At the press conference held on the afternoon of the 15th at SBS headquarters in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, for SBS’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama 'Sold Out on You' (written by Jin Seung-hee, directed by Ahn Jong-yeon), Ahn talked about how he embodied life in a rural village.
The romance drama follows perfectionist farmer Matthew Lee (played by Ahn Hyo-seop) and sellout-minded show host Dam Yejin (played by Chae Won-bin) as their lives become tangled day and night. Matthew is Deokpung Village’s “triple-job young farmer” ― meticulous and prickly when it comes to work ― but around town he’s affectionately called “Mechuri,” and he’s constantly on the move handling the elders’ various requests. After meeting Dam Yejin, who’s in a similar place in life, the two become a source of rest for each other.
“Matthew Lee isn’t comfortable ― he’s busy,” Ahn said. “He farms, does R&D, and acts as a CEO ― a triple-job farmer. He’s someone who’s always running.” He added, “At first the character looks busy and passionate, but as the episodes go on, the drama makes you think, ‘Not everyone has to live full-throttle every day.’”
Transforming into a country farmer, Ahn said, “I tried to absorb the rural environment with my whole body. It was really hot during filming, so I worked under the sun and tried living a farmer’s life.” He highlighted, “I learned to drive a tiller. I had to drive with senior actors riding on the back, so I practiced a lot.”
He joked, “That tiller was my Porsche 911 and my Lamborghini Huracan. I treated it like my own car.”
Director Ahn Jong-yeon described the series as a “therapy drama” ― something anyone can watch comfortably, with viewers finding healing as they watch the leads heal. Ahn Hyo-seop agreed with that view.
“When I first got the script, I read up to episode three,” Ahn said. “I’d been doing heavier, more emotionally draining projects and was seriously thinking about my own life direction. This drama healed me. There’s no big villain or huge events, but it captures how we live day by day, and that really hit home.”
He continued, “Our show has a universal message. The title ‘Sold Out on You’ might sound like ‘let’s push hard,’ but, paradoxically, we want to say ‘you don’t always have to.’ Matthew Lee and Dam Yejin have been hard on themselves and too busy, but after they meet, they become each other’s rest. To people everywhere who grind through their days, we want to say, ‘It’s okay to take it easy today.’”
Ahn added, “We poured six months into this shoot. I was genuinely happy, and I looked forward to going to set. I already feel like I’ve won in my heart.”
SBS’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama 'Sold Out on You' premieres on Wednesday the 22nd at 9 p.m.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)