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| yna@yna.co.kr 2023-02-27 10:00:20
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean actress Seo Ji-hye kicked off her wrap-up interview, which was held at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, last Thursday, by saying, “I felt like I was constantly feeling down while playing Jo Eun-gang, so I deliberately watched videos of cute puppies and tried to keep something in my daily lives bright and happy.”
TV Chosun’s Saturday-Sunday television series “Red Balloon,” which aired its finale Sunday, sees Seo as Jo, an ambitious character who endures everything, even humiliation, to fulfill her dream. She runs errands for her 20-years-long friend Han Ba-da and willingly does it for her family. However, she, who appears to be calm and naive, eventually bursts out and expresses her inferiority and heartbreaks to get what she wants despite taking twisted and dishonorable means.
She seduces Han’s husband Go Cha-won (Lee Sang-woo), whom she had feelings for, and even slyly leaks Han’s jewelry designs.
In regards to her character, the actress said, “I tried not to characterize her either as a good-willed or dreadful. I think everyone has that inferiority, envy, and every other crooked emotion laying deep inside one’s heart. I wanted to describe not just the confrontation between good and evil but also discreet emotions that every human being tries to conceal.”
The melodrama series features four adultery couples, which may in hindsight be framed as a soap opera. However, the television series rather received rave reviews and high ratings by having viewers sitting on the edge of their seats with the uniquely exaggerated reality written by screenwriter Moon Young-nam.
Seo said, “There are many who portray writer Moon as strict and charismatic, but when we share conversations, we can realize that she actually is a very considerate screenwriter who has affection for her actors.”
“I was fully aware of the sayings that Moon’s script is very difficult to play, and I realized why,” she added. “She wrote a script with details even for the smallest parts. It was actually very challenging to act out Eun-gang as she reveals her crookedness an inch by inch.”
The drama reaches its climax in a scene where Han Ba-da (Hong Soo-hyun) finds out about their affair and hurls vicious remarks against the two.
The scene was filled with a 12-minute-long monologue of Han, which was about 6 A4 pages long. Hong, who finished the scene in one take without a mistake, said, “The staff cheered me up with a loud applause.”
Hong said, “I have never had such long lines in my acting career for more than 20 years,” adding, “As doing this, I have more confidence that I can play any role or scene.”
“The difficult part was actually not memorizing the lines but controlling my emotions. I had myself repeatedly practice controlling the emotions as I say those lines so that they can reach their climax at the end of the scene.”
The television series sees Hong as Han, a renowned jewelry designer. As she grew up to be a loved daughter from an affluent family, she does do her friend a favor but her insensitive words eventually come to stimulate the inferiority of her “best” friend Jo Eun-gang, who is a daughter of a poor family.
Hong said, “There certainly were things that Han did wrong, but her intentions were naive,” explaining, “She sincerely cared for her friend Jo.”
The actress added, “I personally could not easily relate to the character Jo at all as I always think that if I have a rather discouraging background, I must live through and overcome it.”
Hong, who made her screen debut in SBS’ television series “Ghost” in 1999, made herself known by appearing in multiple hit period television series, including “Dae Jo Yeong” (2006), The Princess’ Man” (2011), and “Jang Ok-jung, Living by Love” (2013).
In regard to her latest work, the 42-year-old actress said, “‘Red Balloon’ is for sure one of the most challenging works I have ever played in, so I have this sense of accomplishment for finishing such a challenging work.”
“Mrs. Moon’s script had all the answers and explanations for my role. Every period and exclamation mark had a meaning. In hindsight, I think her script made it easier for me to grap the character’s fluctuating emotions.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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