It has been two years since we all got to meet Jojo, Hye Yeong, and Sun Oh, who we’ve all come to love in Love Alarm. And after such a long, long wait, we’re going to finally know what happens to the characters of the drama that had all of us torn between Team sun Oh and Team Hye Yeong. Love Alarm Season 2 launches globally on Netflix this Friday, March 12.
The second season of Love Alarm takes place four years after the launch of Love Alarm. The app is now Love Alarm 2.0, and has released a feature that lets its users know who is likely to like and fall for them in the future. Now adults, our three leads — Kim Jojo, Lee Hye Yeong, and Hwang Sun Oh — must resolve their worries and conflicts, all while dealing with the changes in society brought about by the app.
Kim So Hyun, Jung Ga Ram, and Song Kang will all be reprising their roles, alongside Go Min Si and Kim Shi Eun. Kim Jin Woo, who is behind dramas like Good Doctor and Suits directs the series, with a screenplay from Ryu Bora, the writer of Snowy Road and Secret.
Just in time for the drama’s season 2 premiere this Friday, we got to join the leads, Kim So Hyun and Song Kang, as well as Director Kim Jin Woo in a press conference. Jung Ga Ram, who is currently on his military duties, was unable to attend the event. We also got to be a part of a roundtable interview where the leads talk more about the drama.
Check out the highlights of the events below:
Photo: Netflix
What the audience should expect for Love Alarm Season 2
One thing that Love Alarm fans should definitely look out for in the new season is the new feature of the Love Alarm app. According to Kim So Hyun, the new update, which lets users see who might like them in the future, opens the door to “new kinds of stories and twists and turns” for all the characters of the drama.
Aside from the new version of Love Alarm, Song Kang also added that fans should expect the resolution of the characters’ conflicts this season. He said: “During the first season, there was a lot of conflict between the characters. How these conflicts will be overcome is definitely something you should be watching out for in the second season.”
How their characters have grown from Season 1
Fans can expect a more mature and grown-up Jojo in the new season of Love Alarm. According to Kim So Hyun, Jojo has always been someone who’s “wary about her feelings being exposed to others,” and that she tends to hide her emotions. Because of this, she decides to use the “shield” function of the app, which also makes her unaware of how she truly feels.
“In the second season, the frustration of having used the shield leads to Jojo taking a different action. It leads to her personal growth and development, which you will be able to see in the second season,” So Hyun explained.
Song Kang also talked about maturity, especially after the audience saw Sun Oh’s “pure and youthful” side in Season 1. “Since he broke up with his high school crush, Jojo, he’s very heartbroken,” Song Kang said. “In season 2, Sun Oh becomes more mature, grown-up, and you’d be able to see [him] as an adult.”
Preparing for the emotional scenes
In Love Alarm Season 2, all three of our leads will finally be facing and resolving the trauma and baggage that they’ve been carrying. That’s why fans of the drama can only expect more emotionally-heavy scenes that will have you ~feeling~ with and for them.
According to Kim So Hyun, approaching her character’s trauma from season 1 has been the “most difficult part about acting Jojo” especially since she does not have a trauma that as big as hers. She had to think about how to express her feelings on-screen without having to over-exaggerate it. “I tried my best to emotionally connect and relate to her situation it,” she said. “I just tried to live true to the struggle that she had inside and portray it as best as I could.”
As for Song Kang, he said that he had to put a lot of thought into how to portray Sun Oh and his journey of becoming stronger as a person when preparing for Season 2’s 6 episodes. “It wasn’t that difficult to express that because I have a lot of affection for the role of Sun Oh. He’s a character that I hold dear to my heart so I watched season 1 every day to prepare for season 2,” Kang said.
Message and advice for Jojo and Sun Oh
Something Kim So Hyun learned after playing Jojo, she said, is “to be brave and to be confident, both in terms of love and in chasing your dream.” Asked for any advice or message she’d give to the character she’s played for over 2 years, So Hyun said: “Jojo, I know you’re having a hard time. I understand you’re having a hard time. But, you know, life is tough. Sometimes you just have to enjoy it. You’re very young and beautiful, so I hope you’re happy.”
During the roundtable interview, So Hyun also sent out a message to those who — like Jojo — are torn between two people. “I think that’s the most difficult and tricky situation — being confused between two people,” she started. “The best thing you can do is to be honest and true to your feelings so that the least people would get hurt.”
As for Song Kang’s message to Sun Oh, he said: “Sun Oh, I think I shed more tears than I shed in my entire life while I was acting you. Please know that I’m always by your side.”
A Love Alarm app in real life?
A question that kept popping up during the press conference and interviews is what the two leads would do if a Love Alarm exists in real life. Both were quick to answer that they would rather not download the app.
So Hyun explained that since Jojo ended up unintentionally hurting both Hye Yeong and Sun Oh in the drama, she’d rather use her words to express her feelings, instead of downloading the app. Song Kang also added that even if the app is convenient in a way, he still believes that “delivering your feelings in your own words, and confessing your emotions by yourself is more true.”
As to what kind of feature they would like their own version of a Love Alarm to have? Song Kang answered that he’d like a function that would “hide his heart” since he’s shy at expressing his feelings. “At the end of the day, I still have to get my feelings across,” he said. “So even if the app hides my feelings from that somebody, I would still like to communicate my feelings through words.”
So Hyun, on the other hand, said that she’d want a function where she could “selectively block or hide specific people.” For her, although it can be exciting to know that somebody loves you, it can also be “daunting and uncomfortable.”
This is also the reason why she would rather choose her alarm to not be rung instead of not ringing other people’s alarm. “I care less about my heart and my feelings being exposed to people other than me,” she explained. “If I am constantly notified of other people’s feelings towards me, it could be happy in a way. But at the same time, that’s going to place a burden on my shoulders.”
Team Sun Oh or Team Hye Yeong?
While we all have to watch the second season to know who Jojo’s heart will truly belong to in the end, it really wouldn’t hurt to ask Kim So Hyun on who she will choose between the two men, right?
During the roundtable interview, the actress took quite some time to answer, saying that “it’s a very difficult question,” having answered Hye Yeung before. Still, she said that she would choose Sun Oh this time around.
“[Sun Oh] is a very enthusiastic and passionate person. Although he could seem a little bit proud or condescending, he’s a very committed, devoted, and considerate person when it comes to love. He’s so devoted to love, [and] I think if I ended up with Sun Oh, we could fall in love very passionately,” she explained, all while Song Kang was doing cute poses to flex beside her.
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All 6 episodes of Love Alarm Season 2 drop globally on Netflix this March 12. You can also stream the first season here.
