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Lee Min Ho on 'The King: Eternal Monarch': 'The love story outlined in the show is like no other'

By MAGGIE ADAN

After a three-year hiatus, Lee Min Ho is back as Lee Gon, the titular character in your next K-Drama obsession, "The King: Eternal Monarch," opposite Kim Go Eun of "Goblin" fame.

The series is the brainchild of Kim Eun Suk, who wrote "Descendants of the Sun," "Goblin," and "The Heirs," meaning that both Lee Min Ho (The Heirs) and Kim Go Eun (Goblin) have worked with the writer before.

The story follows star-crossed lovers from parallel universes: Emperor Lee Gon comes from a Korea that’s run as a constitutional monarchy while Jung Tae Eul (Kim Go Eun) is a detective who lives in our world.

In a roundtable video conference call with select members of press, Lee Min Ho said he was thrilled to reunite with writer Kim Eun Suk.

“It means a great deal to me that I get another opportunity to work with [her] after maturing more as an actor, and I'll do my very best to ensure that our second run together surpasses our first. The love story outlined in the show is like no other, and I hope everyone can enjoy and appreciate it.”

The actor also reveals that he had been looking forward to returning to the screen after his long hiatus. Being back on set that first day of shooting felt familiar, Min Ho adds.

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“I had this warm feeling, like I was right at home, like I was where I was supposed to be,” he says.  Min Ho adds, “After that, I was focused on how I really wanted to make this even better than [anything] I had done previously. So I have been working really hard to make that a reality.”

He confesses however that he did think long and hard about his comeback project. “I did take a lot of time thinking about what kind of drama I wanted to do [for] my comeback after my military service. I looked at a lot of different scripts, and I really had to think hard about this one. But when else would I be given the chance to play an emperor? So I was drawn to that, and also that the character I would be playing has such great power within him,” the actor says, adding that the chance to work with Kim Eun Suk again and the trust he has in her also played a big part in him signing on for The King: Eternal Monarch.

The excitement doesn’t come without a few apprehensions though. He admits, “Now that I sit here talking to you, and as we wait for the drama to launch, a lot is going through my mind: I’m worried, I’m excited. A lot is going through my mind right now.”  

Despite that, he wishes that fans will enjoy the series, “Thank you so much to my fans for your patience and I will try to give back with my very best,” the actor says. — LA, GMA News

The King: Eternal Monarch starts streaming on Netflix April 17 at 10:30pm. Subsequent episodes will be streamed weekly, every Friday and Saturday.