Yoon Hye-sang and Yoo Na appeared at a press conference for the drama ‘The Kidnapping Day.’
Myeong-jun is not good at many things, but he tries to be a good father. The character’s dedication to his daughter, however, has led him to make some bad decisions, like kidnapping someone else’s child so he can use the ransom to pay for his daughter’s operation. He succeeds at this poorly-thought-out kidnapping only because the child he was meant to kidnap faints in front of his car.
Myeong-jun, played by Yoon Kye-sang, is one of the two main characters in the dark comedy Korean thriller The Kidnapping Day. The other is the Yoo Na, who plays Rohee, the child he tries to kidnap. That’s unusual.
“Child actors usually play supporting characters or younger versions of main characters,” said director Park Yu-young at a recent press conference for the series. “In our case, a child actor is a main character.”
When Ro-hee wakes up, she can’t remember much. She thinks Myeong-jun might be her dad. That works for him since she then has no reason to escape and he doesn’t need to watch her every move. The plan seems to be going smoothly, except that the kidnapped girl’s parents are not answering the phone. He needs to exchange their daughter for the ransom money. When they don’t answer he starts to think that maybe they don’t want her. The answer is more sinister than that.
Ro-hee, played by Yoo Na, is used to getting her way.
Fortunately, for both protagonists, Ro-hee is not a meek child. She’s a multilingual genius and not easily intimidated. She’s good at ordering people around and quickly begins telling her hapless faux father what to do. It might be just the advice he needs to sort out his messy life.
It’s a big responsibility being a co-star, but Yoo Na commands the screen even when acting with Yoon, who performed with the k-pop group g.o.d. and has acted in multiple dramas and films, such as Chocolate, The Good Wife, Spiritwalker and The Outlaws. The young actress edged out 500 contenders for her role, surviving five rounds of auditions.
“There were about 12 people left in the last round, including Yoo Na,” said Park Yu-young. “The special thing about Yoo Na was that she didn’t feel like a stereotypical actor who learned how to act.”
She exuded calm on set, but that doesn’t mean her role was easy.
“I did feel pressure,” said Yoo Na. ‘To say I didn’t feel any pressure would be a lie. It was my first time having so many scenes in one drama. I had a lot of lines to learn, so I focused on trying to act naturally.”
Park Yu-young describes the series as an assorted genre gift box. There’s some slapstick comedy and a lot of wry witty lines delivered by Yoo Na. There’s also a murder and, of course, a kidnapping.
“A variety of genres including comedy, action, buddy, thriller, and human are all wrapped up enticingly in this drama,” said Park. “I think this series will make viewers laugh and also be touched.”
The Kidnapping Day is based on a 2019 novel of the same name. The drama also stars Park Sung-hoon as a detective investigating a case that involves Ro-hee’s parents. The series airs on Amazon Prime.
