SEOUL -- The upcoming romantic comedy "Can This Love Be Translated?" brings together a powerhouse team: a hit-making writing duo, an acclaimed director and two young stars -- Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung.
The 12-part Netflix series is written by Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran, who use Hong Sisters as their collective pen name and have numerous hit series, including "Master's Sun" (2013), "Hotel del Luna" (2019) and "Alchemy of Souls" (2022-23).
"I was drawn to the fact that this is the sisters' first romantic comedy in a while," director Yoo Young-eun said at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.
"The script had such warmth and loveliness in how the characters interact," she said. "As a director, it was a joy to realize the writers' fairytale-like, innocent vision on screen. It was truly an honor to be part of the team."
The story centers on the budding romance between Cha Mu-hee (Go Youn-jung), an actress who catapults to global fame overnight, and Ju Ho-jin (Kim Seon-ho), a multilingual translator fluent in six languages, including Italian, English and Japanese, yet struggling to comprehend the language of emotions.
Speaking about the demands of acting in multiple languages, Kim said he spent more than four months preparing -- practicing pronunciation, memorizing dialogue and finding the right emotional tone for each scene.
"I practiced the lines over and over to get the emotions right, and studied grammar whenever I had spare time," he said.
Go said her focus was portraying the emotional complexity of her character, who oscillates between anxiety, excitement, nervousness and doubt.
"Mu-hee lives in constant anxiety about losing her fame as quickly as she gained it," she said.
The director, known for her series "Queen of Mystery" (2017) and "Bloody Heart" (2022), praised the compelling chemistry between the two main leads, who present contrasting personalities -- one composed and analytical and the other emotional transparent and charming.
Filmed across four countries -- South Korea, Japan, Canada and Italy -- the series treats each location as its own character, according to the director. She also teased special cameos will appear throughout the episodes.
"Can This Love Be Translated?" is set for release Friday.
