The Life List: 5 things to know about K-drama Sell Your Haunted House

Television still of Sell Your Haunted House starring Jang Na-ra. PHOTO: VIU

SINGAPORE - In South Korean drama Sell Your Haunted House, actress Jang Na-ra stars as Hong Ji-ah, a realtor who has the ability to exorcise spirits from haunted properties. Pop-rock band CNBlue frontman Jung Yong-hwa plays Oh In-bum, a con-artist who pretends to chase away spirits to swindle money.

As they work together to clear paranormally-infested properties, Hong discovers that Oh, who is also a powerful medium, may be the key to unravelling the secret behind her mother's death.

Here are five things to know about the two artistes.

1. Polar opposites

While actress Jang Na-ra (The Last Empress, 2018) plays a dauntless and hot-tempered exorcist and realtor who lets her fists speak faster than her mouth, she says she does not share much in common with her character.

In an e-mail interview with The Straits Times, the 40-year-old actress says: "I am not the kind who doesn't have many fears and is cool with letting things go easily."

2. Drawn to the show

Both the leads say they were instantly drawn to their roles.

"Hong Ji-ah is a character of a different vibe as compared with my past roles," says Jang. "I decided to take up the role without any hesitation."

The stories in the series are also stories that people can easily relate to, she adds.

Similarly, Jung, 31, who has appeared in shows like Heartstrings (2011), says he had his eyes set on the role as it was one that he had never tried before.

Sell Your Haunted House is the first drama he is appearing in since his last series, The Package (2017).

3. Mutual admiration

This is the first show that Jang and Jung have worked on together and they have only good things to say about each other.

Jang praises Jung for being an actor who is not only quick-witted but also passionate about his work.

She was pleasantly surprised by how well he had memorised his script. "It was interesting seeing him become one with his character," she says.

Jung thinks Jang is innovative when it comes to acting.

"As we practised and rehearsed together, she would come up with new ideas and express them through her character," he says. "And I thought that side of her was amazing."

4. Unexpected trials

Jang confesses that one of the challenges she faced during the filming was the act of rolling her eyes as she was not used to it.

Another challenge was adapting to filming at night. "Since the nature of the genre required us to film a lot at night, it took a toll on me as my body clock got turned upside down," she says.

For Jung, he finds it both challenging and fun to play a medium stuck with memories of resentful souls.

5. Jung's debut Chinese EP

On his upcoming Chinese EP titled Stay In Touch, Jung says it took him a long time to record the songs as he had a hard time pronouncing the words in Mandarin.

"Despite that, I will probably keep improving as I keep on doing it," he says.

He is curious to see how his fans react when the four-track album is released on his 31st birthday, June 22.

- Sell Your Haunted House is available on Viu.

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