Lee Seo-jin returns with another OCN mystery series 'Times'

Actors Lee Seo-jin, left, and Lee Joo-young pose for photos during an online media conference for OCN's TV series "Times," Tuesday. Courtesy of OCN

By Lee Gyu-lee

Actor Lee Seo-jin stars in OCN's original mystery series, "Times" ― his first TV series appearance since "Trap" on the same network in 2019.

"I have always been keen on such genre works," the actor said during the online media conference for the upcoming series, Tuesday. "So, I mainly looked through scripts for mystery/thriller genre works. And out of those, I really enjoyed the script for Times, so I decided to join."

The political mystery revolves around a reporter, Lee Jin-woo (Lee Seo-jin), in the year 2015 and a newbie reporter, Seo Jung-in (Lee Joo-young), in 2020, who are connected to each other by a phone.

Lee Seo-jin described his character as a bad-tempered, but passionate reporter. "Jin-woo is a goal-oriented reporter who is dedicated to accomplishing what he wants," he said. "He gets involved in the case after getting a phone call from the future, which brings out his temper."

Scenes from the series / Courtesy of OCN

Actress Lee Joo-young expressed excitement about taking her first lead role in a TV series, calling it a "blessing" to work with veteran actors.

"I was learning from them every day," she said. "I was worried at first whether I could pull off a lead role well, but the director and my fellow actors really put their faith in me and helped me through it."

Her character, Jung-in, is the first daughter of President Seo Gi-tae (Kim Yeong-cheol) and a reporter at a major network. But her life turns upside down when she wakes up to a completely different life where her father died four years ago and she is a minor newspaper journalist.

A year later, a phone call connects her to Jin-woo, who is living in the past. She convinces him to help prevent her father's death, which is about to happen in the year he lives in.

"Times is about the lies made-up by powerful figures and about journalists digging up those lies to find the truth," director Yoon Jong-ho said. "This is a new genre that mixes a time warp with a political drama."

Yoon added that he tried to differentiate this series from other fantasy work, despite its time warp concept.

"Nowadays, there are so many different networks and series… enough to wonder if there's anything new," the director said. "I tried to make this series different from other fantasy series… with the messages that lie beneath the story."

"Times" premieres on Saturday.