Actor Park Ju-hyun, 27, who caught local and global viewers’ attention with her portrayal of thieving high-schooler Bae Gyu-ri in Netflix’s “Extracurricular” (2020), has come back as a badminton player in “Love All Play,” a new sports romance on KBS.

“I was also surprised to find that ‘Love All Play’ is my first romance drama. But, the biggest reason that I chose to star in the series was the charm of my character Park Tae-yang,” Park said in an online press conference Wednesday.

“Tae-yang is a strong, self-confident character, who seeks to move forward to achieve her dream. There were a few times when I lost confidence about myself. And Tae-yang’s action and thoughts influenced me a lot. I think I really liked this character,” the actor added.

Helmed by director Jo Woong, who was behind popular KBS drama series including “The Miracle We Met” (2018) and “Justice” (2019), the series presents the stories of badminton players who are in a business team.

“I recognized that, unlike ordinary office workers, the athletes are facing their heyday early and starting to concern about their retirement fast. Though they look to be in their 20-30s, their thoughts are more like people in their 40-50s. I wished to present this complex bag of emotion to the viewers,” Jo said.

The director added that the series may be a sports drama, but has romance, comedy and humor to entertain the viewers.

Co-star Chae Jong-hyeop, 28, shared his excitement about the badminton-themed drama as well.

“I was thrilled to star in ‘Love All Play’ as the lead character for the first time. I have been in a sport drama – SBS’ “Stove League” (2019), but I recognized that badminton has its own unique charm in the fast-paced matches and powerful smash shots. I am certain that the viewers can recognize the badminton’s charm through our drama as well,” Chae said.

With its first episode aired on Wednesday, the 16-part sports romance is set to air at 9:50 p.m. on KBS Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“Love All Play” is available on the local streaming platform Wavve as well.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)