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Yumi’s Cells is adapted from a popular webtoon of the same name, which has since garnered over 3.2 billion views. While the plot centers around Yumi, an ordinary and shy office worker, the story is told through the perspective of Yumi’s brain cells which control her thoughts and feelings.
Ahead of the series’ premier, director Lee Sang Yeob, along with lead cast members Kim Go-eun and Ahn Bo-hyun, revealed what audiences can expect from the series at an online press conference held recently.
Kim, who plays Yumi, recalled being struck by Anh’s good looks when she first me him. “He was indeed handsome, tall, and strong, so I was a bit intimidated,” said Kim , bursting into laughter. She added that Anh delved deep into his character, a game developer named Woong, noting that “everyone in the crew now calls him by his role’s name”.
Upon reading the script, Anh meanwhile thought that Kim wouldn’t be a good fit for her role. “When I met her on set, though, it felt like Yumi walked out of webtoon!” he said. As the series is based on a popular webtoon, Anh said that he made a lot of effort to personify his character as accurately as possible to meet the expectations of fans. These efforts included applying suntan, as well as growing out his hair and sporting a beard. “When I saw him on the fitting day, he really looked like Woong to me,” ,” said Kim “It must be really difficult to maintain that hairstyle.”
When asked about who ensured an enjoyable atmosphere on set, Kim was quick to answer. “It must be me,” she said, “I was on set 99% of the time. After seven months of filming, I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw the director.” Ahn, however, disagreed, saying, “It should be me. I really worked hard to resemble the character, and I ‘liberated’ myself to be funny. It was a pleasure to work with the team, and the director had the loudest laughs out of all of us.”
As Yumi’s “cells” are an important part of the series, multiple actors were called on to interpret how the various cells would behave. “Sinister Cell”, for example, was dubbed by comedian Ahn Young-mi. “I am grateful that she was willing to take this very special role,” said director Lee Sang-yeob. Kim chimed in, saying that this was her favourite cell. “Sinister Cell is so funny. As soon as it speaks, everyone in the Cell Village goes crazy,” she said.
Adapted from its namesake webtoon, Yumi’s Cells follows an ordinary office worker named Yumi (played by Kim Go-eun) who struggles with her shyness and feels unable to express herself. She goes on a journey of self-discovery to better understand herself, and eventually meets the love of her life. Starting from September 17th, the series will be exclusively available at 22:50 (MYT) every Friday and Saturday on the iQiyi International app or iQ.com.
