Kim Myung-so and Kwon Na-ra talked about the upcoming costume drama "New Dark Imperial History", which is set in dynasties and tells the story of the secret imperial inspectors who go undercover in the provinces in order to achieve justice, expose corruption, and solve the problems of the people. Kim Myung-so will play Sung Yee-kwan, a public official of Hung Myung-kwan (Office of the Special Adviser), who is appointed as the Secret Ombudsman. Kwon Na La will play Hong Do-jin, a female official who works in the government and goes undercover as a singer(a singer trained in music and art).
When asked why he chose to star in the TV series, Kim Myung-so said: "I read the script, the story and the characters are very interesting, very interesting. There are a lot of things I can show the audience. It has a lot of action scenes, and I'm going to be able to show a lot of aspects of the historical drama genre. These are the reasons why I chose to participate in this TV series. To the same question, Kwon Na La replied: The script is interesting. Because it was the first time to appear in a historical drama, I was scared, but I wanted to try it, because it is a warm story that unfolds around justice.
The New Dark History is Kim Myung-so's second historical drama (the first is The Emperor: The Master of the Mask), which is also Kwon Na-ra's first appearance in this type of TV series. Kim Myung-so shared: I haven't starred in a historical drama for a long time, this is my second one, so it's very difficult. There are some difficulties due to the cold weather when shooting in winter, but the action scenes are the most difficult. Because I have to act in hanbok (korean traditional costume), it is very hard. I practiced a lot at the Movement Academy, and I also practiced wire movements, exercises, and horseback riding. I did about 95% of the action myself.
Kwon Na La commented: "This is my first historical drama, so this is my first time shooting arrows, the first time I have fought with a knife. I think I've tried all the different hairstyles in the history show, and I've even dressed up as a man. I try to speak in a tone that is neither too heavy nor too light, because this is a TV series that contains comedy. I learned a lot from Kim Myung-so. The two actors also talked about their synchronicity with the characters. Kim Myung-so said: To be honest, I am now 99.9% in sync with the character. We've done a lot of shooting, so I've become my character.
Kwon Na La shared: If you want to compare personalities, I think I have a 50% similarity with my character. I'm also very approachable and laugh a lot, but I'm not like Hong Duoren, who's not good at speaking my mind. Hong Duoren is a straightforward person who can say whatever he wants, and I want to be as brave as her.
Next, Kim Myung-so and Kwon Na-ra discuss their teamwork. Kim Myung-so said: Our teamwork is very good, and she is very considerate to me. When we exchanged views, she was very open to my ideas. She's a great person. Kwon Na La praised: I am very happy to shoot a scene with Kim Myung-so. We have amazing chemistry. He was considerate, warm and loving on set. They also talk about Lee I-hyung, who plays the role of Park Wednesday, who is Sung-il-kwan's loyal servant and right-hand man. They shared: With Li Yigeng, the atmosphere has become more exciting. When the three of us are together, we talk a lot, rehearse together, and exchange opinions during breaks. He's an incredible actor.