Netflix has a new K-drama up its sleeve this May! The Sound of Magic is a fantasy musical drama that follows a young lady struggling in life, as she crosses paths with a mysterious magician. Check out the trailer of The Sound of Magic below:

Before the series’ release on Netflix this May 6, 2022, we got to attend a virtual press conference and roundtable interview with the director and cast of The Sound of Magic, where they shared more details about the upcoming musical drama! Below are the things you need to know about this new K-drama on Netflix!

Synopsis

This 6-episode series directed by Kim Sung-Youn (Itaewon Class) is based on the webtoon Annarasumanara by Ha Ilkwon. It tells the story of Yoon Ah-yi, a teenager who needed to fend for herself and her younger sibling after their dad left. Amid her struggles, Ah-yi’s life takes a different turn when she meets Rieul, a mysterious magician who lives inside an abandoned theme park. Meanwhile at school, Ah-yi also finds a friend in Na Il-deung, the ace student who sits beside her.

The Cast & Characters

The series mainly revolves around the three characters Yoon Ah-yi, Na Il-deung, and the magician Rieul. The young lady Ah-yi is played by Choi Sung-eun of Start-Up and Beyond Evil; Il-deung is played by Hwang In-youp of True Beauty and 18 Again; and Rieul is played by Ji Chang-wook, who has starred in Lovestruck in the City, Healer, and Empress Ki.

“Ah-yi is a high school student who is in a very difficult financial situation. She struggles to get by, and she wants to grow up fast so that she can get rid of this poverty,” Sung-eun explains about her character. “So she forgets about her dreams, but when she meets this mysterious magician Ri-eul, maybe she wants to have some hope and try to dream again.

“Rieul lives in an abandoned amusement park, he is a very mysterious magician. He is a grown-up but he loves magic. And while he is all grown up, he wants to forever stay a child. He is a very dubious, mysterious magician.” Shared Chang-wook.

In-youp also talks about his character: “Il-deung means ‘number one’ in Korean, so he always wants to live up to his name and his parents force upon him a dream. So he kind of loses track of what he really wants and what he really likes. He never really knows about himself well, and one day, he also encounters this mysterious magician Ri-eul, and he gets to ponder on what he really wants and what he really likes.”

Attaining the webtoon’s rights & turning it into a drama

Director Kim Sung-Youn shared that after over a decade since the series dropped, while its rights had been sold, it hadn’t really reached the screen. Being a fan of the source material, Sung-youn was happy to take on the challenge.

“I now know and I can say why it was so difficult to bring to a live-action series, but I’m very happy to have kept the promise,” shared the director. “So after attaining the rights, I looked into it in detail, and it touched me in a different way than it had before.”

The director also shared how he wanted to address Ah-yi’s struggles in today’s context, having lost her dream due to poverty.

“For the character Il-deung, he has a scene where he asks, ‘do you really need to dream? Is a dream necessary to have?’ And you know how in the past, we often emphasized needing to have a dream, to children. I feel like that’s what we lived through. But I remember watching a variety show where a superstar in Korea, Lee Hyori, came out and she mentioned to a child there, ‘you don’t have to try to be anything when you grow up, just be whatever you want.’ And that came a very pleasant shock, and that got me to think, ‘what would really happen when we don’t want to be something? What if children grew up without having a specific dream? Is that so bad?’ So those were some of the questions and messages that I tried to hone into.” Explained the director.

Fusing music into the series

From the panels to the screen, The Sound of Magic is further enlivened with music numbers from the cast. As to how the webtoon’s adaptation became a musical, director Sung-youn explains, “In the original webtoon series, there’s a lot of monologues from the character Ah-yi, [and] I really spent a lot of time thinking about how we can turn that into something that fits today’s context. How do I let the audience know what I was feeling, without giving her too many monologues? So those were some points I tried to think long and hard on, and that’s what brought us to the music element.”

“Actually, a fantasy music drama was not what I was reaching for,” the director also pointed out. “But it turned out to be a great fantasy music drama and I worked together with the choreographer too, so I didn’t want it to be like a fancy fantastical choreography but I wanted something that with a glitch of a finger, it could show emotions of Ah-yi. So I wanted to make sure that the choreography just portrays the emotions of the character. And same with magic. I didn’t want just techniques or tricks, but through this medium of magic, I wanted to show the mysteriousness of Ri-eul or to express Ah-yi’s emotions more effectively. I think those were the key parts to the drama.”

