KBS’s upcoming coming-of-age story From A Distance, A Green Spring is well underway and new stills have been released featuring its main cast: Kang Mina (Beyond Evil), Park Ji-hoon (Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency), and Bae In-hyuk (The Spies Who Loved Me).
Based on a popular webtoon by the same title, the title likens looking at a spring landscape from a distance with looking back at our past youth. The first flush of new green growth inspires feelings of hope and warmth, similar to the nostalgia we feel from memories of young romance. But when you’re actually living through it, spring isn’t always sunny. There’s mud, rain, chilly winds — and learning to live in the real world can be a harsh challenge.
In this story, Kang Mina takes on the role of college student Kim So-bin. Having come from an ordinary family, with okay grades and credentials, she always felt like she was just middle-of-the-road and not special enough. Despite trying her hardest, the results of her efforts are never as good as she wants them to be and she often feels like she’s trying to scale an unsurmountable wall.
Bae In-hyuk plays fellow student Nam Soo-hyun. As a perfectionist with a blunt personality, he doesn’t shy from confronting others whether it be about small or large matters. But when it comes to sharing more personal feelings, he is very guarded and private. Although he maintains good grades while juggling part-time jobs to pay for school, the lack of time impacts his social life and he’s known as an outsider among his peers.
In contrast, Park Ji-hoon’s character Yeo Joon is a popular student on campus with a bright and affectionate personality. Coming from a rich family, he appears to not have any troubles in his life. But in many ways he is wearing a mask, pretending as if everything is okay. As he comes to terms with everything buried inside his heart and starts to show his true self to others, he begins to build more meaningful relationships with the people around him.
Busy bee Na In-woo (River Where the Moon Rises) makes a special appearance in the drama as Yeo Joon-wan, a young professor and older brother to Park Ji-hoon. Although he has enjoyed early success in his career, he struggles with the weight of anxiety that always overshadows him and there are unresolved tensions between himself and his brother that are impacting their family relationships.
This project has been years in the making (Seo Kang-joon was originally cast in 2017 to take on the lead role) so it’s nice to see it finally being realized, although it’s a shame they missed a spring premiere date. Written by Go Yeon-soo and directed by PD Kim Jung-hyun, From A Distance, A Green Spring premieres next month on June 14 and will be airing Mondays and Tuesdays on KBS.
