On-Screen Moments Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo started airing on MBC on November 16th, 2016, and was on the air to January 11th, 2017, every Wednesday and Thursday at 22:00 (KST). A coming-of-age story about a group of college athletes who are fighting for their dreams, experiencing and finding love in the process, and growing every step of the way. The story was brought by Lee Sung-kyung as a naturally gifted weightlifter Kim Bok-joo, known also as the lead character, Nam joo-hyuk as Jung Joon-hyung, Lee Jae-yoon as Jung Jae-yi, and Kyung Soo-jin as Song Shi-ho The series focuses on the lives of university students, particularly Kim Bok-joo. She is majoring in weightlifting and trying to reach for her goals with her friends. Kim Bok-joo finds herself in love with Jung Jae-yi, who is apparently Jung Joon-hyung’s brother. Nam Joo Hyuk and Lee Jae Yoon play siblings in the drama – Nam joo Hyuk is playing a current swimmer in training and Lee Jae Yoon, a former swimmer who now works with obesity consultations. They look like real brothers, don’t they? Meanwhile, Actress Kyung Soo Jin, who plays the rhythmic gymnast Song Shi Ho, also plays the role of Kim Bok-joo’s roommate. According to The Chosun Ilbo, she spent over six months preparing for her role. We can see her startling appearance as an athlete in the clip below.
And a little spoiler, in the 8th episode of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, both Kim Bok-joo and Song Shi-ho cried for unrequited love. Both are described as having an antagonistic relationship, but if you look closely, it actually seems difficult for now to think of them as rivals in the matter of love. Shi-ho is still obsessed and can’t move on from her ex-boyfriend, Jung Joon Hyung, so she feels jealous when she sees Bok-joo close to her ex. This is also the second drama where Lee Sung-kyung and Nam Joo-hyuk are together, but this time they play the lead characters. Through this drama, they have showcased their cuteness, playfulness and great chemistry. As they have a close relationship, in real life, they were able to translate it onto their characters in the drama. Here is a clip when Bok-joo was mad because Jun-hyung was late to meet her, and they ended up fighting but in a cute way!
Off-Screen Moments During the shooting of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, we can see the warm atmosphere between the cast members and the crew in the behind-the-scene clips that have been uploaded by the team. The cast members get along well with each other when they are off the screen.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk began to be knitted after playing together in the drama. Both of them often look intimate even after the shoot. The issue of their relationship began to be open to the public since Dispatch began uploading photos of the two of them while they are dating. The two are seen going together on several occasions. Unfortunately, the love story of the couple did not last long. Lots of fans are disappointed with the breakdown of the relationship, the fans dubbed them as Swag Couple. After the last episode of the series, that hit the air on January 11th, they revealed a behind-the-scenes video of the last filming day. After the final cut by the director, Nam Joo Hyuk and Lee Sung Kyung were given appreciation awards called MBC Drama Grand Prize, making the two leads burst out in tears. Nam Joo Hyuk said, “We did our best filming from late summer through January. Filming was really fun and it ended well, so I feel really great right now.” While Sung Kyung, also holding her tears, added, “ …being able to work with all the staff was so much happier.” Interview After the series ended on January 11th, 2017, the cast was interviewed to share their thoughts about the series and working with the other cast and crew. As posted on Korea Portal, the main cast, Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk shared that the cast, staff, and crew have surpassed the colleague status and instead, became family as they ended the show. Filming this series was memorable for her as she became the lead actress in it. Meanwhile, Nam Joo Hyuk revealed that shooting the entire drama was a great challenge, especially that the drama didn’t receive good ratings. However, it didn’t bother him that much. He was also very thankful for his fans who see him as the “national boyfriend” label, because of the cute side shown by Joon-hyung in the drama. Despite the ratings of the drama, which were at 5,4 according to Nielsen Korea, Kyung Soo Jin thinks that viewership ratings are just a number, that the important for a drama is to leave an impression on the hearts of its viewers. In that sense, she was proud of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo. She also said that she was happy on set. “It was precious time because many of my peers were the same age as me, Sung Kyung doesn’t seem like she’s younger than me, she’s someone I want to lean on. When we talked, she could be very sincere. But she has a lot of energy too.” Based on the cast’s answers, we can see that they are proud to be part of the team, and they did enjoy the process of the working of this drama that created a lot of meaningful moments to the cast. Indeed, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo is also one of the most-talked-about dramas in the world wide web, especially with its iconic line “….hoksi, messi joa hasaeyo? (perhaps, do you like messi?).” That’s all about the cast and behind the scenes of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo. If you feel that you need something light and pleasant to watch after a stressful day or week, you will feel good while watching this drama, so go ahead and put it on your watchlist!
