Moving past her pure and flawless image in melodramas, Song Hye Kyo stuns viewers with a bold transformation in “The Glory”.
“The Glory”, marking the return and a complete on-screen transformation of Song Hye Kyo, is the hottest K-drama released in early 2023.
“The Glory” has even surpassed Song Joong Ki’s “Reborn Rich” to become the No. 1 drama for 39 consecutive days, ranking 1st place on Top 10 Korean series (real-time).
In “The Glory”, Song Hye Kyo broke the image of an innocent and flawlessly beautiful female lead that has become familiar to viewers through her works over the years. In “The Glory”, Song Hye Kyo has a more rustic and fiercer image.
Moving past the image of a “safe” Song Hye Kyo in K-dramas
In her previous popular dramas such as “Descendants of the Sun”, “Encounter”, “Now, We’re Breaking Up”, Song Hye Kyo consistently appeared on the screen looking absolutely spotless and gorgeous. This safe image caused her to face mixed reactions from viewers who claim that she refused to change and do something new. Her acting also received divided opinions for lacking a “wow factor”.
Therefore, Song Hye Kyo’s choice of the role of Moon Dong Eun in “The Glory” surprised many. Moon Dong Eun’s soul was shattered by brutal school violence during her childhood. So growing up, she became a vengeful woman whose biggest dream is making the perpetrators miserable.
Moon Dong Eun was not only born and raised in poverty, she is also lonely in her own world. Throughout the drama, Moon Dong Eun only has the emotional state of suffering and hatred.
Song Hye Kyo has a bold undressing scene in “The Glory”
From a weak and helpless girl who had to accept her fate of being a victim of school violence, Moon Dong Eun vowed with her life to take revenge. Unlike her childhood image, when growing up, Moon Dong Eun is strong, determined and in control of life.
Moon Dong Eun’s usual expressions are resentment and despair. Song Hye Kyo has many segments of scratching, struggling, and resentful thinking about what she has experienced in the past.
Unlike her previous roles, in “The Glory”, Song Hye Kyo wore little makeup. She appears with lifeless skin, sunken and dark eyes, and pale dry lips.
Sharing her completely different image, Song Hye Kyo said, “I thought I shouldn’t look pretty in that scene. Firstly, after I got the role of Dong Eun, I didn’t think of looking pretty at all. She’s a character that didn’t have the time or energy to take care of her appearance like that. At some point, I thought she wasn’t caring about herself too much even as a person but I thought that’s how Dong Eun would be. So I really didn’t care about these things while filming”.
The role received many compliments in terms of acting
In the past, many times Song Hye Kyo was said to have overrated acting skills. However, thanks to The Glory, Song Hye Kyo received praise from the public. The audience judged that Song Hye Kyo did better than expected. Song Hye Kyo’s eyes also show her determination to carry out her revenge plan and sometimes her weakness and exhaustion.
Writer Kim Eun Sook praised Song Hye Kyo, “When I saw the cut for the first time, I was in awe, I was almost in a trance. I didn’t know that Hye Kyo could have those facial expressions, I didn’t know she could walk this way, talk in this way.”
Before The Glory, Song Hye Kyo collaborated with screenwriter Eun Sook in Descendants of the Sun. Although this is the second time Song Hye Kyo has appeared in a drama written by Eun Sook, Eun Sook said that she was worried at first because this was a completely different role from what Song Hye Kyo had performed since then.
The Glory is considered an important challenge in Song Hye Kyo’s career as she took off the image of a melodrama female lead to try out a new type of role. However, she won the game. For the first time, the actress received many compliments from the audience for her acting, and it was also the first time Song Hye Kyo stepped out of the safe zone. Up to this point, Song Hye Kyo can completely be proud of what she has done in ‘The Glory’.
Source: K14
