SINGAPORE – In the K-drama Death’s Game, hell is living life 12 times over. The fantasy series stars Seo In-guk as Choi Yi-jae, a man who decides to end his life after failing to find a job. Instead of peace, he finds Death (Park So-dam), who is angry he has the audacity to seek her before his time is up.
She punishes him by making him live through 12 lives in 12 bodies, all meant for gruesome deaths. If he can escape death in any of these reincarnations, he gets to live the remainder of his life in that body.
In a video call with regional press, Seo and Park share four things to know about their new drama, which premieres on Dec 15 on Prime Video.
1. Comeback role
For Park, who is best known for the Oscar-winning movie Parasite (2019), Death’s Game marks her first television series in three years. It is also her first since her cancer diagnosis. The 32-year-old underwent surgery for papillary thyroid cancer in December 2021.
The star revealed in another interview that she received the offer to play Death not long after her surgery, when she had not fully regained her ability to speak.
While she did not take questions related to her health during the call, she says she was emotionally invested in Yi-jae’s journey in confronting life and death.
“Usually, when I read a script, I focus more on my character. But this time, I was immersed in the emotional arc that Yi-jae goes through. Before I realised it, I was crying. I just wanted to give Yi-jae a big hug,” she says.
And while Park can nail the side-eyes and intimidating stares that Death gives, she adds: “I don’t think I’m the type of person who strikes fear in people. In fact, I scare very easily. I’m a coward, but no one believes me when I say that.”
2. Treasure the mundane
While Yi-jae may begin the series as someone mediocre and beaten down by life, Seo (Reply 1997, 2012) admires the character’s grit.
“I think very highly of him for carrying himself the way he did through 12 lives and deaths. He truly has the desire for life, and he struggled to live through all 12 reincarnations,” the 36-year-old actor says.
And he believes Yi-jae’s story can resonate with viewers and help them see things through a new perspective.
“I think one really important message of the series is how it encourages you to look back at your own life. In life, some days are good, some are bad, and a lot are just ordinary. But as humans, we tend to remember only the good and the bad. We forget about the ordinary or mundane days, but those days are precious and worth cherishing.”
3. Height and heat
While they might be in a fantastical story, both Seo and Park had to battle very human concerns during filming.
Park says: “There’s a scene in the trailer where Death makes Yi-jae fall from a great height. In-guk is scared of heights, but we couldn’t tell at all, and he did the scene in just one take. Afterwards, he told us he was terrified.”
Seo adds that Park had to fight to keep cool.
He says: “So-dam probably had a hard time because the character of Death is pretty much dressed in the same outfit of fur coat and leather pants throughout the series, which was really warm for the time we were filming.”
4. A-list reincarnations
One of the highlights of Death’s Game is how its premise allowed it to assemble an A-list cast. Yi-jae goes through 12 lives in different bodies, and each reincarnation is played by a well-known actor.
K-pop boy band Super Junior’s Choi Si-won plays a wealthy heir. Lee Do-hyun (The Glory, 2022 to 2023) plays a handsome model who runs into Yi-jae’s former flame. Lee Jae-wook (Extraordinary You, 2019) is an aspiring martial artist, while Kim Jae-wook (Her Private Life, 2019) is a mysterious painter.
While Seo was careful not to give too much away, he says he was most drawn to Kim’s story.
“I think he definitely had the most intense plot out of everyone.”
Death’s Game premieres on Prime Video on Dec 15.
