Song Hye-kyo, Gong Yoo and Kim Seol-hyun shared a stage for the first time as the leads of Netflix’s ‘Slowly and Intensely’ at Netflix Korea’s 10th anniversary fan event in Seoul on October 24, giving fans their first joint look at one of the streamer’s most anticipated Korean dramas of the year.
The trio appeared in the ‘What Next?’ session introducing upcoming titles at the event, held at the Sangam Culture Reserve Base in Mapo-gu. According to Xports News, the three walked on stage together, greeted the audience and waved to fans, with Gong Yoo in a beige jacket over a black turtleneck and Song Hye-kyo and Kim Seol-hyun both in black. Song and Gong, walking on side by side, were seen chatting and joking with each other in a relaxed, playful mood that drew attention from the crowd.
The appearance doubled as a character introduction. Song Hye-kyo described her character Min-ja as a woman who takes bold risks in pursuit of success, Xports News reported. Min-ja rises from a poor childhood, taking any work that pays, before stepping into the record industry. Gong Yoo plays Dong-gu, her childhood friend, who stands by her and acts without hesitation to protect her dream. Kim Seol-hyun plays Min-hee, who becomes entangled with Min-ja in a love-hate relationship while chasing success on her own terms.
The wider cast fills out the era’s music world. Cha Seung-won plays Seok Gil-yeo, the period’s top composer, a figure capable of turning even a rookie singer into a star, according to Star News and other Korean outlets. Lee Ha-nee appears as Yang-ja, a passionate singer, and Na Moon-hee as Mal-soon. The series is written by Noh Hee-kyung and directed by Lee Yoon-jung.
‘Slowly and Intensely’ is set in the Korean entertainment industry of the 1960s to the 1980s, an era the production describes as rough and unforgiving, and follows people who start with nothing and throw themselves into chasing success. Netflix confirmed on October 22 that the series will premiere on December 11. A poster released with that announcement unfolds the characters’ lives like a panorama around a turntable, tracing Min-ja and Dong-gu from a childhood of shared poverty through jobs including waiting tables to becoming rookie managers.
The project carries extra weight because of its creative reunion. It marks Song Hye-kyo’s third collaboration with writer Noh Hee-kyung, after ‘Worlds Within’ and ‘That Winter, the Wind Blows.’ Xports News first reported the reunion exclusively in 2024, and the cast was confirmed in stages afterward, with the October 24 event marking the first time the three leads have promoted the series together in person. It is also the first time Song Hye-kyo and Gong Yoo have shared a project, despite both having led the Korean Wave for more than two decades.
That combination is why the event appearance matters beyond a photo opportunity. Noh Hee-kyung is one of Korea’s most respected drama writers, and this is her first new series since ‘Our Blues’ in 2022. Pairing her return with two of the industry’s biggest stars, in a period story about the music business itself, gives Netflix a prestige title for the final weeks of the year rather than a routine genre release. The warm, easy chemistry the leads showed on stage will only sharpen that expectation, since so much of the drama rests on the long, complicated bond between Min-ja, Dong-gu and Min-hee.
‘Slowly and Intensely’ premieres globally on Netflix on December 11. The same anniversary event also previewed other upcoming Korean titles, including ‘Solo Leveling’ and ‘All of Us Are Dead 2,’ underlining how central Korean drama has become to Netflix’s local slate. With the date set and the leads now promoting together, further teasers and character material are expected in the run-up to release.
