Ji Chang Wook jokes he never worried about Hyun Bin while acting opposite Son Ye Jin in 'The Scandal'

Ji Chang Wook shared a lighthearted response when asked about acting opposite Son Ye Jin in Netflix’s The Scandal, joking that he never felt conscious of her husband, Hyun Bin.

During a recent interview, Ji Chang Wook looked back on filming the series and the intense dynamic between his character Jo Won and Son Ye Jin’s Lady Cho.

When Hyun Bin was brought up, Ji Chang Wook joked, “I didn’t worry about Hyun Bin sunbaenim at all. My only crime was loving Lady Cho.”

He then explained that working with Son Ye Jin still came with a certain amount of pressure because their characters needed to create convincing tension on screen.

“Just working with Son Ye Jin sunbaenim made me a little nervous,” he said. “I thought the conflict between our characters had to feel strong for the drama to work, so I prepared carefully because I didn’t want to be overwhelmed.”

Ji Chang Wook described their scenes as especially demanding because director Jung Ji Woo often preferred long takes.

According to the actor, some takes lasted more than 10 minutes, making the emotional back-and-forth between the two characters physically and mentally exhausting.

“I realized why I was getting so tired even though we hadn’t filmed that many scenes,” he recalled. “One take was lasting more than 10 minutes.”

He said he and Son Ye Jin spent a lot of time rehearsing with the director before filming, discussing both their movements and the emotional direction of each scene.

Their first day of filming was also especially challenging because the production began with a reunion scene between their characters.

Ji Chang Wook admitted he was surprised that such a difficult scene was chosen for the first shoot, but said the experience helped establish the tone of their relationship.

“Every time Jo Won met Lady Cho, it felt suffocating and tense,” he said.

He later praised Son Ye Jin for creating a strong presence on set and said their scenes required him to stay highly focused throughout filming.

Ji Chang Wook also spoke warmly about working with Nana, explaining that he tried to make the atmosphere more comfortable so she could focus on her emotions.

He praised her instincts as an actress and said she seemed deeply interested in finding the emotional core of her character.

For Ji Chang Wook, working with both Son Ye Jin and Nana became one of the most challenging but memorable parts of filming The Scandal.