[CELEB] Seohyun gives naughty a try in 'Love and Leashes'

Television

Published: 13 Feb. 2022, 16:26 Updated: 17 Feb. 2022, 11:14

[CELEB] Seohyun gives naughty a try in 'Love and Leashes'

Poster for Netflix Korea’s original “Love and Leashes,” which was released Friday [ILGAN SPORTS]

"Love and Leashes," a Netflix original movie starring Seohyun of Girls' Generation, deals with bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism, known as BDSM.

It was released Friday, and is in the Netflix top 10 in 10 countries, according to FlixPatrol. Outside Korea, the movie was especially popular in Southeast Asia, in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Love and Leashes" is Netflix Korea's first original movie, though it has released a number of series. It is directed by Park Hyun-jin, known for romantic comedies "Lovers of 6 years" (2008) and "Like for Likes" (2016).

The film is a rom-com based on "Moral Sense," a 2015 Naver webtoon series by Gyeowool.

In "Love and Leashes," Seohyun's Jung Ji-woo comes to realize that her crush at work, Lee Jun-young's Jung Ji-hoo, has a unique sexual fetish. The two come to respect each other's tastes and interests while also finding a way to love themselves for who they truly are.

The casting of Seohyun in an R-rated movie drew attention to "Love and Leashes," as the actor and singer was most familiar to the public as the youngest of nine members in the girl group and maintained a young, model-student image throughout a decade-long K-pop career.

Seohyun, left, and Lee Jun-young during a scene in "Love and Leashes" [ILGAN SPORTS]

In the movie, Seohyun appears as a strong female character and a professional employee at a large company who opens herself to sexual experimentation and learns to let go of anger and stress.

For Seohyun, who debuted with Girls' Generation in 2007, this is her first film role.

In 2012, she became a member of TTS, a Girls' Generation subgroup with Taeyeon and Tiffany. TTS with Seohyun released three EPs, "Twinkle" (2012), "Holler" (2014) and "Dear Santa" (2015).

In 2017, she broke with SM Entertainment, which created the group. In the same year, she made her solo debut with an EP titled "Don't Say No."

Seohyun began acting on stage through musical theater.

Her first role was in drama-turned-musical "Moon Embracing the Sun" in 2014. Since then, she has landed lead roles in musicals "Gone with the Wind" (2015) and "Mama Mia" (2016).

More recently, Seohyun has focused on television as she starred in a handful of drama series, including "Bad Thief Good Thief" (2017), "The Time" (2018) and "Private Lives" (2020).

Seohyun as her character Jung Ji-woo in "Love and Leashes" [ILGAN SPORTS]

Seohyun (Seo Ju-hyun)

Date of Birth: June 28, 1991
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Geumcheon District, southern Seoul.
Debut: August 2007 as a member of girl group Girls' Generation
Agency: Namoo Actors

Seohyun debuted in 2007 as the youngest member of Girls' Generation. Sixteen at the time, the K-pop star rose to fame with the group's hits, including "Gee" (2009), "The Boys" (2011), "I Got a Boy" (2013) and "Lion Heart" (2015). In 2012, she became a member of the group's subunit Girls' Generation-TTS with members Taeyeon and Tiffany. Praised for her vocals, Seohyun landed lead roles in musical theater in "Gone with the Wind" (2015) and "Mama Mia" (2016). After leaving SM Entertainment in 2017, Seohyun released solo EP "Don't Say No" and took on acting roles in drama series "Bad Thief Good Thief" (2017), "The Time" (2018) and "Private Lives" (2020).

This information was confirmed by Namoo Actors on Feb. 11, 2022.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]