Head Over Heels EXCLUSIVE: Cho Yi Hyun on always being intrigued by shamanism, chemistry with Choo Young Woo and more

A high schooler shaman and her first love, with a special connection to bad luck, falling in love? Sounds like your next K-drama obsession! Cho Yi Hyun and Choo Young Woo bring on another young romance to the screens after working together in School 2021. Head Over Heels combines the usual teenage trope up a notch with a ritual-ridden double life arc to it, looking to become the next big thing in the world of Korean shows. 

Cho Yi Hyun is no stranger to fantasy and high school roles, having taken over multiple K-dramas with her charm. Wearing a uniform in All of Us Are Dead, School 2021, and Sweet Revenge, it’s almost as if she’s reliving her own academic days via these characters. Now ready to take on another challenge as a shaman who can see the future, she is rising as a promising actress in the industry.

Head Over Heels Interview with Cho Yi Hyun

In an exclusive chat with the lead actress of Head Over Heels, Cho Yi Hyun, who plays Park Seong A, revealed her own experience with learning about shamanism and dishes about their on-screen as well as off-screen chemistry this time around.

Head Over Heels eyes June 23 premiere, running with one weekly episode on TVING domestically and Prime Video internationally (in selected regions).

Did you ever experience a shamanic ritual in real life? Where does your belief lie with such practices?
Cho Yi Hyun: I’ve always been intrigued by shamanism. Through this project, I became even more fascinated by the mystery of what shamans do.

Seong A can see the future — if you had that ability in real life, is there something you’d want to know or prefer to avoid? If you could see the past, which moment would you go to?
Cho Yi Hyun: I don’t really want to know the future. But if I could look into the past, I’d love to see the moment I was born and witness myself and my mother at that time.

What does your luck look like in real life? Was there ever a day when you thought you invited bad luck?
Cho Yi Hyun: I think luck is all about perspective. Even when something goes wrong, I consider myself lucky that it wasn’t worse. So I always feel like I’m surrounded by good fortune.

This isn’t your first time working together. How did your relationship change from the last time you starred in a K-drama, and what do you talk about when you hang out together?
Cho Yi Hyun: What changed is that we understand each other’s personalities a lot better now. We could sense how the other was feeling without needing to say much. Most of our conversations were about the script, which we discussed a lot together.

If you could swap roles with your co-star for a day, how would you approach playing their character?
Cho Yi Hyun: Since I’ve already seen how Choo Young Woo portrayed the role, I’d probably ask him lots of questions and learn from him directly.

What are you saved as on each other’s phones?
Cho Yi Hyun: He’s saved in my phone as “School 2021 Choo Young Woo 99.”

If your co-star was living a double life, what do you think they’d be good at doing instead of acting, and what would their alias be?
Cho Yi Hyun: I think he’d be great in a job that is people-centered and outgoing. I don’t think he’d need to use an alias.

If soulmates were real, paint a picture of how you would like to meet yours, and would you risk your life to save them?
Cho Yi Hyun: I haven’t met someone I’d risk my life for yet, so it’s hard to imagine. Maybe because I haven’t experienced that kind of love, I’m not sure I could go that far.

Which role of yours would you pick as the easiest, and which was the toughest?
Cho Yi Hyun: Honestly, I wouldn’t say any part of it was easy. Portraying a shaman was definitely the hardest. But working closely with a real-life shaman and practising repeatedly gave me a real sense of accomplishment—and made me want to push myself even more.

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