PUBLISHED ONOctober 02, 2025 10:10 AMBYKristy ChuaEven for dedicated fans of this oppa, it might take a while to register his handsome face in his new drama.
AsiaOne recently attended the virtual press conference for The Murky Stream, a historical K-drama led by South Korean actors Rowoon, Shin Ye-eun and Park Seo-ham.
Marking Disney+'s first foray into period pieces, The Murky Stream follows a unique trio — gang enforcer Jang Si-yul (Rowoon) who struggles with his past, sharp-witted Choi Eun (Ye-eun) who is a merchant with something to prove and the upright Jung Chun, a newly assigned officer at the local police bureau.
With the story situated around the Gyeonggang — now known as the Han River — 98 per cent of the filming was done outdoors, with no indoor sets at all according to Rowoon. As a result, the lighting of scenes shot at night were "especially beautiful" and the 29-year-old advised viewers to watch The Murky Stream with the lights off.
He added that he had met up with the drama's director Choo Chang-min prior to filming, discussing how he'd look in character. "He wants to take away my decent looks, as well as any kind of coolness I had as they could be my biggest weapons," revealed Rowoon, who adopted a scruffy look in the series.
"To have that taken away from me with everything else set up in such an amazing way around me had me thinking — all I can do is bring my very best performance into my role."
Bringing his own creative input to the set, Rowoon shared that he had suggested each character have a signature weapon, deeming it important when it came to their action styles. "I think it's going to be fun for everyone to figure out who has which go-to weapon," he quipped.
And with the abundance of action packed in the drama, it was revealed Rowoon had worked so hard in his fight scenes to the point of almost puking.
In cahoots with Si-yul is Mu-deok (Park Ji-hwan) who, in contrast to Rowoon's character, is quite the slacker despite being a gang leader.
Ji-hwan, 45, fondly recalled the fun times he had on set as a bandit: "Our clothes were so dirty, so I could just lie down wherever I felt like it. I didn't even need to wash up because my [character's] hair was always dirty. And actually, we were a little bit stinky.
"But somehow, even though Rowoon's also a bandit, he always smelled nice."
Rowoon was surprised by the comment and said that just like his co-stars, he didn't wash up often either.
"But you know, we were always around each other and having meals together, so we got desensitised to the smells - it didn't matter to us," he added.
To make matters worse (or stinkier), The Murky Stream was filmed at the height of summer, with nothing to shield the cast and crew from the hot sun in their outdoor set.
Rowoon, in particular, had perspired so profusely that he didn't bother to clean or freshen himself up. Surprised by his nonchalant attitude, Ye-eun shared: "Usually, when you're sweating, you would wipe it off or have a fan. But he was like, 'I don't care. I'm just going to let myself be sweaty because I am that kind of character.'
"So I could tell that he didn't care about his looks. And he said it's absolutely better that he's sweating because it looks more authentic. People might think it's makeup, but it's actually his own sweat."
Ye-eun was filming Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born (2024) when she, had an opportune encounter with Chang-min while masked up on set.
The 27-year-old said: "There was this scene in Jeongnyeon where I had this dance, and I said hi to Chang-min because he was there and he asked me, 'Do you want to take your mask off?'. And I said, 'Oh, I don't have any makeup on right now because I'm just rehearsing.' But he said, 'It's okay, let me see your face.' So I took my mask off.
"And then I thought that the director was someone who's always thinking about his work, because he was just walking by and he asked me to take my mask off to see if I would fit the character. So he's always all-out for his work, and I was so happy that I was cast for the role in the end."
The Murky Stream marks Seo-ham's first work since his discharge from the military in December 2023. Prior to playing Jung Chun, the 31-year-old last starred as Jang Jae-yeong in the rom-com Semantic Error (2022).
"It feels like I've gained many fathers," shared the former member of K-pop boy band KNK. "That includes the director and it touches my heart, because when I see him, Rowoon, (Choi) Gwi-hwa and Ji-hwan, I don't know what it is, but I'm just drawn to tears. It almost feels like I'm back at home."
Seo-ham recalled that during filming, while waiting around together in their trailers before their scenes, the veteran actors would always help the younger cast members monitor the happenings on set.
The camaraderie between him and the cast was so stellar that he said it was "almost a turning point" for him, where he wants to pay Chang-min a visit during the holidays.
For Rowoon who is soon to enlist in late October, he shared that he did not manage to talk about the military with the freshly discharged Seo-ham, only having discussions about acting while on set.
However he remarked that Ji-hwan promised to send him lots of books during his service.
"I'm going to be waiting for that package of books," Rowoon joked.
The Murky Stream, also starring Kim Dong-won and Jeon Bae-soo, is now available for streaming on Disney+.
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