"Once Upon A Small Town" Production Team Talks About Working With Animals And Filming In The Countryside

Sep 02, 2022

The production team of “Once Upon A Small Town” revealed behind-the-scenes stories!

Starring Red Velvet’s Joy, Chu Young Woo and Baek Sung Chul, the upcoming Kakao TV drama is based on a web novel of the same name and is about a man from Seoul meeting a policewoman while living in the countryside. Along with the love story of the two characters against the backdrop of fresh nature, the drama will depict the joys and sorrows of the pure and humane people of Heedong Village.

The production team shared that the reason they decided to dramatize the novel was the element of a comfortable romance between the charming characters within the setting of a peaceful rural life. They pointed out three distinguishing points of the drama: first, the refreshing country life will bring comfort to the viewers; second, the actors have perfect chemistry and synchronization with their charming characters; and third, the lovely animals create a cute and happy atmosphere.

As the drama is set in a rural area, there are many scenes where animals appear. The production team shared how they prepared for filming with animals by saying, “From the script writing process, we received advice from veterinarians and modified accordingly so that we could film safely. In the scenes where real animals appear, we first set up a safe environment with the help of veterinarians and then filmed under the supervision of veterinarians and professional trainers. All the props that came into contact with animals were specially made out of silicone to ensure safety, and anything that could be harmful was excluded as much as possible. Many veterinarians worked really hard with us to create the safest environment.”

When asked about the difficulties of filming in the sweltering heat, the production team remarked, “There were many places where there was no shade, so we had some difficulties. However, we really enjoyed the purifying feeling that comes from pollution-free and clean nature [in the countryside]. There were many moments when the staff and actors forgot about the heat and gazed in awe at the beautiful scenery. One day when we were on the way to dinner after filming, the sunset was so beautiful that everyone stopped and started taking pictures of each other. We are so proud that we could capture that beauty on screen.”