actresses-from-south-korea

"It feels so good to be back home. This is my second home, and it’s always wonderful to be here."

"I’m happy that I can help these dreamers get closer to Korea."

"I’m thankful to everyone who supported me during my 'Star Circle Quest' days. Now it’s time for these dreamers to shine on stage, and we’ll do our best to help them reach their dreams."

"As we saw in the AVP (audio-visual presentation), the audience will play a significant role in this journey alongside our mentors and judges."

"We never went on a family vacation. It was our first time traveling as adults. It was fun, I was thankful."

"So I was worried to go back. I didn't have any friends in Korea. I felt like I was immigrating back to the environment that I'd been living in."

"‘I'm not showing these views to my family. I'm not buying these tasty food to my family and only bring my friends."

"Hearing the cheers again made me emotional."

"Is it possible to go on a trip with a male friend?"

"I love you. Thank you very much."

"Thank you for giving me such an unforgettable moment."

"When I started with 2NE1, I was grateful for the support I received."

"Thoughts like "That could've been the case, that could've happened, I could've had that kind of a relationship" also cross my mind."

"Maybe love is like looking for a place. That doesn’t even exist."

"How do you win against tough times? Sometimes, I lose."

"I hope for many opportunities to show new facets of me that are different from my pre-marriage period. I would like to show these different images of mine, as a mother and as a wife, in a broad range through dramas, movies or other channels. I hope I will have many such opportunities, going forward."

"Well, if I answered that I do not feel any pressure at all, that would be a lie. I just want to warm and touch the heart of our viewers. If just this one goal is met, that would mean success to me. I couldn’t ask for more."

"After I got married, I started my doctoral programme in a graduate school. I wanted to study acting in a more profound way, and I had a great time learning a lot about it. Moreover, I remained faithful to my family. I watched my kids growing up and I found new kinds of joy by starting a family."

"As an actress, I want to try whatever -- whether that’s drama, film, documentary narration or something totally different -- as long as I can show my new facets and convey messages."

"I’ve got different emotions. That is a good thing about being an actress. It is a profession that you can express the emotional changes you undergo when you get old, get married or bear a child. Acting is after all a study of humans."

"I lose some, but win some as I grow older. I believe aging is more of a benefit for my career, because my experience is reflected in my acting."

"As you get more wrinkles on your face, you get to feel deeper emotions. I don’t feel regretful about getting old."

"I didn't aim to shed a certain image, but I'm just feeling more relaxed and comfortable after my marriage. I also have become more communicative and try to make the most of my life."

"In the past 10 years, I got married and I gave birth to twins so I became a mother as well. As a woman, I’ve gone through a lot of changes. Marriage and giving birth. These 2 things bring about major changes in a woman’s life in the East as well as the West so that is true for any woman anywhere in the world. Because of that, my perspective on life has changed too and that became my criteria in selecting the works that I want to participate in."

"I’m not ambitious; I didn't intend to make a career in Hollywood. I have been lucky enough to receive many interesting proposals and I am working on them with the same curiosity, without a strategic approach. Perhaps it is a lack of sensitivity, but I do not feel any difference, except, of course, at the level of budget. To create a good film, everyone does their best by trusting a good leader. As an interpreter, I put myself at [the director's] service. That is my conviction as an actress."

"I’ve already had the chance to play all the characters I wanted to. I do not dream of a role a particular type of film — I am happy to accept the roles that inspire me."

"I’m quite spontaneous so even I can’t say what I’m likely to do in the future. I follow my instincts when I choose a film, so there are no boundaries. I want to work on challenging films, something new, something stepping away from the norm. I love challenges."

"I think that being an actor is a really good job. Of course, there are things you have to put up with. In order to create a real character from text on a page, you have to be extremely sensitive about various things, so it can impact one’s daily life. Apart from my talent, there might come a time when the public is sick of seeing me and wants to see less of me. I think that that time might come someday. That’s why I’m working hard right now. People ask me why I don’t take a break, but this time right now is too precious. I want to live each day as intensely as possible. As I passed 40, I thought that I should live without regrets. I feel like I’m living my life on sets. Right now, my entire life is on set."

"I don't put limits in genres or have a set of roles that I prefer to play. It can either be a lead role or a supporting role. And I can take part in low-budget or independent projects or in a blockbuster. I aim to get my hands on anything that I want to do."

"Just the fact that so many people around the world are showing their interest puts me in a good mood."

