Ju Ji-hoon Ponders The Philosophical Questions Posed By Disney+ K-Drama Blood Free

Disney+ and Hulu continue their foray into Korean dramas with Blood Free, which is set to end its 10-episode run on May 8. Starring Ju Ji-hoon (who first burst on the scene with 2006’s hit show Goong) and Han Hyo-joo (who made waves in the Disney+ original Moving), the science fiction show follows a company that has mastered the art of cultured meat. When co-founder and CEO Yoon Ja-yu (Han) finds herself targeted by a mysterious hacker who puts her life and company at risk, she hires Woo Chae-woon (Ju) as her bodyguard.

Chae-woon is a retired army officer who, unbeknownst to Ja-yu, has infiltrated Blood Free in order to investigate her possible role in an assassination attempt against the president. Though the two begin their working relationship distrusting each other, they soon must rely on one another more and more to uncover a deeper plot against both the company and Korean society at large. The question of artificial meat — and further applications into grain and vegetables — resonates in the real world as characters and audience members alike contemplate what they sacrifice for comfort.

Screen Rant interviewed Ju about playing Woo Chae-woon in Blood Free, how he contemplates the real-life implications of the fictional sci-fi series, and what he learned from working on the Netflix K-drama Kingdom.

Ju Ji-hoon Breaks Down Chae-woon’s Motivations In Blood Free

Screen Rant: I’m really enjoying your work in Blood Free. What is it that you look for when you receive a script offer? What about Blood Free in particular spoke to you?

Ju Ji-hoon: What’s important for me is that I cannot wait to get to the next page when I’m reading a script. It has to be an easy read for me, and that was the case for Blood Free. A lot of advanced technology is mentioned in the script, and I’m no expert in that area. But because it has such a strong context, you can understand it instantly. I feel like that’s very important because the audience isn’t always an expert in the story’s background, so it has to be something you can get easily from context.

Your character, Chae-woon, is dedicated to uncovering those responsible for the terrorist attack. What is it that haunts him most about that day? Why is he so singularly motivated by this?

Ju Ji-hoon: In my opinion, so there’s two sides to it: one public and one personal. The official side of things is that it was his occupation as a soldier to protect the head of the country, and he failed to do so. I think that’s something that haunts him. The second, more private, part would be that his best friend was also hurt due to the terrorists and so were innocent children. That leads to huge, personal rage.

He’s someone who harbors a huge amount of guilt because of what happened that day, and the things that he failed to do then. And I think that has led to almost an obsession of him wanting to get to the bottom of it.

The dynamic between Chae-woon and Ja-yu is really fascinating to watch, and you and Han Hyo-joo play off each other really well. Can you talk about working with her, how you get comfortable in scenes together, and how that relationship evolves over the course of the season?

Ju Ji-hoon: I’ve always felt that Han Hyo-joo is a very solid actor. It may have to do with her character, but this time around, she carried a sense of gravitas and weight in all her scenes and even on set. There was a sense of tension all throughout, which helped me because I felt like I was really supported by her as an actor.

As for how the chemistry will play out from now on, I think that’s something you’re just going to have to wait and see.

Grappling With Blood Free’s Battles – Both Physical And Philosophical

In episode 6, Chaewoon makes a big discovery about synthetic organs after he gets into his own accident. How has that changed his goals or shaped his view of Ja-yu and BF since? What can you tease about the final episodes?

Ju Ji-hoon: The first part is known to the audience through the recent episode. In the beginning, he was indeed enraged thinking about how unethical all of it was and how he thought BF was trying to make the most amount of money through all of it. But then he later understands through Ja-yu that this can be used for good.

There’s a line where Ja-yu says that everyone will die eventually, but not everyone has to hurt before they die. I think in a subtle way, we threw this question out there to the audience for people to think about. If you had to choose, what option would you choose? What things should we truly value?

That question is really interesting, as Blood Free’s dealings with the food industry have real-world implications. Did this drama make you think about your own life choices or food consumption in any new or interesting way?

Ju Ji-hoon: I am no scholar, but I think Blood Free just used the subject matter of cultured meat to tell a variety of messages. One example is the arrival of cars. Obviously, it has given us a huge benefit in how we can travel or transport so easily. It has brought up a lot of gains and convenience, but there have obviously been a lot of side effects, including gas emissions and whatnot.

I think all things in the world have both sides to them, so I feel like through either drama series or novels, you can enjoy these stories and show that people can easily have access to these things as a gateway to having these discussions and debates about what really matters in the world. You can ask questions that really don’t have a set answer, and I think that process in itself is very meaningful.

Your character is a bodyguard, of course, and you have some pretty intense fight scenes throughout the series. What is your approach to them, both in terms of safety and in terms of your character’s fighting style?

Ju Ji-hoon: I think it’s always about the creative intent behind the scenes, and that’s what decides my approach. Very simply put, is this scene going to be an action scene for the sake of action? Or is it for the sake of emotional conveyance

This time around, because we were telling a story set in the near future, the technologies that we showcase are non-existent at this point in time, but they also feel realistic and grounded. For example, within the VR fight scene, we did think about bringing it up to an almost cartoonish level of action. But then we decided against it and tried to make it as real as possible. I would say that if 100% represents the hardest we could possibly go, meaning that we were going to get injured, we took it up to about 95% or 98%.

Ju Ji-hoon Learns From Past Works & Looks To The Future

I really loved you in Netflix’s Kingdom, which I feel was your longest project, given that you came back for a second season and a spinoff. What would you say you took away from that world and the role of Lee Chang that stays with you in other projects?

Ju Ji-hoon: I think, rather than the character itself, it had more to do with my entire experience of having worked with the director, the writer, and all of the cast members and crew. The way that we worked together as a team was personally so enjoyable. Obviously, the most important element was the audience being so receptive to it, loving it, and showing us a lot of support. I think all of that created amazing synergy.

Honestly, Kingdom was not the easiest project to work on, physically speaking. It was a very strenuous process, but I can truly say that it was so satisfying, rewarding, and enjoyable. It also taught me that these long-term projects, as you said, are possible. I’m personally very much looking forward to doing more of those and waiting for the chance.

Finally, you’re going to be in Light Shop next, which I’m very excited about. What can you tell me about preparing for that and working with that team?

Ju Ji-hoon: This is a show that’s directed by a very well-known, well-loved, and recognized actor in Korea whose name is Kim Hee-won. Honestly, in the beginning, I did have my concerns – but I also trusted him a lot. And he did not disappoint. He went through an extensive pre-production process, and I can tell you with confidence that it has been probably one of my top five productions that I’ve been in.

It was smooth sailing, we just had no stops. Nothing hindered us from going at it. And of course, the original work written by the writer Kang Full is also amazing, so I’m personally looking forward to it as well.

Catch more of Screen Rant‘s interviews with K-drama talent here:

• Kim Namjoo, Cha Eunwoo & Wonderful World Cast Answer Burning Questions About Disney+’s Mystery K-Drama
• The Worst Of Evil Interview: Ji Chang-Wook Reflects On His Morally Gray Antihero
• Moving Star Ryu Seung Ryong On Balancing The Doting Dad & Monster Within
• My Lovely Liar Star Kim So Hyun On Connecting With Her Unique Character

Source: Screen Rant Plus