Sandy Yeo, drama director of City Harvest Church, had an opportunity to spend a few days as an extra on the K-drama Little Women, thanks to Drama Ministry member Lee Yonghe who was casting for extras for the episode shot in Singapore. She shares what she gleaned from working on set while Yonghe shares his first experience casting for a Korean production.
Sandy (4th from the left, second row from the back) and Yonghe (foreground, in green) with Drama Ministry members and the Korean extras director (foreground, in grey) on the set of K-drama Little Women
In episode 8 of the Korean drama series Little Women (full series now streaming on Netflix), sharp-eyed CHC members might catch a few glimpses of Sandy Yeo, the church’s drama director. She, together with some drama ministry members, were on set as extras in scenes that took place in Singapore.
“It was a good experience because I got to observe firsthand how the Koreans work,” says Sandy. “Definitely one of the highlights of my year.”
Sandy was one of more than 100 extras cast to populate scenes in the episode, which also saw veteran Singapore actor Adrian Pang in a speaking role as the manager of the Fullerton Hotel who takes lead actress Kim Go-Eun (Goblin) on a tour around the hotel. The collaboration between Korean production company Studio Dragon, together with production service company Nine Tailed Fox and Singapore’s Ochre Pictures took place over two weeks of filming this past July. Apart from Kim, Korean actor Wi Ha-Joon of Squid Game fame was also in Singapore for the shoot.
Sandy’s involvement began when Lee Yonghe, a member of the Drama Ministry, contacted her. Yonghe started out as an actor but stopped acting after National Service. “But MediaCorp would call me and ask me to help to look for people to be in their shows,” he describes. What began as a casual side job became a full-time business: since 2018, Yonghe’s talent agency Artiste has been in the business of casting for productions, such as Jack Neo’s movies. Artiste was roped in to assist Ochre in casting over 100 extras for Little Women.
The cast and crew together, with Korean stars Kim Go-Eun and Wi Ha-Joon in the front row
“Two weeks before the shoot, we met up with the Korean side to see what sort of extras, what sorts of roles they were looking to cast for,” explains Yonghe. “I texted Sandy because I knew she would be interested in seeing how the Koreans work.”
Sandy was indeed interested. “It was good because it was a great chance for me to learn. Also, by being an extra there was no pressure of having to direct or produce the show, which is our usual roles on set, or even to remember lines!” she shares. What was the draw for her was being in the thick of the action behind the scenes.
DOING THINGS THE KOREAN WAY
One of the most obvious traits of the Korean production crew—which numbered about 80— was their intense attention to minutiae. “The prep was very detailed,” says Sandy. “We had to send our head shots and clothes before the shoot so that they could make sure the look fit the event. Imagine, we’re just extras! There was even casting for the vehicles like the London cab that In-Ju steps out of at the Fullerton—they chose from a few options.”
What was different about this production, says Yonghe, was that the Koreans expected him to be on set with the extras during the shoot. “Normally we would simply cast, and the extras would show up—we are not involved. But for this shoot, we worked with a member of the Korean crew who is a dedicated extras director.” To aid him in his expanded role, Yonghe took on a temporary personal assistant—Kezia Yee, CHC’s creative design associate who had experience handling production work.
The auction scene that featured many of the Drama Ministry extras
Sandy noted that the extras director was like a second director for the background of the show. “Before the main actors start their scene, this extras director would pick a few of us to move first. He couldn’t really speak English, but he would tap me on the shoulder and said ‘You, go’, I just walked in the direction as instructed. He was there to see what was needed in the background so that he could fill it in accordingly.”
At the end of the first day of shoot, the extras director took note of the extras whom he felt were good, and he then used them for more scenes. Sandy was picked for a close-up scene as a bank teller. “It was a super-fast, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene,” she laughs.
“The crew, the cameramen, they all moved fast,” she notes. “If they wanted a close-up shot, the makeup and hair assistants would have zoomed in and prepped the actor without being called upon. They knew what was expected of them and they did their job well. I feel it’s something we can learn: everyone being on hand and ready for the shot.”
“So, it was very straightforward for us extras—we just had to do what we were told, and everything else was done for us,” she adds.
Sandy’s close-up in the bank teller scene
It wasn’t just the people that were closely directed and prepped, even the tiniest elements of artwork and props in the background were art-directed. Sandy witnessed this in the big auction scene where she and many of the extras were involved. “Everything on the table was curated,” she says. “They were incredibly detailed. They took pride in what they did, they covered all areas and they put a lot of thought into it.”
RULES OF BEHAVIOUR
Of course, the obvious question is, did Sandy and the drama ministry members involved get to see or speak to the stars? Sandy shares that strictly no photographs were allowed on set.
“But Kim Go-Eun did say hi to the extras when she passed us. She was very polite, she said ‘ni hao’,” laughs Sandy. “What did she look like? Her face is very small, and she has very delicate features and very good skin!”
What about Wi Ha-Joon, who has his fair share of fans around the world? Sandy admits, “I expected him to be taller in real life.”
The auction scene in Episode 8
Although the stars were off limits, Yonghe says that the fun part of being involved in the production was making friends with the Korean production crew, as both sides got to work closely together.
“Their efficiency and passion are two things that I picked up through this experience,” Sandy says. “I got to see for myself what it takes to produce that level of work, that kind of quality that we get to see on screen in a Korean drama.”
The drama director shares that when she watches Korean dramas, unlike normal viewers who fall in love with the beautiful scenery or the good-looking cast, she observes the elements that draw people in, analyses the chords of the OSTs and how emotions are evoked through the visual telling of the story.
She says, “These, and the things I learned on the set of Little Women, are things that I can adapt when we create our dramas for church.”
Sandy (right) with fellow extras Megan Khaw (in red) and Jaslynn Khoo (centre)
