As reported earlier, this will be Lee Hong Ki’s first appearance in a Japanese drama. He commented, “I’m not really able to pull all-nighters in Japan, even though I’m doing it all the time in South Korea. Somehow the mornings approach way too fast in Japan! And I’m a night person…”
Ichikawa already noticed this problem as well, as she commented, “He is always in a bad mood in the morning.”
“Muscle Girl!” is a sports comedy about the president (Ichikawa) of a female pro-wrestling organization which is unfortunately facing some financial struggles. She happens to meet a South Korean star (Lee Hong Ki) who came to Japan in order to search for his mother. Teaming up, the two protagonists and Ichikawa’s female wrestlers try to fight against their biggest rivals, another veteran wrestling organization.
The drama not only marks Lee Hong Ki’s first venture into the Japanese drama market, but it’s also Ichikawa’s first starring role in a commercial drama.
She personally had to perform some wrestling moves, like a lariat and a sleeper hold, for flashback scenes that show her hey-day as a professional wrestler 10 years before. When asked about her most muscular body part, she replied, “My abs! I’m training hard right now in order to get nice abs.”
Lee Hong Ki also revealed that he was struggling a lot with his Japanese lines, yet he was able to understand and respond to all questions at the press conference in Japanese. Commenting about Ichikawa, he said, “I saw her in ‘Kurosagi‘ and ‘Ju-on‘. I thought that she would be a really cold person and was worried about becoming friends with her, but it turned out that she is really cheerful and kind. She is learning Korean, so I’m even able to speak Korean with her.”
Ichikawa also enjoys working together with him. She said, “He is quite a prankster and is really cute.”
Ichikawa Yui commented, “I was surprised every time I saw how much more fluent Lee Hong Ki became in Japanese every time I saw. He’s such a caring person, he frequently worries for others when they’re not in good condition.”
Lee Hong Ki praised back, “I always thought Ichikawa Yui had a bit of a cold personality, but she’s actually very warm and bright. She even learns Korean and tries to hold conversations with me.”
When asked about F.T. Island’s main theme song, “Haruka“, and “Itsuka” which will be included in F.T. Island’s upcoming Japanese album on May 18th, Lee Hong Ki revealed, “The two songs are different both in recording style and instrument style from previous F.T. Island songs. They both fit the drama very well.”
The late-night drama will start on April 19th.
