One scene may run for a few minutes in a show, but filming it can take over a month.

At the press conference for their new K-drama When the Stars Gossip on Jan 9, South Korean actors Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin talked about the work that went on behind the scenes.

Min-ho, 37, plays Gong Ryong, an OB-GYN-turned-space-tourist with a secret mission.

He meets astronaut Commander Eve Kim (Hyo-jin) on the space station and falls in love.

Hyo-jin recalled how they took a month just to film one particular scene: "Because this is the very first sequence, I think we all came into it not knowing what to expect… The scene where Gong Ryong throws up in the space shuttle and when we had to open the hatch, all of that took us a full month and a half or so to film."

"We had to sit in a very tough and rigid shell that looks like an egg chair. We found out that when spaceships take off, there are usually even more things inside and astronauts don't have any room to move about. So what you see on screen in our drama is actually a lot roomier than in reality."

The 44-year-old added that it took an hour just to get into their seats.

"There were so many gadgets, belts and buckles that we had to put on and because we have our helmets on with the visor closed, we were always gasping for air. When we spoke, it got foggy… There was a lot that went into the scene," she said.

"We knew that the sequence on screen would be much shorter than the time we put into it, but watching it really felt different… That was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the challenging aspects."

When asked about how they built their chemistry, Min-ho said: "When we're not on set, we talk about what we do in life. We try our best to know more about each other's true self. We talk about what thoughts and ideas we have."

Hyo-jin added: "It was a set where we had to become close because we had to work off each other's energy, especially because we had so many scenes where we had to use our body and move around… For about a year, we were seeing each other every day, so I would miss everyone if I was not on set."

'A love-hate relationship'

Although the show is labelled a rom-com, Hyo-jin said the romance between Eve and Gong Ryong takes time to build up.

"If the relationship happens too fast, it's not fun. They need to have a love-hate relationship and kick off on a rough start. The longer the process, the more fun it will be for people to watch," she said.

Min-ho felt their onscreen romance is something audiences have never seen before.

"The show is set from Earth to the stars… You will find it having twists and turns that you didn't even expect. So please look forward to that."

He added that the series is also a "coming-of-age" story for Gong Ryong.

"In the vast universe of nothingness and uncharted territory, he looks into people, he looks into life, and he finds life and love there. He goes through a lot of evolution and experiences personal growth," Min-ho elaborated.

When the Stars Gossip, which also stars Oh Jung-se and Han Ji-eun, is streaming on Netflix with new episodes releasing every Saturday and Sunday.

syarifahsn@asiaone.com

No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.

For more original AsiaOne articles, visit here.