Moon Chae-won as age-defying fairy in ‘Gyeryong Fairy Tale’

Actress Moon Chae-won will star in the upcoming fantasy rom-com “Gyeryong Fairy Tale” as an age-defying fairy, which is scheduled to air Nov. 5.

The new tvN series is based on the famous Korean webtoon series of the same title and features a main character played by Moon, a fairy who has spent 699 years waiting for her husband and becomes a barista in the modern world.

The show walks a fine line between fantasy and reality, with the main characters having extraordinary ability and an interesting background -- such as Kim Geum, who can communicate with animals and plants.

Moon, who wanted to star in a rom-com for a while, guaranteed the show is “stress-free.”

“You can watch the show till the end without feeling stressed. You can tune in whenever and (the show) will still flow smoothly,” the actress said during a press conference Tuesday.

Moon said she was “honored” to star alongside veteran actress Go Doo-shim, who shares the leading role as Sun Ok-nam.

“Though I got to meet Go often and still meeting her on the set, we never got to act together in the same scene, which I find bittersweet.”

“Gyeryong Fairy Tale” is the latest show from tvN to be based on a webtoon series, following in the footsteps of shows like “Misaeng,” “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim” and “Cheese in the Trap.”

Director Kim Yun-cheol said he was attracted to the webtoon series because it dealt with themes such as dreams and love, and added that he wanted to approach what could have been a rather heavy story with humor and wit.

While the show will focus on human relations like the original webtoon series, Kim also said CG animals featured on the show -- including a talking cat -- will be some of the cutest viewers have seen, which months of work have gone into.

Actress Kang Mi-na said she’d watched videos of tigers and cats so as to best play her character Jum Soon-yi, the daughter of Sun Ok-nam and a tiger that takes the form of a human being.

Kang, who is starring in a drama series for the first time, thanked Moon for giving her guidance on the set, while Moon said she felt comfortable working with Kang.

The 16-episode show will air every Monday and Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)