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mystarmyangel · 2 years

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[TRANS] 221114 [Jung Siwoo’s A Room] An extraordinary star that you can’t refute! YoonA sharing the story of human Lim YoonA in ‘SM Practice Room’

Editor’s note: ‘A Room’ means ‘Actor’s room’. I listen to the actor’s thoughts in the actor’s space.

YoonA is an undisputed star who has never been far off from public’s eye. The eternal center of girl group SNSD, who marked a milestone in K-pop and is still going on. In SNSD, YoonA is loved as the pretty niece of uncles, wonderful younger sister of older sisters, as a romantic figure and friend of her peers. While singer YoonA was in full bloom, actress Lim YoonA has also been running non-stop, silently, and steadily. And in recent years, Lim YoonA has also taken a huge leap forward in her acting career and her sincerity is blossoming.

The discovery of actress Lim YoonA was wider and deeper, this is in sync with her screen debut ‘Confidential Assignment’. Followed by ‘EXIT’ and ‘Miracle’ where YoonA’s various grains of the spectrum which were once unnoticed has also been revealed. In ‘EXIT’, Lim YoonA gained the support of young people by playing the role of Euijoo, a newcomer in society, a girl who was like an icon to the teens, the view of growing up to become an adult and inspiring sympathy to youth of the same age has come out significantly.

It still remains impressive when the producer of ‘EXIT’ Kang Hye Jung who won the ‘Women in Film of the Year’ in 2019 ‘Women in Film Korea Festival’ pointed to Lim YoonA who won the ‘Best new Actress’ at the same venue saying, “Let’s give another warm round of applause to actress Lim YoonA for redefining the image of the most beloved and healthiest Korean woman.” A healthy Korean woman image. I think this is the driving force behind the ‘YoonA era’ that is blowing up in Chungmuro as well as the drama industry. At the same time, I became curious about YoonA. What are the characteristics of a person who reaches the top in one field and expands it to another field? She accepted this proposal and revealed her true feelings.

11.00am Seongsu SM New HQ Practice Room. I was looking around the practice room and YoonA dressed in a modest outfit, popped her head in and entered the practice room shyly. Even while in the rush of filming for her next project, YoonA looks very happy. Indeed, she was spending a year that would make a whole chapter of a book if a book about YoonA was to be published in the future. SNSD’s activities where they make a comeback together as a full group after 5 years, successfully putting an exclamation mark, the drama ‘Big Mouth’ was greatly loved on the TV screen, and the movie ‘Confidential Assignment 2’ which has returned as a sequel was also well received by the public. This is her second heyday. In addition, her eyes twinkled at the story of her next work, another fairy tale that she would create was drawn in front of her.

Q: The first practice room was located at Apgujeong? Yes, (as far as I remember) the first practice room was at 521 Apgujeong-dong. If you go all the way up the Galleria Department Store, you will see a yellow building (Laughs). I spent my time as a trainee there. I used it for a long time even after debut, so I have a lot of memories at Apgujeong practice room. This is the third practice room.

Q: Among the memories in Apgujeong practice room, there must be a lot of tears shed right I didn’t cry in the practice room, but I cried on my way home (Laughs). It wasn’t like ‘I don’t want to let others see me crying’, I guess I was upset when the practice didn’t go well. The emotions only came later, and I cried on my way home. Hahaha.

Q: The practice room at that time and the practice room at the moment must be different in many ways right? First of all, it has gotten a lot more luxurious (Laughs). It has become a very reliable space for me mentally. Oh, this is the practice that we used the most while preparing for SNSD’s 15th anniversary album.

Q: Oh, so this is a meaningful space. I thought that this space is only meant for dance practice since it is a practice room, but you also read your scripts here. Yes, I read the scripts here too. Not long ago, while filming for movie ‘2 O’Clock Date’, the director said that it would be nice to practice in a larger space, so we used this practice room. We got together on a small scale, did some reading and practices.

Q: ‘2 O’Clock Date’ is a work that you reunited with ‘EXIT’ director Lee Sang Geun right? As it is with a director that you create good results together, you must feel reassured but at the same time pressured to perform well right. ‘EXIT’ is my first starring film, it is also director’s first full-length production work. So, he told me that ‘We had a successful debut together (Laughs). I am really grateful that such a director approached me again. And since it is a work where the team from the production company of ‘EXIT’ gathered again, I feel more reassured than burdened.

