PUBLISHED ONApril 16, 2026 9:59 AMBYKristy ChuaAs the days become warmer, portable fans come out and air conditioners get switched on. Who can blame Byeon Woo-seok for wanting a cooling cushion at the ready?
The 34-year-old actor appeared on an episode of the South Korean talk show Salon Drip, uploaded to YouTube on April 14, with his co-stars IU, Noh Sang-hyun and Gong Seung-yeon from the new K-drama Perfect Crown.
Together with host Jang Do-yeon, they sat on the floor on cushions.
At the end of the interview, Woo-seok asked with wide eyes a question he had been holding in: "How is cool air coming out of this cushion?"
Confused, Do-yeon remarked that none of the staff members specially gave him "any air". Gawking at him in disbelief, his castmates felt around their own cushions.
Putting his hands up sheepishly, Woo-seok asked incredulously: "It doesn't have air? I thought you prepared it for me!"
"Woo-seok, there's no reason for air to come out," assured Do-yeon. However, the camera panned out to staff members holding in their laughter behind the scenes, pointing at an air vent embedded into the floor.
"Oh, I'm sitting right on top of it!" exclaimed Woo-seok, sending everyone present into a fit of laughter. "I was wondering about it the whole time, I thought they gave me a really nice cushion."
Do-yeon quipped: "Still, you hit the jackpot. Some people just have all the luck. Of all places, you sat right there."
In the highly anticipated Perfect Crown, Woo-seok stars as dreamy Grand Prince I-an, who enters a marriage of convenience with chaebol heiress Seong Hui-ju (IU). She has everything from looks to popularity but was born as the illegitimate child of Castle Group.
Sang-hyun plays Prince I-an's confidant Min Jeong-woo who comes from a prominent political family. His background provides him with the connections and influence to navigate the palace's inner circles alongside the Prince.
Meanwhile, Seung-yeon plays Queen Dowager Yoon Yi-rang, a member of a politically dominant lineage that has produced four queens, who is driven by the need to secure her young son's future.
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In the episode, the four castmates also gave more insight into their experience on the set of Perfect Crown, including their "super early call times".
"Our director is a total morning person, so after dinner, he starts getting sleepy," remarked IU, 32. "There were many days we started at 4am. Compared to other sets, our call times were unusually early and so was our wrap time - that was the vibe of our set."
As a result, the cast often had free time in their evenings, which prompted Do-yeon to ask the age-old dilemma: Did they prefer shooting early and finishing early, or taking it slow and waking up late and wrapping up later?
While Woo-seok said that he was normally a morning person, IU stepped in to argue: "From what I saw, his conditions in the morning and evening are totally different... In the evening, he gets a lot more handsome."
Acknowledging IU's answer, Woo-seok openly admitted that his face tends to get puffy in the morning and even joked that the "changes" in his face are obvious on screen.
The duo also recounted a kiss scene they filmed together on a roof and surrounded by lush trees.
"It looks beautiful on screen but it must've been really hard to shoot," remarked Do-yeon.
Instantly, both Woo-seok and IU agreed that it had been very hot while filming that scene, and they "couldn't look hot" as they had to look fresh and proper even while wearing thick clothes.
Going deeper, Woo-seok said: "It's a kiss scene, so we kissed... When we did it, our noses touched. And when our noses touched each other's cheek, both our noses were sweaty."
Pointing at her cheeks and gesturing kisses, IU added: "Since we were sweating, when we kissed like this, there were nose marks on our cheeks. They came over to touch up our makeup, saying, 'You have a nose mark here!'"
Thus, this particular kiss scene between Woo-seok and IU took "forever", going through countless retakes, leaving them flushed when asked about it.
The cast also shared that Perfect Crown was filmed around multiple festive seasons including Christmas, and the team celebrated the holiday together.
According to IU, Sang-hyun is known for being "pretty quiet" on set, but the 35-year-old was the one behind the festivities on set and went above and beyond in his dressing.
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"You know those Santa sacks? He brought a really huge one and packed it with fancy snacks he picked out and gave to the staff," said IU. "And the Santa hat that he wore wasn't just a regular one - it was a dancing hat!"
In an Instagram Story shared in the episode, it appears that IU gave out giant Pepero boxes - one which went to Sang-hyun, who bragged about it - and gifted Marshall speakers to all staff members.
As a "token of working on the project together", Woo-seok gave out custom-made sneakers with a "21" symbol emblazoned onto them. Sang-hyun remarked that he and his manager had worn them to the set of Salon Drip that episode, expressing his happiness with the gift.
Perfect Crown is now streaming on Disney+.
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