K-drama queen Kim So-yeon: “I will play a villain again if I can become an actress like Lee Hye-young”
Kim So-yeon talked about the power of K-drama in an interview marking the 17th anniversary of the founding of Sports Trends.
It’s been 28 years since Kim So-yeon debuted. Many things have changed in the drama scene which she has been working in since the mid-1990s. She has seen many changes in the industry, not just the age and career of the staff, but also the filming system, the actor management system, the meeting with fans, and the global response. Above all, through various narratives, characters, and computer graphics (CG) works, the size of dramas that are considered masterpieces is also different.
During such a time, Kim So-yeon was one of the actors who clearly felt the power of K-content at the forefront, which arose from the beginning of the Korean Wave in the mid-1990s, to its first heyday in the 2000s, and the fast development in the late 2010s era. Kim So-yeon, who has played a lot of roles over 28 years, clearly feels the archetypal nature of Korean dramas.
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“Our country’s dramas focus on stories. We focus on the narrative, but I think the emotional aspect is also important. In particular, we have the sentiment of ‘Han’, which seems to be a unique aspect of Korean dramas that other dramas can’t follow.”
In the OTT market, which has been developing since the beginning of the pandemic, Kim So-yeon sees the rise of Korean dramas as a positive sign, which led to the rise in her desire to throw herself into a new role on the screen. In particular, her marriage to her husband Lee Sang-woo, who has helped her with both physical and mental aspects since 2017 and introduced her to many new aspects as an actress by watching many works together, has been a great help to Kim So-yeon.
“I enjoyed ‘Game of Thrones’ recently, and I first found out through Sang-woo that I have a preference in the fantasy genre. I’ve been acting all this time, but I was so happy to realize that I had a lot of more acting to re-challenge. I really enjoyed watching works on OTT platforms such as “Squid Game,” “All Of Us Are Dead” and “Hellbound.” It has become my new dream to play an original character in an OTT work.”
In the past, there were times when I mainly paid attention to how many times my name appeared in the opening title and what kind of role I played. But now, when I choose a new script, I only focus on my character. In fact, even in the case of SBS’s “Penthouse,” there were times when it was unclear whether my character Chun Seo-jin would be in the center of the play as she does now. With Kim So-yeon’s enthusiastic performance, Cheon Seo-jin’s narrative grew in “Penthouse” seasons 2 and 3, and eventually grew into an essential element of the drama.
“The same goes for the villain roles. When I played the role of Cheon Seo-jin, many people had said, “Where can I find a villain who is worse than that?” But I think even the different villains has different meanings. Recently, I saw Lee Hye-young on “Kill Hill”. If I can act like her when I’m older, I want to play that kind of role as well. I think the way you see acting will change when you get older.”
She started acting at a young age and gained great popularity as a teenager, but she was misunderstood due to her villain image in her 20s and suffered from the identity of her acting skills. However, Kim So-yeon learned how to let go of herself in her 30s, and is finally feeling the true taste of acting in her 40s.
“I want to remain an actress who never stops trying. I will always try not to disappoint people who are constantly watching me no matter if I’m doing well or not. My priorities as an actress may change someday, but I want to be an actress who does my part until the end.”
Source: Daum