Q: After receiving A’s room interview offer, you pondered for a long time about ‘your own space’. When you have made up your mind to do something, I think you are the type to think hard until the end so as not to leave any regrets. Why did you put the practice room as one of the considerations and think hard until the end? I’m a homebody, so I couldn’t think of anything when I heard ‘my own space’. And… if ‘my own space = practice room’, I thought I would feel like a model student (Everyone laughs).

Q: Hahaha. As soon as I heard it, I thought it was a symbolic place of where you are standing at right now. Isn’t it a space that consists of the past, present and future? Yes, we spent a lot of moments together. Even right now too.

Q: So today, I would like to talk about various matters regarding ‘YoonA era’. First of all, the sequel to ‘CA1’ which make you realised the new fun of acting, was greatly loved. ‘Big Mouth’ got a good response, ranking first in the same time slot. How is it. Are you used to this kind of love? No, I was bewildered. It was also called the ‘Second Heyday’, how should I put it? It seems like I am getting attention again after 15 years since debut from the ‘appearance of SM girl group SNSD!’ It is a pity that I could not enjoy this joy leisurely due to my busy schedule, but I thought that it was a good thing that I kept acting.

Q: Even during the Chuseok holidays, you greeted the stage of ‘CA2’ without a break. I thought of this while watching it. When does YoonA rest? Oh, I took a year break after ‘EXIT’. The things that I heard very often then was, ‘How can you take a break at such an important time….’

Q: So, it is like, why aren’t you rowing when the water is in? (Everyone laughs) (T/l note: It means why aren’t you taking advantage of ‘EXIT’ success to go further) Hahaha, that is right. But you also need to refuel to go further, right? I was saturated at that time. I decided because I felt like I was getting signals one by one physically and mentally but stopping the tempo like that really helped me a lot.

Q: What did you do to relax? Things that I have not been able to do because I’m working. I lie around and take a rest, went on a train trip to Busan with my friends, I make a schedule and go abroad myself and learn cooking… I spent time focusing on myself.

Q: How was travelling overseas alone? Are you good with direction? The map and airport bus were really good. When I was confused, I received great help from blogs posted by travellers. I had a lot of thoughts too, be it on travelling alone or the small details in my daily life and I thought, ‘What is this? It feels like I’m finally doing it?’ Since it is common for me to move according to schedules, at some point I thought that there are many things that I couldn’t do as human Lim YoonA. I came to a realization that at this rate, I am going to become someone that does not know a lot of things. That is also why I do things that are not related to my work.

Q: In a sense, it is the time of independence for human Lim YoonA. That’s right. But strangely, all of them were connected. As a result, that time was accumulated with different experiences, giving me a broader view of the field when working. There is also a change in my daily life. In the past, I used to go to places where people couldn’t see me. I don’t do that anymore. Even if anyone recognised me, I would say, ‘Yes, that’s right~’ (Laughs)

Q: How was it? It wasn’t a big deal as you thought right? (Strongly) Yes! It is really not that big of a deal. Another great realization. The world doesn’t care about me as much as I thought! Hahaha

Q: This is a really tempting statement! The beginning of this realization was when I was getting a Chinese language certificate. I registered for a certificate test because I wanted to test my Chinese language skills. When I entered the test room, ‘Lim.Yoon.Ah’ was written on the chart paper. When I saw that, I was stuck in the corner thinking, ‘What if people recognise me?’ It was just my own thought. No one was~! So, it is only me myself that was so conscious of Lim YoonA. That was when I realized it. People don’t care about others as much as they think.

Q: Human beings will be less unhappy if they also get this realization. However, it is not easy for a star who is always surrounded with people’s eyes to realise that. You seem to be able to grasp the balance well. I have changed my perspectives a lot now. I was really mindful of other people’s gazes when I first debut. To the extent that I find it hard to even answer questions like ‘What do you like’. I think it takes time to reflect on myself and get to know myself better.

Q: Maybe you couldn’t because you have a lot of things to be careful about. That’s right. There was such situation too. I could have spit it all out, but I swallow it down in case of creating misunderstanding. In order to change that, I wanted to be able to express myself better. I worked hard to convey my intentions accurately without being misinterpreted. Now that I am in my 30s, I am spending my time applying it.

