Friday.