people-from-seoul

"I was glad to just be able to work together, and I feel like my worldview got wider. I also felt a lot of different emotions after observing the attitude of the actors I worked with. I thought I should be an actor who thinks even more deeply than I do now, and also one that can help motivate others. Start Up was a drama that was like a gift that allowed me to meet Han Ji-pyeong. I'm super happy and grateful that many people are recognizing the effort I put into portraying Han Ji-pyeong’s character."

"In stage acting, we can interact with the audience live, so we know their response right away. I think the audience contributes to the play as well because their laughter, or even the sound of their breathing instigates our next move or spurs us to do something more. That was an ecstatic feeling that I cannot forget."

"To be frank, I have always challenged myself when I decide to go for a character. Though, I do feel scared when I need to play a role that I’ve played before. Therefore, I don’t think there is a safe zone or a comfort zone when I pick a role. But I think it was more difficult to express my characters in The Tyrant and Mangnaein."

"Shin Min-a's leading role as Hye-jin and Kim Seon-ho's performance as Chief Hong is the glue that holds the series together. Their magnetic on-screen chemistry is akin to that of Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman."

"Rather than changing my approach, I think that acting in silence in front of the audience on the stage required me to be very focused and immersed. I was able to grow without knowing it. Whenever I do a project, I think I am growing a little because I sometimes make choices that are different than before."

"When I act, I feel a sense of ecstasy being able to portray different characters,” he said. “Being able to intensely focus on one character and essentially live as that character is something that draws me to acting. The fact that there are people who watch the character that I portray through my acting in itself is something that makes me happy. Because of the love and attention of viewers, I am able to improve, and continuously want to improve."

"I usually take a fairly long time to understand one character. I would choose about three or four lines that I like from a script, and then repeat them over and over again in my head. This could be when I’m walking, when I’m in the shower, or when I’m eating. Sometimes I also make use of music. I would put on some good music, put myself in front of a stunning view, and then read out the lines. And as I do that, there would be moments where I realise, 'This is it. This is how this character would say it.' From that point onwards, everything else falls into place itself. For this method to work and in order to get closer to a character, studying the script in detail has to come first. It’s important to have a good grasp of a character’s language and habits."

"The Korean Catholic Church has always embodied the Christian virtues of "forgiveness" and "sharing", promoting these values in society while living peacefully with other religions. In the reality of living in a "divided nation", the Church has worked tirelessly over the past seven decades to resolve the conflicts inherent in this division and has striven for peace and unity for the Korean people."

"I get my inspiration from everywhere, and admittedly mostly from places that aren’t food related. I love going to museums, because art really inspires me. When I look at cookbooks, I tend to like the ones that are super artistic- more art books than cookbooks."

"When I was younger I tried to be the chefs that I saw and thought were successful, but that doesn’t work. I was young and trying to make a name for myself. I was trying to make their style of food or personality, but I quickly realized that it wasn’t going to get me anywhere."

"You have to cook with your heart in order to make your guests feel the soul of your cooking. You can be a great cook and a great chef, but if you don’t have the passion then it is not going to translate to the guests."

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

"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 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."

"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."

"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 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’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 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."

"I thank the Lord for choosing me to show this people with my presence the affection and closeness of the Holy Father. My presence has also built a bridge between the Church in Korea and the Church here: we have many Korean missionaries in Bangladesh."

"Relations between Catholicism and Buddhism are based on mutual respect."

"I didn't expect this kind of success at all when I first boarded Squid Game as a project. But when I read the script, I understood that it contained elements that could resonate with everyone and work outside of Korea."

"One thing I did differently (from previous works) was that I would go for a walk a night before filming and observe the people on the streets in order to find elements to add to the character."

"I am not sure if I can work in Hollywood or overseas entertainment business with my insufficient English skills, so I cannot say anything for certain at this moment. But I hope to meet the international fans with the works that I am currently shooting."

"I have seen some reactions on social media and on YouTube, and I have been trying to wrap my mind around them. I watched a lot of YouTube reaction videos, videos of the viewers themselves watching Squid Game in real time. I had never seen these so-called reaction videos before in my life. I find that very interesting and funny. So yes, I have kept an eye on how the global audience is reacting."

"I do not separate the scripts and decide on doing either movies or drama series in a certain year. I always think of what I can do best and how I can entertain the public when I first receive the script."

"I was in a phase where I was contemplating what my next project should be. Because as I got older, the roles I was offered were mostly villains or other such fierce characters."

"I found the concept of Squid Game interesting from the beginning. Although it was a survival competition between adults, the games were actually played by little kids. Despite being a survival game genre, it carefully explained the sorrows and hardships of the people who participated in the game. I think this made the movie different from other works as it effectively revealed the stories of the characters one by one without exaggerating them."

"A role with strong characters is easy if everything is set up in the beginning and you just need to push forward. However, with a role of a man in daily life, I paid a little more attention to make this man look natural."

"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."

"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."

"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 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."

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Nowhere do we see in the last year’s process the denuclearization of North Korea. We only see denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula on the North’s terms."

"If the United States accepts North Korea as the de facto nuclear state through a small deal, acquiring nuclear weapons is the only viable path for us, some people argue. With a small deal, demand for deploying strategic nuclear weapons will increase."

"The election should be about what the city needs now and also down the road. I promise to run my campaign strictly on the vision and plans that I have for the city."

"Discipline and abuse are different, but there is a culture (in Korea) that identifies them and says they are a family issue."