Since YoonA’s debut, she has been exposed too much regardless if she wants it or not, and her privacy has not been sufficiently guaranteed. But she is not the kind of person who hides to the extent that people can’t even see her hair. It seems like she has developed her immunity by going through trial and error.

Suddenly, I remember what Kim Yong Hwa, the director of ‘Along with the Gods’ said. ‘Sometimes I think it is important for the world to see me, but at other times, the world I see is also important as well. But when will I be able to experience the latter upon becoming an adult?’ When I told her about it, YoonA smiled broadly and let out a sigh of relief saying, ‘Wow! Am I doing that right now? I thought it was really hard to become an adult, but that is a relief.’

Q: By the way, you are learning a lot of things, including language and cooking. Because my schedule is always full, so I will always force myself to do ‘things that I can’t do normally’ whenever I have the time. I have a slight regret that I couldn’t have the time to invest in myself. With that in mind, the first thing I did was getting a driver’s license. The amount of time I spent, the results came out the same amount in front of me too, so I thought to myself, ‘Oh? You used your time well.’ Because of that, I spent my time focusing on the results that remain. So is cooking. There are also reactions. I want to get hooked on exercise too, but that has been sluggish. I guess it must be because the results are not visible instantly right in front of me like cooking (Laughs).

Q: Let’s do an action movie. I feel like you will work hard on it. (Eyes twinkling) Action movie, I definitely do want to try it.

Q: In the past, on ‘Actor&Chatter’ interview, you said, “After ‘CA1’, there have been many cases where I get to choose works based on my opinion. My acting values have also changed”. Please elaborate more on it. When picking a project, especially when it is the first movie I am working in, it doesn’t matter even if the screentime is little. For the first movie, I wanted to play a role where I could act along with great seniors even if it is just for a little bit. It is also an opportunity to feel and learn from the seniors in a close distance isn’t it? During this process, the work I met was ‘CA 1’. A lot of people said this choice was amazing.

Q: When I was watching ‘CA 1’, what surprised me wasn’t that you weren’t afraid of ruining your image. Comical acting requires a lot more skills than you can imagine. It was impressive to see a first-time actor on the big screen skilfully timing and cleverly controlling the degree of the extent (of comical acting). I can say that you are an actor that did even better than I thought. Be it with my friends or SNSD members, I am the playful type that like to crack jokes. I also like to create fun atmosphere. I think the timing when these chords were blended without me realising was “CA1’. But it was only possible because the director made it well. I felt like I have benefited a lot from the reactions from the seniors.

Q: Minyoung (played by Lim YoonA) who mistook her brother-in-law Jin Tae who was lying on the bed (played by Yoo Haejin) as the man Cheol Ryung (played by Hyun Bin) who she has a one-sided crush on, the scene where she ran away after confession is still funny even when I rewatch it. Hahaha, that scene became richer and interesting thanks to Yoo Haejin sunbae who took the lines in a fun manner. It was fun to create it while acting together on set, but my lines alone would not have made it to such a fun scene. ‘CA1’ is a work that made many people see me with a different image. My image expanded once again after appearing in ‘EXIT’.

Q: ‘Big Mouth’ Go Miho, ‘Hush’ Jisoo and ‘Miracle’ Rahee. All of the characters you have played in recent years are active cool female roles. If we look at the past works, you played quite a number of pure and innocent characters, but at some point, you have been playing independent roles. Is this a natural flow? Or is this something that you consider at your own will. After doing ‘CA1’ and ‘EXIT’, there are definitely a lot of characters like that. But do you know what’s odd? From my point of view, I tried to show something new in the dramas more often. As I was doing dramas in parallel with my singing activities, I chose more of characters that are not like my usual self. On the other hand, I showed more of my usual self in movies. Family and friends have proven that. After watching ‘CA1’, my close friends said things like, “You are just like this, you aren’t even acting?” (Laughs). For people who don’t know me well, they said things like, “How do you even thought of doing this!” When I heard such reaction, I thought to myself, ‘Just how did you view me for you to be so surprised?’.

