‘Sisters over Flowers’ to showcase actresses’ feminine charm

Cable channel tvN’s newest reality program, “Sisters over Flowers,” part of the series “Backpacking Project, Part 2,” is slated to air for the first time on Friday night at 10 p.m.

The program will have a much different vibe from “Grandpas over Flowers,” which followed the antics of four veteran actors backpacking throughout Europe and Taiwan.

“‘Sisters over Flowers’ is going to be completely different from ‘Grandpas over Flowers,’” head producer of the series Nah Young-suk said at a press conference held in Sinchon, Seoul, on Tuesday. 

“When we walked down a market street with the grandpas, they would look straight ahead and walk towards the destination. The actresses, on the other hand, were very curious about all the different items sold at the market and would stop at each shop.”

While “Grandpas over Flowers” featured a cast of all-male actors: Shin Goo, Park Geun-hyung, Baek Il-seob and Lee Soon-jae, the new installment features veteran actresses Yoon Yeo-jeong, Kim Ja-ok, Kim Hee-ae and Lee Mi-yeon.

“I didn’t know that women were so high-maintenance. When we travelled with the grandpas, we didn’t need to fuss over small details. But travelling with the ladies, the fact that there was no hairdryer where we stayed became a very big problem,” producer Na said.

The first series was filmed in various well-traveled locations, such as France, Switzerland and Taiwan. The actresses, on the other hand, are going to more unique locations, starting out in Istanbul, Turkey, and moving on to their main destination in Eastern Europe, Croatia.

“Compared to the grandpas, the actresses had 5,000 times more emotional responses to their surroundings. They were more talkative, and were very expressive, whether they were surprised, happy or sad,” producer Na said.

Actor Lee Seo-jin, fluent in English and apt at reading maps, served as guide for the first series and was replaced by singer and actor Lee Seung-gi in the second.

Producer Na worked with Lee Seung-gi in the past for KBS comedy program “2 Days and 1 Night,” where Lee’s character was portrayed as clumsy and a “heodang,” which means empty-headed.

“If Lee Seo-jin was almost like a professional tour guide for the grandpas, Lee Seung-gi was more like an elementary school student. Instead of being a porter for the ladies, he was more of a burden than the luggage itself,” producer Na said with a laugh.

“Lee Seung-gi was very young when he entered the entertainment industry, and he is still very young. Throughout the program you will see him break down numerous times, but towards the end we see him ‘grow up’ as well.”

At one particular point of the journey the young actor scrambled around town to replace Yoon Yeo-jeong’s broken curling iron, which she had used for more than 20 years.

“It was comical to see Seung-gi running around trying to track down a curling iron,” producer Na said. “The program is still in the editing phase, but the first episode alone definitely shows its own unique style and differences from the previous series.”

By Cha Yo-rim (yorimcha@heraldcorp.com)