‘Effort can overcome talent’: Blackpink’s Jisoo hopes to silence critics with Boyfriend On Demand

SEOUL – This may be K-drama romcom at its most indulgent.

With a line-up of South Korean heart-throbs like Lee Soo-hyuk and Seo Kang-jun paired opposite a global K-pop superstar, Netflix Korea’s Boyfriend On Demand is positioning itself as a high-concept crowd-pleaser for romance fans worldwide.

Premiering on March 6, the 10-episode series stars K-pop girl group Blackpink’s Jisoo as Mi-rae, a webtoon producer drained by the monotony of office life. Her escape comes in the form of a subscription-based virtual dating simulation that promises the boyfriend of her dreams, no strings attached. The title refers both to the series and the in-story service, which offers users romantic scenarios tailor-made to their ideal type.

Upon entering the programme, Mi-rae is guided by a dating manager (Yoo In-na) and quickly swept into an array of fantasy romances. Her digital dates range from a fairy-tale prince and a nostalgic first love to a charismatic doctor and an A-list celebrity. Each scenario unfolds like a genre unto itself, leaving Mi-rae increasingly addicted to the illusion of perfect romance.

Director Kim Jung-sik said the project originated from a single speculative question.

“It started from the idea, ‘What if you could subscribe to dating?’” said Kim (Work Later, Drink Now, 2021 to 2023; No Gain No Love, 2024) at a press conference held in Seoul on Feb 26.

“It feels like a device that might realistically exist some day and I thought it would be interesting for viewers to experience it in advance. We tried to pack as many audience tastes as possible into the series,” he added.

That sense of imaginative possibility was also what drew Jisoo to the project.

“I liked the idea of it as a device that lets you travel through different worlds. It even made the future feel enviable,” said the singer-actress. “Rather than feeling completely unrealistic, it felt like something that could actually be possible one day, which made it more fun.”

Kim said that the same balance between fantasy and emotional accessibility informed his casting choice. Explaining why he selected Jisoo for the role of Mi-rae, he emphasised the scope of the character’s narrative burden.

“Mi-rae needed an energy like someone standing on a stage,” he said. “Jisoo carries more than 95 per cent of the story, and we gave her character an ambitious range of settings and personalities. She expressed all of them exceptionally well.”

Boyfriend On Demand marks Jisoo’s first attempt at romantic comedy and another high-stakes test in an acting career that has yet to silence sceptics.

The project follows a run of prominent K-content appearances, including the fantasy epic Omniscient Reader: The Prophet (2025), which drew roughly one million moviegoers, far short of its six million admission break-even threshold.

She also previously starred opposite Park Jung-min in zombie comedy Newtopia (2025), as well as in romantic drama Snowdrop (2021 to 2022), a heavily promoted series opposite Jung Hae-in that ultimately failed to meet expectations.

Criticism of her acting prowess has accumulated over the course of her roughly decade-long screen career, and when asked whether Boyfriend On Demand represents a turning point, Jisoo offered a measured response.

“Since I take on different roles in (Boyfriend On Demand), I met the director many times and had extensive discussions so that I could show a better side of myself this time as well,” she said. “This time, I’m playing a character who’s around the same age as me, so it felt like acting in clothes that fit me perfectly. When audiences watch this project, I think they will feel that I’ve met a character that suits me.”

Kim was more emphatic in his defence of the casting choice.

“Jisoo really put in a tremendous amount of effort,” he said. “She handled a wide range of settings and characters extremely well. Viewers will be able to see not only the character’s growth, but also Jisoo’s growth as an actor. Watching her made me realise that effort can overcome talent.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK