Roh Yoon Seo has shared new details about the carefully crafted relationship between her character and Nam Joo Hyuk's in Netflix's The East Palace, revealing that the two actors deliberately limited their characters' physical affection while leaving room for different interpretations.
During a recent interview in Seoul, Roh Yoon Seo reflected on working alongside Nam Joo Hyuk in the Netflix mystery fantasy series.
The East Palace follows Gu Cheon, played by Nam Joo Hyuk, a man with the ability to cross into the world of spirits, and court lady Saeng Gang, played by Roh Yoon Seo, who hides a secret of her own.
After being summoned by the king, portrayed by Cho Seung Woo, the two work together to uncover the curse surrounding the The East Palace.
Speaking about her co-star, Roh Yoon Seo said she felt supported throughout filming.
She explained, "He was incredibly reliable. Whether it was the action scenes or the chemistry between Gu Cheon and Saeng Gang, he has so much experience that I learned a lot about how to build a scene together. Whenever we discussed a scene, we were always on the same wavelength. We would often suggest the exact same ideas. I felt comfortable filming on set, and it was fun working together the entire time."
She also revealed that they had specific discussions about how far their characters' physical interactions should go.
According to Roh Yoon Seo, "We talked together and agreed that a hug should be the furthest our physical contact would go."
She explained that, from the characters' perspective, they did not fully recognize any romantic feelings.
"The two of them don't realize those emotions themselves, or they see their relationship as complete comradeship," she said. "But we hoped viewers might interpret it as a different kind of feeling, and we intentionally left a little room for that," she added with a laugh.
Roh Yoon Seo said the relationship was never meant to fit neatly into a single definition, especially in the beginning.
"At first, it wasn't something you could define as love or friendship. But as their bond grew, even though each had their own goals, saving each other eventually became their most instinctive priority," she explained.
She added that her performance focused less on labeling the relationship and more on the characters' genuine concern for one another.
"Rather than defining it with one word like love or friendship, I focused on the feeling of caring for each other. To us, it was comradeship, but I wanted to leave it up to the viewers to decide how they see it. I thought that would be more interesting."