Q: Were you upset? No, looking back, it was inevitable. I had that question for a period of time. I realized belatedly that ‘Why should people know how I am like before?’ This is only natural. I have changed little by little over time. but I haven’t shown this process well externally. As a result, the gap between ‘me who I see’ and ‘me who people see’ has widened. The YoonA people have in my mind is the last YoonA that I displayed. After realizing it, it changed. I started to show a different texture.

Q: To be honest, I was surprised that you auditioned more than 200 times before your debut as SNSD. I don’t know how it sounds, but I had the impression that you are a star who never missed out on what you wanted. How do you feel about the time you went for auditions? The first work I participated in after passing the audition is drama ‘9 Ends 2 Outs’. I debuted as a SNSD member while filming it, so I actually debuted as an actress first. However, since I have more experience as a singer compared to my acting career, I felt embarrassed to hear that I am an actress even if the number of years is the same. I can’t say that I have little projects, but I felt that way because I had more experience as a singer.

Q: You achieved very good results as a singer. That’s right. I have reached a standard while promoting as a singer, so in comparison, I thought ‘Aren’t it too insufficient for me to be called as an actor yet?’. These days, I have been working hard, and I think I want to build a lot of portfolios as an actor.

Q: It is no longer awkward for you to hear that you are an actress, right? (Shyly) I got used to it a bit more than before.

Q: Currently, many of the actors who plays the roles in Korea dramas and movies are ‘models’. “You have good physical appearance, but what do you know about acting?” They overcame the same prejudice and left their presence in the acting industry. I personally think next will be actors that originally debut as idols. The idol industry started around 25 years back, so the prejudice towards them still existed (just like how it was for models in the beginning). Idol images that are deeply imprinted in the public’s mind, hence just like cellophane filters, they are unable to see the characters they play transparently. However, as cases that break this prejudice are coming out, the public’s perspective is also changing. YoonA is at the forefront of breaking down these obstacles one by one and presenting a new model. YoonA chose her words carefully for this part.

At some point, with the creation of the word ‘acting-dol’, the way people view is also changing. It is true that there was a time when I thought, ‘Would the evaluation been different if I hadn’t been a singer?’. Conversely, I also agree with the perspective how recognition that accumulated from being a singer can lead to (acting) opportunities. But I don’t think people can talk anymore if the former or latter do well. If there is still constant talk about it, it is just proof that I am not good enough.

Q: You are currently filming the drama ‘King The Land’ with actor Lee Junho right. The meeting of the 2 young stars, who are building an impressive career as actors and are now moving forward without the need of the modifier of being a singer, is gathering great interest not only from fans but also from the industry. You also worked with actor Junho as the MC for 2021 MBC Gayo Daejejeon, and I am curious all of a sudden. From a standpoint of walking down a similar path, what kind of topics would you all talk about? We said the same things back during Gayo Daejejeon. We debut at about the same period as singers, met each other while promoting with our respective groups, after entering the path of acting and standing alone, it really brought back a lot of memories and emotions meeting again at a new standpoint. We started reminiscing about how 2PM and SNSD performed together at the same venue 12 years ago. But since we are walking on a similar path, I think we are able to relate to each other, and also able to sincerely support each other’s path.

Q: Its heart-warming just by listening to it. Yes, we will cheer for each other more. At venue like Blue Dragon Film Awards, I met (Bang) Minah and other idol friends and I was just happy to see them for no reason. Just making eye contact and saying to each other, “(Silently cheering) yes~!”

Q: A lot of people were envious when they heard that I am doing an interview with you, people of your age especially liked it with sparklingly eyes. As someone from the SES-Fin.K.L generation, I felt that the feeling that women in their 20s and 30s have for you is the same feeling when I looked at Lee Hyori. Beyond simply getting older together, I also got the impression that they are receiving some kind of ‘comfort’ or ‘inspiration’ just from watching you grow up. Wow, first of all, it feels amazing that someone is able to gain strength because of me. And maybe because everyone has grown up and started living in society so at some point, I think there is a feeling that people are looking at me with the eyes that ‘being a celebrity is also a profession and job right?’. It is just like my friends, who have been with me since elementary school. When we were young, they used to say, “It must be nice to be able to wear pretty clothes.” But now, they tell me things like “take care of your health”, “how tiring it must be?” instead.

