During a roundtable held on May 19 in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, “Perfect crown” Director Park Joon-hwa shared his thoughts on the controversy that followed the drama’s premiere. While some viewers praised the series’ emotional chemistry and unique tone, others criticized the lead actors’ performances as overblown or awkward.
Speaking about IU’s portrayal of Seong Hee-joo, Park Joon-hwa revealed that he was constantly impressed while building the character together with the actress. He stated, “There were so many moments when I was surprised watching Ji-eun play Hee-joo. I found myself thinking, ‘How does she do this expression?’ or ‘How does he express emotion like that?'”
The director explained that Seong Hee-joo was intentionally designed to seem more multidimensional and emotionally expressive than the other characters at the beginning of the story. As the daughter of a chaebol family who still faces limitations due to her status, the character constantly moves between ambition and love. According to Park, making the role too realistic could have caused viewers to not appreciate his personality.
He added that he and IU discussed emphasizing the character’s emotional changes in a slightly bizarre and unconventional way rather than portraying them too naturally. “Since Seong Hee-joo experiences extreme emotional changes, we thought it was important to make her expressions more dramatic and unique,” he explained.
Park Joon-hwa also spoke about Byeon Woo-seok’s performance as Grand Prince Ian, noting that the character’s understated and emotionally dry personality was intentional. She explained that high-ranking royal figures often suppress their emotions, and the contrast between Ian’s calm demeanor and Hee-joo’s modern, forthright energy was intended to create tension and romantic excitement throughout the drama.
The director also pointed out that Hee-joo undergoes a lot of emotional growth in the second half of the series. Although she initially approaches relationships with ambition and calculation, she later becomes willing to sacrifice her status and reputation for love.
Director Park pointed out that many of these emotional transitions were expressed more through facial expressions and subtle reactions than through dialogue, which became an important part of IU’s performance style in the drama.
Sources: tenasia
