Disney+’s ‘Call It Love’ presents realistic love story

Disney+, the flagship streaming service of US media giant Walt Disney Co., presents a calm, soothing romance of ordinary people in its upcoming series “Call It Love.”

The slice-of-life series follows the lead characters who fall in love at first sight, a departure from the big, sweeping romances featuring estranged childhood sweethearts or dramatic plot twists.

Director Lee Kwang-young said the stories of her romance series will be told at a slow pace, allowing viewers to slowly immerse themselves into the series and empathize with the characters.

“We did not have to run through a lot of practices and rehearsals to shoot the scenes. ‘Call It Love’ presents the usual life of ordinary people. Actors were fully immersed in their characters and I only needed to bring a camera to film their performances,” Lee said in a press conference at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul on Tuesday.

“Call It Love” revolves around a young woman, Shim Woo-joo (played by Lee Sung-kyoung), whose life hits rock bottom when she finds out about her father’s infidelity. The story develops as Woo-joo plans to take revenge after her father’s death. But she falls in love with Dong-jin (played by Kim Young-kwang), the son of the woman with whom her father had an affair.

Though Woo-joo seeks vengeance, the director explained that revenge is not what “Call It Love” is about.

“Everyone has someone they want to punish personally. But people don't just kill the person they hate very much, right? They endure their pain and live another day. I think this is the underlying theme of our series,” the director said.

Lee added that the emotional vocals of singers Roy Kim, Sunwoo Jung-a and rapper Wonstein will warm hearts, allowing viewers to deeply empathize with Woo-joo and Dong-jin, as well as the rest of the cast.

Actor Kim Young-kwang, 36, considered one of South Korea’s go-to romance masters, said he felt comforted while playing Dong-jin.

“I almost burst into tears when l was learning about and playing Dong-jin’s life. I wished to relieve him of his sorrow, but I got consolation from Woo-joo. And I felt that it was not only for Dong-jin, but also for me. I hope the emotions that I felt while shooting the series are delivered to the audience as well,” Kim said.

The 16-part romance series premieres Wednesday on Disney+.