Q: I recognised YoonA as a professional. What kind of efforts have you put in? Strictly speaking, I started living in the society earlier than my peers, right? When my friends started working, they told me “How did you do all this from a long time ago?”. As I entered the adult world a little early, I am able to sympathize with them. On the contrary, as ‘Human Lim YoonA’, I always felt like I am running a little late. Mt friends have learnt things that I didn’t know how to do for a long time and have solved them on their own. So, my experience was the complete opposite of my friends. I felt like I only experienced those things in the middle of my 30s, so one of my friends say to me, that I am like ‘Benjamin’.

Q: Benjamin? The Benjamin from ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’? Yes, ‘YoonA’s time goes in the reverse way’ (Laughs)

Q: Have you ever been scared that your small words or gestures will have a huge impact on someone’s life? That is still the case. I will still be scared. Even in the case of interviews, there are many times when the text came out different from my intention. And also, an act that I did without any intention could also become a part of how people evaluate me, right?

Q: People see one thing and immediately judge them by it. Yes, watching how even the smallest thing can spread with a different meaning, although I’m not the mysterious type but I will still be careful.

Q: Celebrity is a job that requires one to be able to handle a lot of stress. I have more worries and fear in the past as compared to now. Therefore, people around me are often worried if this job will be too stressful. They thought that it would be hard for me as I am strict with myself.

Q: Nevertheless, what do you think is the reason of why you are able to do this for a long time? Well… putting myself in reality? I don’t set big goals. I am the type to resolve things that are right in front of me.

The miracle of time also applies to SNSD. In 2017, some members left SM entertainment, and SNSD who could not confirm the future of ‘activities as a complete group’ managed to come out with the 7th full-length album ‘FOREVER ONE’ without anyone missing. It is only possible if everyone has the same intention. Q: There are some cases in the world where friendship is maintained through business, but watching this 15th anniversary activities, I think that SNSD is a team that goes beyond that and makes history through friendship. Also, time is like strength, too. It would be a lie if I would to say that was no envy or jealousy when we were younger. It will be stranger if there isn’t any when you gathered so many people in one space. But as time went by, the members started to look at one another as what we are really like. It was different this time, but I felt like we met again after becoming even more mature. We tell one another honestly what we don’t like. It is possible because there is faith. I think the reason why our relationship can be seen as a good friendship is because of that naturalness. It is something that can’t be created just for show, right? The public knows everything.

The album this time was made entirely with the hearts of our members, so we became even closer. It was possible because of SM’s support but we wouldn’t be able to get together if our hearts weren’t there. Everyone said they would practice despite their busy schedules. We even said we must appear on entertainment shows too… Basically each and everyone of us are proud that we are SNSD.

Q: The fans must be the ones who give strength to that pride. While watching a K-pop program, I was like, ‘Wow’ at the cheers of the fans. No matter how much we practice among ourselves, it will only feel complete with fans cheering. On the first music show of our comeback, I was so touched to hear the cheers… I got the feeling that the cheers were telling us, ‘we have waited this long, and we will show you!’. I was moved to tears as the cheering feels like encouragement and that they were going to show the world that ‘SNSD, who we like is such an amazing group.’

Q: I want to show the fans the facial expression that you have right now, but it’s a pity that this is not a video interview. What is the biggest difference when you are back together for the first time in 5 years as compared to before? Our hearts quickly become one? There are 2 reasons for that. One is that we are working together after a long time, so everyone was able to put in more energy. The other thing is…(laughs) if our hearts are not in one, it will become so difficult in terms of adjusting schedules, so everyone says, “Hurry up, hurry up!!”, “Hey if this doesn’t work, we have to get together one more time to do it again and when will we be able to do it? Didn’t you say you have a schedule?” As a result, our hearts become even more united. (Everyone laughs).

Q: Strictly speaking, there isn’t a moment when you are not loved from the time you stepped into the entertainment industry. Do you have fears that people cannot remember you? Even if I want to be forever, but I do not think there will be forever. If I am lucky, I might be able to welcome a period of what we called as ‘The third heyday’. But nothing can be forever. As time passes, the things that I possess are not infinite. These thoughts are also included when I want to put the focus on myself.

