Will Kim Ok-vin become new rom-com crush with ‘Love to Hate You’?

“Love to Hate You,” the first romantic comedy series of actor Kim Ok-vin’s 18-year career, strays from the typical Korean drama tropes. The series doesn’t feature childhood sweethearts; a poor girl with an overly positive personality; nor an average girl meeting a rich guy with the ensuing family opposition.

But the actors and director of “Love to Hate You” are certain that it has more than everything to make viewers wish they were in love.

Kim felt that she was playing the lightest characer of her career.

“Yeo Mi-ran is a lawyer who hates men and does not wish to be protected by them. She doesn’t trust them either. But she cannot live alone, so Mi-ran dates and hangs out with guys just for fun,” the actor said during a press conference at CGV Yongsan in central Seoul on Wednesday.

Kim, who made a name for herself in hit action thrillers “Thirst” (2009) and “The Villainess” (2017), said that it was her first time grinning while reading a script, finding herself frequently laughing out loud.

“I wanted to work in a different genre. I wanted to challenge myself in ‘Love to Hate You,’” she added.

Co-star Kim Ji-hoon, who is well-known for his role in “Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area” (2022), felt that “Love to Hate You” brings a new twist to the rom-com genre.

“Yeo Mi-ran is an independent woman. She is aggressive in trying to win her love. It’s very different from Cinderella or Candy -- the female lead in a Japanese romance manga,” the actor said.

“I’ve felt that these days there weren’t a lot of rom-coms featuring strong, independent women, who many young Korean women love. ‘Love to Hate You’ is a timely drama series with which many people can relate,” Kim added.

The series’ director Kim Jung-kwon, who was behind several successful melodramas and romance films such as- “Ditto” (2000), “Ba:Bo” (2008) and “Are you in Love” (2020), finished this project to warm viewers’ hearts.

“Producing a romance is difficult. If the series presents a different perspective on love, viewers are not immersed in the story, making the content boring,” Kim said.

“‘Love to Hate You’ is a love story about two quirky individuals. When the viewers carefully follow the characters’ journey to reconcile with their past and create new relationships, they can easily relate themselves to Yeo Mi-ran and Nam Kang-ho (played by Yoo Teo),” the director explained.

The 10-part series “Love to Hate You” premieres exclusively on Netflix on Friday.