Left to Right: South Korean actors Kim Dohyun and Ko Taewoon from Twisted Tie. Promotional images courtesy of STRONGBERRY.
I recently had the pleasure of attending the International Media Roundtable with the lead actors from the Korean BL drama, Twisted Tie. The drama stars two K-pop idols making their acting debut: Kim Dohyun (Doha) of BE:MAX, formerly MUSTB, and Ko Taewoon (Taehwan) of VANNER, which is currently on hiatus.
The five-episode drama premiered on October 8th, and its final episode airs Thursday, November 5, at 12:00 KST (noon).
Kim Dohyun plays Lee Sunwoo, a conscientious rookie office worker for whom sparks fly when his seemingly cold and harsh team leader, Kang Dojin (played by Ko Taewoon) lets his guard down one night after work.
The five-episode drama moves quickly, and the characters experience a wide range of emotions as Dojin’s world is upended by Sunwoo and the two discover feelings that go beyond their professional relationship.
During the roundtable, a wide variety of questions were asked, including mine, and Dohyun and Taewoon graciously answered them all.
In the drama, their characters start out with a great deal of conflict and move towards discovering each other’s hidden warmth. I asked them, “Was there a particular scene or moment when you felt that change in Dojin and Sunwoo’s relationship most strongly as actors?”
Dohyun, who played Sunwoo, responded, “In the second episode, Dojin makes a lunchbox for Sunwoo. Sunwoo says that he will be loyal to him for the rest of his life. Sunwoo thinks, ’This guy is doing so much for me,’ and that opens up his emotions toward Dojin.”
Taewoon, who played Dojin, explained, “The moment my character became sure of his feelings came in the episode that aired yesterday [Episode 4]. There is a scene where he feels really sad about a decision he made. I think that’s the moment he became honest about his feelings.”
Video Credits: Official recording courtesy of TimelessNotes LIVE and MATCHBOX LLC. Video excerpt edited and subtitled by Korean Drama Insider.
When asked about whether their experience as idols helped in their acting debut, they shared both the advantages and some challenges it posed. Both actors acknowledged that because of their idol experience, they were already aware of how to look at the camera, how the camera captured them and therefore how to adjust their faces and bodies to look better on camera. Dohyun also noted, “For me, when I was a singer, I would show off to the audience, so that was my performance. But as an actor, I have to change my vibe. My performance changed and I had to show myself more artistically.”
Taewoon highlighted that one of the challenges was actually not looking at the camera. Normally while singing, “there were a lot of instances when we had to look at the camera, but when acting, you’re not supposed to look at the camera. So sometimes when we were shooting, I mistakenly looked at the camera and we had to do some re-takes, so I feel like those kinds of details are really big.”
During the roundtable, and the fan event after, Dohyun and Taewoon exhibited wonderful chemistry and genuinely seemed to enjoy each other’s company. When asked what advice they would like to give their characters, Taewoon said about his character Dojin, “since he doesn’t really know love yet, he should reflect on himself. I want to tell him that not being honest about your feelings isn’t cool. When that person is there, you have to do your best.”
Dohyun’s advice to his character, Sunwoo, was to “do some push and pull. Don’t push too much. You should also pull so that there is some tension or thrill. That's very important.”
At the end of the roundtable, the actors thanked the panel and noted how much they enjoyed the people who worked with them on the project. Taewoon added, “After today’s Q&A, I realized that Twisted Tie is receiving more love around the world. We’ll try our best to show you more of our chemistry, and please keep supporting both of us.” Dohyun closed with, “Next week is our final episode. I hope you will stay with us until the end. I hope we can show you a variety of sides of us. We’ll keep doing our best to show you different sides of ourselves. I hope you’ll continue supporting us.”
After the roundtable, TimelessNotes LIVE also facilitated an online fan Zoom Party event where the actors answered fan-submitted questions, played a game, and turned the tables on fans and asked them some questions.
Ko Taewoon and Kim Dohyun during the TWISTED TIE Fan Zoom Party, hosted by TimelessNotes LIVE. Screenshot: Korean Drama Insider.
Twisted Tie is a fun, short workplace fantasy romance and Korean BL drama that has kept me guessing until the end. It is rated TV-MA and you can find it on iQIYI, GagaOOlala, Wavve and TVING.
Twisted Tie: The Movie, directed by Lee Hae-rim, will also hold its world premiere and Q&A session on Saturday, November 7, 2026 at the Seoul International Pride Film Festival (SPIFF).
I look forward to seeing more of Dohyun and Taewoon in future acting projects.
Thank you to TimelessNotes LIVE and MATCHBOX LLC for hosting the roundtable.
Editorial note: Video subtitles were translated from the actors' original Korean dialogue by Korean Drama Insider. Article quotations are from the English-language transcript provided by TimelessNotes LIVE.