On the afternoon of January 7, a production presentation for TV Tokyo’s drama Gimbap and Onigiri was held at The Saint in D-Cube City, Guro-gu, Seoul, attended by actors Akaso Eiji and Kang Hye Won.
Gimbap and Onigiri is a pure romance that delicately portrays the emotional connection between Hase Taiga (played by Akaso Eiji) and Park Rin (played by Kang Hye Won), two young people drawn to each other despite confusion stemming from cultural and value differences between Japan and Korea.
In the drama, Kang Hye Won plays Park Rin, a graduate student studying abroad in Japan. Her character steadily moves toward her dreams while navigating the harsh realities of daily life. Park Rin is portrayed as someone who goes to Japan to study animation, constantly torn between present-day struggles and future aspirations, yet living each day diligently. Kang’s naturally lovely charm and gentle aura are expected to bring depth and warmth to the role.
Kang Hye Won revealed, “I studied really hard starting two months before going to Japan. At first, I was very worried. I had studied the language to some extent, but it wasn’t perfect, so I wondered if I would be able to adapt well.” She added that Akaso Eiji made a big effort to support her and help her blend into the environment, which eased her concerns.
Debuting in 2018 as a member of IZ*ONE, Kang Hye Won credited her past experience for helping her tremendously. “My time with IZ*ONE helped a lot with filming a drama in Japan. We promoted there frequently, so the environment didn’t feel completely unfamiliar. If I hadn’t done Japanese activities back then, I don’t think I could have improved my language skills this much in just two months,” she explained.
She also shared her method for improving pronunciation, saying, “They gave me audio files with Japanese pronunciation, and I listened to them as soon as I woke up every day to get used to the language.”
Co-star Akaso Eiji praised Kang’s dedication, saying, “I was honestly surprised by how good her Japanese was. Even though she played a Korean character, I wondered if she might actually be Japanese. After filming, when I asked if she was going to eat something delicious, she said she was going back to study Japanese. That level of effort really shows in the final result, and I think viewers will be very surprised when they watch the drama.”
Gimbap and Onigiri is set to premiere on January 12, airing every Monday at 11:06 p.m., and will also be available on Netflix.
Sources: Daum