‘Achiara’ actors clueless of plot

Cast members of the SBS mystery drama “The Village: Achiara’s Secret” said that they are just as clueless about the show’s ending as the viewers.

The drama focuses on a small village called Achiara, which seems peaceful and uneventful until the body of a young woman is suddenly discovered -- and the dark secrets of the villagers are exposed one by one through the search for the murderer.

The cast members sat down for a press conference Tuesday at the SBS Ilsan Production Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. 

“If we knew who the murderer was, we would try to avoid (certain situations) when acting, but we all think that we’re the murderer,” said actor On Joo-wan, who plays the part of powerful heir Seo Ki-hyeon in the drama. “So we act each scene keeping in mind that we need to keep our character relevant to the overall investigation.”

“The actors get the scripts shortly before filming, but the director knows the ending,” said actress Moon Geun-young, who plays a teacher named Han So-yun. “So he‘ll give us hints about different situations beforehand, and the writer will also leave us notes on our scripts to tell us what we need to know for each scene.”

Yook Sung-jae, who is also known as a member of boy group BTOB, said, “I said before that I hoped the audience just relaxes as they watch our show, and solve the mystery together with us. I think that’s what they’re doing, and I heard a rumor that some people think I’m the murderer, too. I’m having a lot of fun.”

“The Village: Achiara’s Secret” is a 16-part thriller that began airing on Oct. 7. Six episodes have been aired so far. It airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 10 p.m. on SBS.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)