Actor Noh Sang-hyun, who shot to global stardom after landing a supporting role in Apple TV+ original “Pachinko” in 2022, has taken on his first lead role with Disney+’s latest Korean original series “Soundtrack #2.” “I had a lot of fun working on this series. There were a lot of enjoyable moments where I would feel so light-hearted to dance or play around by myself (on screen),” Noh said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Jongno District, central Seoul.“Thanks to the director who gave me (creative) freedoms like ‘Do everything you want do,’ I was able to feel comfortable during the shoot, even though it was my first leading role.”The second season of the streaming platform’s original romance series “Soundtrack,” which premiered on Dec. 6, follows a love story between two former lovers — Ji Su-ho (Noh) and Do Hyun-seo (Geum Sae-rok) — who have dated for six years.Four years after their breakup, the two come across each other when Do takes a job teaching pino to Ji, now a successful CEO of a content agency. They get involved in a musical project with musician Kei (Sohn Jeong-hyuk) and find themselves entangled in a love triangle.The six-part series is co-directed by the previous season’s director, Kim, known for the hit crime series “Vincenzo” (2021), and director Choi Jung-gyu, who previously led the crime series “The Devil Judge” (2021).
Noh shared that he saw “Soundtrack #2” as a separate series from the previous season, which starred Park Hyung-sik and Han So-hee.“It would be a lie if I said there was no pressure. I just wanted to fulfill my responsibilities and role to the best of my ability. Although there was pressure, I rather tried to approach it with a positive and excited mindset,” he said.“The storyline and characters are all different from Season 1. So I considered it as a new project. But since the director is the same person, I tried to follow her style in a positive direction.” The actor expressed that he resonated with a lot of the lines from the series, saying he felt it could draw a lot of people to relate to Ji and Do’s love story.“The script was interesting and a lot of the lines felt candid. I thought this could be a series that many people can resonate with. It portrayed the conflicts of realistic couples,” he said.Noh’s character is an aspiring YouTuber, who made his own success in the business after breaking up with Do. When he meets her again, he keeps finding himself drawn to her and hoping to rekindle their relationship.
“The character was relatively humorous and cheesy. However, as a successful CEO, I tried to keep his serious side as well,” he said adding that he found Ji’s lingering feelings toward his ex-girlfriend was difficult to understand at first.“The biggest difference (of me and the character) is I cannot reunite with my ex-partner, because we are more likely to break up again for the same reasons … When I first read the script, I couldn’t quite grasp Ji’s unconditional love. So, I sought advice from a friend who has such an affectionate style of relationship.”Born in Korea, Noh grew up in the U.S. but returned to his homeland to undertake mandatory military service and start a modeling career in before he rose to prominence in 2022 with his role in “Pachinko.” In the star-studded series, he portrayed Baek Isak, a Christian pastor from Pyongyang who becomes the husband of the protagonist Sunja. Reflecting on his career, Noh admitted that the show was a huge turning point in his career.“Thanks to ‘Pachinko,’ opportunities and more projects opened up for me. Before that, everything felt uncertain. I started my acting career then served in military right away, which was tough … A year after being discharged, I filmed ‘Pachinko,’ which became a significant turning point,” he said, vowing to expand 슬롯게이밍 his acting repertoire through “Soundtrack #2″ and beyond.
