"The Scarecrow" Writer and Director Say Park Hae-soo and Kwak Sun-young, "Might Have Gotten Married"

The production team behind "The Scarecrow" has opened up about the possibility of a romance between Park Hae-soo and Kwak Sun-young's characters.

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On the 27th, director Park Joon-woo and writer Lee Ji-hyeon-II interviewed at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, following the conclusion of the ENA Monday-Tuesday drama "The Scarecrow".

The series, which aired its final 12th episode on the 26th, is a crime-investigation thriller about a detective pursuing the culprit behind a serial murder case who unexpectedly allies with someone he once despised in order to uncover the truth. Inspired by the real-life Hwaseong serial murders, the drama earned praise for its tightly woven narrative, suspenseful development, and strong performances from the cast.

Park Hae-soo played Kang Tae-joo, a detective tracking the brutal serial killings, while Kwak Sun-young portrayed Seo Ji-won, a journalist investigating the truth and Tae-joo's longtime friend. The two reunite 30 years later to expose additional crimes committed Lee Gi-hwan (played by Jung Moon-sung), and viewers found themselves rooting for a romance between the still-single pair.|

Writer Lee Ji-hyeon-II explained, "They were never characters created with romance in mind from the beginning. Ji-won was born as someone who would stay by Tae-joo's side like a guardian, telling him whether he was walking the right path".

She continued, "In the original script, Ji-won was married in the timeline set 30 years later. I wrote her that way because I wanted her to live happily, married, with children, living an ordinary life. But everyone, from the director to the actors, kept coming to me asking if Ji-won really had to be married", she said with a laugh. "I started wondering if I'd written it wrong. Everyone said older Tae-joo would feel too lonely otherwise, so I rewrote her as unmarried".

Regarding the potential romance between the two characters, the writer added, "I think the possibility is open. If the Gangseong serial murders had never happened, Tae-joo and Ji-won probably would've spent all their time working and then, around their forties, realized they only had each other and gotten married".

Director Park Joon-woo also discussed the casting process.

"From the beginning, we focused on casting actors who could convincingly portray characters across 30 years. Park Hae-soo was always our first choice for Tae-soo", he said. "We brainstormed a lot over the other roles, but Jung Moon-sung (Lee Gi-hwan) was cast early on. We hadn't worked together before, but after reading the script, he said he really wanted to do it. After that, we cast Lee Hee-jun".

He added, "The actors were naturally drawn to characters that move back and forth across 30 years. Some of the younger actors were actually disappointed they didn't get the chance to play the older versions of their characters too".

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"The Scarecrow" is directed by Park Joon-woo, written by Lee Ji-hyeon-II, and features Park Hae-soo, Lee Hee-jun, Kwak Sun-young, Song Geon-hee, Seo Ji-hye-I, Jung Moon-sung. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2026/04/20~2026/05/26, Mon, Tue 22:00 on ENA, Genie TV, TVING.