Q: You are preparing hard to become an adult. Haha, is that so? There was one thing that I regretted.

Q: What is it? I used to think like this when I was having a hard time. I wanted to go to a senior who walked this path first to seek advice and comfort. However, there were not many opportunities to meet. As if time was the answer, I had no choice but to realise it myself as I went through it. So, when I see my juniors or peers who are walking the same path as me, I thought ‘there will always be a difficult moment, how will you resolve it?’ along with the thought ‘I wish you will come to me’. I am not good enough to give advice, but I think I can share my experiences.

Q: When this interview goes out, won’t your phone be on fire? Hahahaha. But there aren’t many juniors who come to ask me.

Q: Even if you want to do something, there will be things that you can’t do as it is a hassle. Yes, that is difficult. As an experienced person, I know all too well what how that feels like.

Q: Everyone plays with many roles in their life. You also live as a daughter, a younger sister, a friend, an actor, and a singer. Which role do you think you are playing the best? I think the things I’m doing the most well are the roles in the work part.

Q: What role do you wish to do better? It’s the opposite. Because of how busy my work is, I often couldn’t see the people around me. Whenever I think of the time lost at work as a friend, a daughter, and a younger sister, I feel upset too. Why, aren’t there things that can only be done at a certain time?

Q: Yes, because time waits for no one. Yes, I feel that way more when I see my parents getting older.

Q: Do you believe in destiny, be it relationship, work, or love? Even though I don’t blindly believe it, but I do believe it exists. I suddenly thought of that when I look at the people around me. It must not be an ordinary fate.

Q: You have become the person you are today because of all the choices you have made. Thanks to these choices, you have grown. Are there anything you wish to say? No matter what, joining SM had a huge impact on my life. I also think the choice of taking a break after ‘EXIT’ made me grown even more. It was a choice only for me. I thought I should take care of myself.

Q: If you would to leave one day, I think that is a time when you wish to take care of yourself (Laughs). Haha. To recharge!

Q: What is a question that comes to your mind frequently these days? ‘Am I doing well right now?’. It’s a little crazy and since I have been living a busy life, there are times when I wonder if I am doing my part well in various areas and how satisfied I am. Of course, I think I’m walking down the path well (Laughs). Just like what I said earlier on, sometimes I feel like I want to spend more time reflecting on myself while living a more leisurely life.

Q: 15 years ago, the girls who were kicking into the air and singing ‘I get stronger just thinking about you’ (Into the New World) has now come back and sang ‘I become stronger when I think of you’ (Forever 1). What are the things that make you stronger just by thinking about it? Hmm… I mean…

Q: The fans? Yes~ This is really true. It can’t be help if you think it is a cliché answer, but it is true. I feel it even more these days and the fans’ support really give me a lot of strength. I want to give strength to those who give me strength, so I work even harder. One more thing, mental management. If I have been practicing relaxing for a while, these days I am working hard to take care of my mentality too.

Q: Will mentality gets better by trying? Even though there is a human nature, but I believe that the mind can change depending on how hard you try. For example, I tend to think that everything has a meaning to it. When I think about it like that, even if something hard happens, rather than digging into why this happened to me, I move on, saying, “I think a difficult situation has happened in order for me to feel something.” Giving meaning to change perspective, sometimes it fails but it helps.

Q: How does it feel to be at the top of one field and expanding your field in another? Well, to be honest, I think I am lucky.

Q: Luck? I couldn’t have reached this point with just my skills alone. I also put in a lot of effort, but I think it was possible because of the opportunity and timing matched well with luck. I am thankful to the company staff and people around me who stayed with me for a long time. So, I tried to be more humble. The things that are given to me.

Q: You mentioned luck but are you also proud of the path you have walked? That’s what I think. That it is the result of persistence. I am proud of myself. (Laughs)

On this day, the word that YoonA mentioned the most is ‘persistence’. No matter how much you love what you are doing, there will always be storm like moments, and anxiety about an uncertain tomorrow that comes rushing in. At this time, looking at YoonA, I thought that the power to overcome such vagueness and anxiety would be to trust in the time that your steadiness and persistence has built up. In that belief, I think that the YoonA era would continue.

Source: Cine_play Trans: mystarmyangel

#YoonA #Interview #Trans #Jung Siwoo's A Room

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