Seol In-ah Takes On K-Drama's Iconic Cross-Dressing Role in tvN's 'My Guilty Human'

Actress Seol In-ah is taking on one of K-drama's most iconic character types. She will play a cross-dressing heroine in the upcoming tvN series "My Guilty Human," a role type long associated with Go Eun-chan from the 2007 hit "Coffee Prince." The show's producers say her athletic ability and stunt performances without a double will set the character apart.

tvN held a press conference for its "Creator Talk 2026" lineup on the afternoon of Sept. 16 at the CJ ENM Center in Sangam-dong, Mapo district, Seoul. Park Sang-hyuk, head of CJ ENM's Platform Business Media BU, attended along with the creative teams behind the network's second-half slate, including "My Guilty Human" chief producer Kim Ho-jun.

"My Guilty Human" is based on the popular web novel and webtoon "How Do You Not Know I'm a Woman" (Yeojainigeol Wae Moreuji). It follows Yoon Yi-jun (Im Si-wan), an arrogant third-generation chaebol heir who becomes a murder suspect, and Kang Jae-hee (Seol In-ah), a former special forces detective who goes undercover as his personal secretary. The show is billed as a close-quarters thriller-romance.

Kim described the project as a mix of the familiar and the unexpected. "It combines a familiar flavor with an unfamiliar one, and it also has plenty of BL (Boys Love) elements, which makes it fun," he said. "In the end, it still delivers the catharsis of a classic rom-com."

Kim pointed to the thriller element as what keeps the story moving past the usual rom-com wall. "I've worked on a lot of rom-coms, but once the couple kisses and the love story is complete, the plot tends to lose steam. That's been tough as a producer," he said. "'My Guilty Human' brings thriller and romance together, so there's still plenty to say in the back half. As a hybrid genre, it has a wide range of material to work with. I thought it was a show with a lot of weapons."

Kang Jae-hee is both a special forces veteran and an undercover officer posing as Yoon Yi-jun's male secretary. Because the role blends action and romance, the physical demands were a key factor from the casting stage.

Seol In-ah's work on the reality-competition show "Iron Girls" (Musoesonyeodan) played a major role in her casting. "We needed someone with the physical strength to pull off the action, but who could also carry a romantic lead," Kim said. "It took Seol In-ah a very long time to lock in the character. What gave us confidence was what she showed physically on 'Iron Girls'."

The goal the team set for her was to create a new cross-dressing heroine in the tradition of Go Eun-chan, played by Yoon Eun-hye in "Coffee Prince" in 2007. "When you think of the definitive cross-dressing character, there's Go Eun-chan from 'Coffee Prince.' It's a 2007 show, and for 20 years she's been the reference point," Kim said. "I told Seol In-ah it was time to force a change."

The transformation started with her look. Kim recalled telling her at their first meeting to head straight to the salon afterward. "There was a process of getting the physique and the visual to line up, and it came out really well," he said. "A lot of people have told us the two leads look alike, so I think we succeeded."

Her athletic ability also shaped the action scenes. "I realized how easy it makes things when an actress moves well," Kim said. "She does the action without a double, and it looks really cool."