"At the beginning, I thought that a model should be a sexy girl or should just be a really gorgeous girl or should be a cute girl or just very calm. Now, as time passes, I found that modeling can be more complicated and I can be inspired by many things besides just poses in magazines."

"So, I started modeling at 17. In Korea there are academies for modeling. So I went to the academy, and the academy teacher gave me a few jobs, like the fashion school graduation show, that kind of stuff. Then, I realized that there are Asian supermodels."

"At first, I tried to get rid of habits that you would develop as a model, and it was a great challenge to relearn how to walk and move more naturally. But my experience working as a model helped with understanding how to move in front of the camera and how the camera actually sees me."

"Squid Game is a story about human nature that most people can already relate to, yet everything is communicated through easy-to-follow childhood games."

"I was just so happy that I got a role and could give a performance. I still feel nervous at the thought of meeting an audience through the screen. I never dreamed that the show would become such a global sensation."

"So many things are happening right now, so I'm in the process of digesting everything and putting things in order. I think it's too early for me to say that this is my goal or this is my plan. I’m just going to try and do my best to live every day to the fullest."

"I think the emotions that they truly feel within them and what they try to show to others, the mask that they put on, is different."

"I think if I got a role or a new series came in, then I’d have to focus on the shooting. At that moment, I don't think I can do modeling at the same time as acting, but, if I don't have a time [where I need to be shooting], then I could do modeling. I could manage. I'm a very flexible person!"

"I used to hear people say that models have very short careers, which I don't really agree with... I think that even when you grow old, you can still continue modeling if you have that willingness. But I think I kind of put a lot of thought into other options as my modeling career was slowly declining. I started to worry about what I should do when I had no job at all. I started to think about my next steps and that's when I figured maybe it could be a good idea to start acting."

"There is definitely no fear. When I first went abroad as a model, I felt like I was heading to the ground, but now I think I can make a clearer plan and approach it flexibly."

"My two sons are Korean Americans living in the states. My son living in LA, he is worrying about me coming to the states for the Oscars because you might get hurt on the street or something like that. Who knows? You’re an old woman. They’re aiming old woman. Can’t you have security guard or something? That’s terrible. He’s worrying about me just being old woman getting attacked."

"Maybe just from life. It seems like there are no new stories in the world. Even though there are stories with something to say, and we have heard everything. But more than new stories - what kind of feeling could we get from them? If it could give you a different feeling, that's probably the kind of story I want to do, is how I feel."

"Sometimes in life, you have to run, sometimes you fall down, and sometimes you have to take a break, but it seems I have always focused on running."

"Directing takes more courage than acting."

"Big question! When my film was released in the autumn, there was a huge discourse regarding feminism in Korea, and thanks to that, there were a lot of discussions connecting my film and the issue of feminism; I felt really thankful about that. Now, the #MeToo movement in Korea… It means that many people in Korea are going through a hard time now, not just the victims and the offenders, but also people who were there when it happened. But, I think this is a time that we have to go through; of course, it is very painful, but we need to go through the pain in order to heal. Also, in the film industry, there are a lot of trials and movements to make the situation better. There are discussions about sexual equality not only in the film industry, but also in the world of theatre, and in other cultural professions. It’s very hard and painful right now, but it is a period of time that we need."

"I find that in every new film – whether in terms of becoming a new character or more generally the shooting or production – I’m rarely working with the same people or in the similar situations. Sometimes the director is someone I haven’t worked with before, or the actors are different and the stories we are telling are different, so overall every role is kind of challenging but attractive at the same time. There were some roles that I found either mentally or physically challenging but I would find it hard to pinpoint one specific role that I found more challenging than any other. I guess that understanding each character is the most challenging for me."

"There are actors who have a naturally cold aura. I don’t think I’m a big fan of that. You have to talk about people’s lives [in acting]. We probably don’t understand [others] 100 percent. It’s not possible. But I believe that the best method for acting is to love other people. ... I think there has to be warmth toward living beings"

"It’s hard for people to know themselves. It’s hard to know how you’re charming. When you’re young, even when people compliment you, it’s difficult to accept that."

"Right now, the industry might have gotten bigger. More people may be watching films. Those are positive aspects. But diversity in Korean cinema has decreased a lot since then. There are more female film students in schools."

"I love both acting and meeting children around the world. But I think that meeting children is something I should do for the rest of my life."