Meanwhile, the director also revealed that all the musical numbers were left for music director Park Sung-il to fill. “In the script, all the music scenes were left as blank. There were no lyrics, no directions in terms of how the scene was going to look like. It was just completely up to the music director. So from the music director’s perspective, you have to have a particular scene that inspires you to create that music. But this is a completely different kind of challenge. So the music director, the choreography director, they’re all good friends, they’re actually the same age, and they were just given this huge question mark. Where do you even begin? And they expressed all of those difficulties and curiosities. In some scenes, the music director went ahead and created the music first. For example, as for the merry-go-round, it actually wasn’t written in the script. But when we heard the music, you felt like this is definitely a scene where we need to have a merry-go-round. So that’s how organically we worked together, that’s how the script was created.”

The main cast describes starring on this musical drama

The cast also shared their experience working in this fresh drama with a musical twist. For Ji Chang-wook, it was a new experience he didn’t want to miss being a part of.

“Of course, there were very challenging parts, but I also would think to myself, this is the chance of a lifetime, when would I have this kind of opportunity where I have to act, sing, dance, and on top of that, do magic?” Shared Chang-wook. “There was a lot of preparation involved, but I felt like it was such a rewarding experience and because it was so challenging and difficult, there was so much time spent together as a team, with everyone’s heads put together to create something. And now that it’s actually going to be out there, showcased to the world, I feel very strange.”

Sung-eun agrees, stating that every work is a challenge, but this drama took a lot out of her. “There was a lot that I had to prepare for, and because of the music element, I got a lot of help from many wonderful people. And I’ve only been trained to act with lines, but now there’s lyrics, and the lyrics were so well-written, and at some scenes and points, the lyrics actually taught me what the character Ah-yi must have been feeling in that particular scene and I was very grateful for that, and I loved that process. I felt like this could be truly a unique appeal and charm of a music drama and I felt very grateful to the lyricist, Kim Eana.”

As for In-youp, he shared that he was really thankful to have been a part of The Sound of Magic. “I’m sure you can tell through short clips that the music is so great. And it’s not just the music that’s amazing, the space, the set was so fantastic as well. And the fact that I was given the opportunity to perform with such great music in such an amazing set, I told the director, this is a first for me, and the director replied, it’s a first for me too. So I felt like we all felt this was something new, something we were able to create together for the first time. We were left
with such great memories.”

The cast members’ favorite numbers

Asked what their favorite music numbers in the show, Chang-wook says “I really love the opening song… and I like the duet song with Ah-yi in the amusement park. I really love every single number in the show. I love the number that I sang together with In-youp, too.”

As for Sung-eun, she answers, “I keep coming back to the numbers, I like the number in the merry-go-round scene. It makes me feel joyful. So even after I was done filming, I listened to this song. And personally, the one that I really liked when I was shooting was when Ah-yi is at the amusement park by herself and she sings a song and the lyrics really touched my heart. So I still really like that song.”

In-youp also shares that his favorite number is when he plays the guitar and sings a song to Ah-yi. “I love that song and I think it is an adorable song and an adorable number. So when people listen to that number, maybe they can listen to it when they drive, and anytime, it will really cheer them up.”

On what the viewers can pick up and feel when watching the series

Ending the event are the stars and director of the show, sharing what they want viewers to pick up on this fantasy musical. “Finally, The Sound of Magic is going to be released,” Chang-wook began. “Sometimes, we lose track of our childhood innocence, our childhood wonders. And there are dreams that we had as a child. I think the show will let you think about those past dreams that you had as a child, and the wonders you had as a child. It’s like a fairytale for people, it’s a heartwarming story, so I hope everyone can really enjoy The Sound of Magic.”

“Maybe some people think, ‘am I able to dream again?'” Sung-eun said. “I think this show can give you that courage and this show roots for all of you to give it another try. So I think you can sit back and relax and really enjoy the show. I hope you can all stay tuned for the show.”

“Chang-wook and Sung-eun said great things about the show, and just to chime in, I think the show is going to provide you with some warm consolation, so I hope you can all watch the show and enjoy it.” added In-youp.

Finally, director Sungyoun says: “I have certain stories that I really like, which are usually stories of personal growth. This show also shows the personal growth of Ri-eul and Ah-yi and Il-deung. I think the line, ‘do you believe in magic?’ means actually, ‘do you believe in miracles?’ People are all grown up, they don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore, but they can watch the show together with their kids and their children and have a chance to believe in miracles and believe in magic, and talk amongst themselves. I hope you could have fun watching the show, thank you so much.”

Watch ‘The Sound of Magic‘ when it starts streaming on Netflix this May 6.

About ‘The Sound of Magic’
Directed by: Kim Sungyoun
Written by: Kim Minjeong
Starring: Ji Chang-wook, Choi Sung-eun, and Hwang In-youp
Produced by: JTBC Studios, content zium
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: May 6, 2022