Park Seong-woong, Woo Ji-won, and others are appearing in the MBC drama "The Critic of Director Maeng," which is set to air its first episode on May 23 (Friday) at 10 p.m. In the meantime, author Kim Dam has revealed details through an exclusive written interview.

The MBC two-part Friday-Saturday drama "The Critic of Director Maeng" (planned by Kang Dae-sun, directed by Hyeon Sol-ip, written by Kim Dam, produced by I Will Media) portrays a two-man game comedy about the professional basketball coach Maeng Gong, who is on the brink of expulsion due to poor performance, teaming up with his critic, Hwa Jin, for the sake of the team's performance. The high-quality story, which won the grand prize at last year's MBC drama script competition, is expected to create a powerful synergy with Hyeon Sol-ip's stylish direction and the vivid performances of the actors.

In this context, Kim Dam, who wrote the script for "The Critic of Director Maeng," has attracted attention by sharing the background of the work, character setting insights, and selected viewing points through a written interview. First, Kim Dam stated that the reason for writing the work was due to a love for professional basketball, saying, "I chose it as a subject because I like professional basketball." He added, "Based on the various emotions and experiences I felt as a fan supporting my team, I was able to naturally conceive the story and characters," which raises curiosity about how the world of professional basketball will unfold in the drama.

Regarding the character setting process of the two protagonists, Maeng Gong (played by Park Seong-woong) and Hwa Jin (played by Park Soo-o), Kim Dam revealed, "I thought it would be an interesting situation if two people who seemed completely unable to be on the same team became a team." He explained, "I imagined what it would be like if one was within the league and the other was outside of it." He continued, saying, "I first thought of the obstinate coach Maeng Gong, who is stuck in the current situation and unable to find a breakthrough, and for the other protagonist who would be on his team, I wanted someone who would open a different perspective to Maeng Gong and at the same time had many opposite traits, so I set him up as a high school critic." He shared that he then focused on how to make the two people into one team, generating excitement for the fresh chemistry and tick-tack they will deliver.

"The Critic of Director Maeng" is garnering attention as a work that will follow in the lineage of well-made MBC one-act plays. In this regard, Kim Dam piqued curiosity by mentioning the structural similarities between one-act plays and basketball. Kim Dam emphasized, "Just as basketball determines a win or loss within a little over two hours, one-act plays must also wrap up all stories within two episodes," adding, "Thanks to the nature of basketball, which has no draws, I was able to tie up every episode definitively."

Finally, he expressed, "I hope you will watch the first part of the drama, which depicts Maeng Gong in crisis during the first quarter and the psychological battle between Maeng Gong and Hwa Jin in the second quarter, and the second part features the two-man game in full swing during the third quarter and their growth in the fourth quarter, as if you're experiencing a basketball game." This analogy heightened interest in the viewing points.

Meanwhile, the MBC two-part Friday-Saturday drama "The Critic of Director Maeng" is scheduled to meet viewers on May 23 and 24.

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