Heo Jung-min, Lee Yi-kyung, Han Bo-reum, Jo Hye-jung
Wow, this is a whole lot of names. KBS’s Go Back Spouses is a little over a month away from its premiere, and has recently added a slew of names to its supporting cast. It’s actually quite funny how parallel these new characters run in terms of their relationship with the main couple, played by Sohn Ho-joon (Blow Breeze) and Jang Nara (One More Happy Ending). We’ve got a trio of best friends for each spouse, as well as the requisite rivals in love.
Go Back Spouses will follow the titular married couple, both 38, who are constantly bickering and generally very unhappy with how their lives turned out. They embark on a “clean up the past, change my life” project, which may or may not include time travel (some reports say they do, others omit the information). In either case, a good chunk of the series will be set in the couple’s college years, and the casting reflects that.
First, we have Heo Jung-min (Introverted Boss) and Lee Yi-kyung (Mirror of the Witch), who will make up two legs of the bromance trio with husband Sohn Ho-joon. They’re all students in the civil engineering department, and they sound like a hoot: Lee Yi-kyung has a bright and charming personality, but is called naive and a little dumb, lol. Heo Jung-min is described as a bit of a weakling in school and a comic character, although he successfully changes his style due to his love for Han Bo-reum’s character.
Han Bo-reum (Bring It On, Ghost, Modern Farmer), on the other hand, is one of two best friends of Jang Nara’s character, along with Jo Hye-jung (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju). Han Bo-reum, a former high school cheerleader, sounds like the kind of friend I’d love to have, with an easygoing personality and a high alcohol tolerance. Jo Hye-jung’s character is a bit of an oddball, but I can see her bringing the comedy: She has an innocent and goody two-shoes outer appearance, but will occasionally throw out a surprisingly sarcastic remark.
Jang Ki-yong, Go Bo-kyul, Im Ji-gyu
And then, we have the college-era rivals, who will vie for the leads’ hearts. Jang Ki-yong (The Liar and His Lover) will play a popular upperclassman in the same history department as Jang Nara. He unexpectedly and suddenly confesses to her in public, but gets turned down. Go Bo-kyul (Seven Day Queen), on the other hand, will be the recipient of Sohn Ho-joon’s one-sided love. A ballet major, her character will slowly open her heart to Sohn Ho-joon’s when he starts approaching her differently from before.
Im Ji-gyu (Man to Man, Doctors) will also be appearing in Go Back Spouses as Sohn Ho-joon’s sunbae in med school. In the present, he is the director of a hospital and has a relationship with his underclassman built on their mutual dislike for one another. Not exactly sure how he’ll play into the predominantly campus rom-com, but it might be fun if the antagonistic interactions are played for comedic effect.
Whew. That is quite the supporting cast, but it feels like the show is populating its universe with fun, likable characters, so I’m happy with how Go Back Spouses is shaping up. It’ll be interesting to see the cast on screen because the age range of the actors is quite wide, and while I can maybe see Jang Nara playing a college freshman (the woman doesn’t age, I swear), conversely, it might be harder to believe Jo Hye-jung as a 38 year-old.
Go Back Spouses will follow KBS’s Strongest Deliveryman in their Friday-Saturday slot, starting on October 13.