MBC’s drama series “My Dearest” proved to be a hit as it wrapped over the weekend, and Ahn Eun-jin says she couldn’t be happier. While she said it feels bittersweet to say goodbye to the drama in which she played a lead character, ending the year-long filming schedule is something she was looking forward to.

“We started filming ‘My Dearest’ in winter last year and it’s already winter again, which I can’t quite believe,” Ahn said during an interview with reporters at a cafe in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Tuesday. “I am so glad that we were able to wrap up filming without anyone of the cast or crew getting injured or any accidents happening.”


“My Dearest” was Ahn’s first leading role in a period piece, although the actor had taken smaller roles in other period works before. Her character, Yoo Gil-chae, is a person who was brought up affluently and with much affection and love, and seems spoiled at first. But Gil-chae's character slowly develops as the series unfolds, and Ahn prepared for the role accordingly.

“At first I had a hard time getting the tone right for the character,” Ahn said. “The director and screenwriter sat down with me for each scene and helped guide me through the character. Later, when Gil-chae’s strong-headedness and vitality starts showing, I worried again about whether I could portray those characteristics well. But a big lesson that I have learned from working on this drama is that it doesn’t matter how much you worry before shooting begins. Once you go on set, it all comes to a solution, I found.”

“My Dearest” is set amid a war in the winter of 1636. Gil-chae and the other main characters are often faced with daunting situations, and Gil-chae learns to fend for herself and be more assertive throughout the series. Ahn says actor Namkoong Min, who plays the male lead Lee Jang-hyun, gave her a lot of pointers on how to show the character development.

“He is incredibly detailed and smart, in that he knows exactly how a scene will come out when you act the characters a certain way,” Ahn said. “He helped me so much in getting the character development for Gil-chae right, and I learned a lot from him.”

Regarding the ending of “My Dearest,” Ahn said that she would give it 100 points out of 100.

“Before I read the script for the final episode I hoped that it would be a happy ending, and I am very glad that it was unmistakably a happy ending,” Ahn said. “The weather even helped us in filming the last episode. It was foggy the whole day, but suddenly the sky cleared up and a beautiful sunset appeared when we were filming one of the last scenes.”

The popularity of “My Dearest” may be due to the fact that the story revolves against the backdrop of war, naturally creating a situation in which the two lovers yearn for each other's love.

“I think the love between Jang-hyun and Gil-chae is the kind that is not very common nowadays,” Ahn said. “And that is why viewers were so attracted to the story. It takes such a long time for the two to find each other, and they are interrupted so many times due to the war surrounding them. I think that is part of the reason why our drama was loved by viewers.”

Ahn also expressed hopes for her and Namkoong to win the Best Couple award at the year-end awards ceremony.

“I think we had good chemistry, and Namkoong and I would say to each other that we would know what the other was thinking without saying anything,” Ahn said. “I do have my eyes on the best couple awards, I won’t lie,” she said, laughing.

Due to its popularity, one additional episode was added to “My Dearest,” which was originally planned to be a 20-episode drama, and officially ended on Nov. 18. "My Dearest" can be streamed on Wavve in Korea and on Amazon Prime overseas.

To find out more about Ahn Eun-jin, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]