Actress Jisoo (지수) is back! Earlier this week, the official trailer for the upcoming zombie-comedy series “Newtopia”, starring the BLACKPINK member, was released on Prime Video’s YouTube channel. From the teasers, the plot seems straightforward, as it centres on Lee Jae-yoon (played by Park Jeong-min, 박정민), who is serving his compulsory military service, and his girlfriend Kang Young-joo (played by Jisoo), as they race to reunite in zombie-infested Seoul.
Fans have expressed excitement for the series and are eagerly anticipating seeing the idol in her second lead role. In this article, we’ll reveal some behind-the-scenes secrets shared by the cast during a recent press conference. It may contain spoilers, so proceed with caution.
1. Park Jeong-min wants more romantic scenes with Jisoo
The show’s lead actor Park Jeong-min joked that he regretted filming with Jisoo saying that they didn’t have more romantic scenes together. “It’s a shame that I didn’t have more romantic scenes with Jisoo. It’ll be nice if you guys can help me out. If “Newtopia” does well, wouldn’t it be great to properly explore that in a Season 2 with JISOO? I’ll be looking forward to it!” he said during the press conference.
2. Jisoo trained in a Stunt Academy in preparation for her role
Unlike her previous acting projects, “Newtopia” requires the “Flower” artist to perform a lot of physical movement, as her character does her best to survive in a zombie apocalypse. This means that Jisoo had to perform some of her own stunts. To prepare for the role, the singer enrolled in a stunt academy. Although she is trained in dancing for BLACKPINK, performing action scenes is very different.
“Before I went to a stunt academy, I wasn’t able to even tumble forward. After training there, I can tumble forward five times in a row. It became so fun that I looked forward to doing it every time I went to the stunt academy. The training helped me film safely and well,” she said.
3. The two main stars acted together in another project
“Newtopia” is not actually the first time Park Jeong Min and Jisoo worked together as the two were in the 2023 film “Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman”. However, the idol’s role in the film was simply a cameo and the two did not share a scene together.
4. Park Jeong Min is a huge BLACKPINK fan
This is probably one of the reasons why the actor wanted more romantic scenes with his co-star. The 37-year-old revealed that he is actually a BLACKPINK fan and owns two signed copies of their albums. During the press conference, he said, “I have a collection of precious items, and at the very front is a signed Blackpink CD, I got the autograph through actress Kim Go-eun. One CD said, ‘Jeongmin oppa, I look forward to working with you.’ Looking at those, I felt like I’ve lived my life well. I never imagined I would act and speak informally with an actress like Jisoo. It’s truly an honour.”
5. The “Newtopia” script was co-written by Han Jin-Won
If you’re unfamiliar with Han Jin-won (한진원), he is one of the screenwriters who worked with Bong Joon-ho (봉준호) on the Oscar-winning South Korean film Parasite. With someone as established as him on the project, there is no doubt that “Newtopia” will be a great series worth watching.
Watch the trailer below:
