Kim Seon-ho dives into multilingual role

Jan 23, 2026, 07:57 am

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Actor Kim Seon-ho attends a press interview for the Netflix series Can This Love Be Translated? in Seoul. / Netflix

“I devoted nearly four months to the script to learn English, Japanese, Chinese and Italian,” actor Kim Seon-ho said of his latest role. “I even performed in Italian, and it was memorable when Italian fans said my pronunciation sounded good.”

Kim made the remarks on Jan. 22 during an interview at a café in Seoul, reflecting on his performance as interpreter Joo Ho-jin in the Netflix series Can This Love Be Translated?. The show climbed to No. 2 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 (non-English series) within three days of its Jan. 16 release, ranking in the Top 10 across 36 countries including South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Morocco, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

In the series, Joo Ho-jin is a gifted multilingual interpreter fluent in English, Japanese, Chinese and Italian. Kim said he first internalized the script line by line and then layered emotion onto each language. “I would perform a scene in Korean first, and then language coaches helped shape the tone and expression in foreign languages,” he said, adding that it was gratifying to hear viewers say he “sounded convincing.”

Voice work was another major focus. “Because I was playing an interpreter, conveying emotion through voice mattered a lot,” Kim said. He practiced vocalization regularly, paying close attention to tone, pronunciation and emotional balance—especially since the character often uses formal, literary speech. “I was particularly careful not to let my pronunciation collapse,” he added.

Kim also won praise for his chemistry with co-star Go Youn-jung, who plays Cha Mu-hee. Fans coined affectionate nicknames such as “Mu-and-Ho” and the “Papago couple.” Kim described Go as “a lovable actress” who naturally draws people in. “She has great instincts and learns quickly, which made acting together very comfortable,” he said, recalling how the set felt like a family by the final day of filming.

Following the series, Kim will return to the stage. Next month, he will appear in the two-hander play Secret Passage at NOL Theatre in Jongno, Seoul. The production follows two strangers who awaken in an unfamiliar space without memories, confronting life, death and recurring existence through intertwined recollections. “It’s a truly engaging work that makes you rethink life,” Kim said. “We’re spending nights figuring out how to stay alive on stage. I hope strong word of mouth leads to a revival.”

#Kim Seon-ho #Netflix series #Can This Love Be Translated?