Lim Ji-yeon, a hot topic as a villain in ‘The Glory’
“Mom calls me ‘Yeonjin’ too”
“Complete the character with ‘Lim Ji-yeon’s own’ rather than imitating her”
“Thank you to Song Hye-kyo for making me feel comfortable.”
“Mom calls me ‘Yeonjin’ too”
“Complete the character with ‘Lim Ji-yeon’s own’ rather than imitating her”
“Thank you to Song Hye-kyo for making me feel comfortable.”
"Honestly, I had an idea from the beginning that the work would do well. I was confident that it would create a huge buzz and receive a lot of love. Haha. But I never thought that each and every character would receive this much attention and love. Many people “Wherever I go, people call me ‘Yeonjin,’ and I’m grateful and happy these days.”
Actress Lim Ji-yeon, who is garnering attention for her role as a vicious school violence perpetrator in Netflix's 'The Glory', was happy with the love she received from viewers around the world. 'The Glory' is a Netflix series that depicts the story of Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo), whose soul was broken by violence during her childhood, who risked her entire life to carefully prepare for revenge, and the stories of those who fall into the vortex. According to Netflix's official site 'Netflix TOP 10' on the 15th, the viewing time of 'The Glory' in the second week of March (6th to 12th) was 124.46 million hours, ranking first in the non-English language TV category.
Park Yeon-jin, played by Lim Ji-yeon, is not a villain with a pre-existing deficiency or story, but a character who commits evil deeds without a sense of guilt. Lim Ji-yeon said, "Actually, it was difficult. Isn't it such an important role? I thought that I had to portray Yeon-jin properly in this work so that viewers could have an emotional connection and empathy for Dong-eun. Yeon-jin is the reason why Dong-eun seeks revenge so much." “I spent a lot of time getting into character,” he said.
“I approached it in a variety of ways. At first, I thought I would make Yeonjin feel like an emotionless sociopath or psychopath and remove all her emotions. Or I could approach her as a completely emotional character. I came up with as many ideas as I could and ended up with it. I came to the conclusion, 'Let's create something that only Lim Ji-yeon can do.' Instead of imitating the villains of famous works, I decided not to look at them at all. My voice, my facial expressions, my gait, my gestures, even my stylistic aspects. “I said let’s make it mine.”
Lim Ji-yeon said that Park Yeon-jin is a ‘love-hate character.’ I have affection for the character he played, but considering his evil deeds, it's hard to say I love him. Lim Ji-yeon said, "When I read the script and prepared it, I hoped that everyone in the world would hate me. I also said to the writer and director, 'If I do this, I hope everyone in the world hates me.' Then, I can say that I did a good job with this work. “I thought Dong-eun’s feelings would be conveyed well if the hate was expressed well,” he confessed.
The line itself in which the characters call Park Yeon-jin ‘Yeonjin-ah’ is also becoming a hot topic. Lim Ji-yeon said, "I didn't know there were that many 'Yeon Jin-ahs'. Not only Dong-eun, but other characters also had a lot of 'Yeon Jin-ahs'." “I am completely grateful. It felt like I appeared even in scenes where I did not appear, and the amount of screen time increased. I am grateful. I think ‘Yeonjin-ah’ has become more famous than Lim Ji-yeon. Even at home, my mom says ‘Yeonjin-ah’,” he said with a laugh. .
Some are reacting to Lim Ji-yeon's realistic acting by saying that she was not like Iljin during her school days. Lim Ji-yeon laughed, saying, "'You were really part of the Iljin group, weren't you? There were a lot of responses like this. I also received a lot of calls from my friends in middle and high school." He continued, "I was pure and ordinary. I don't have much memories of my school days. I dreamed of becoming an actor since I was young, and I had many acting friends around me. My school days were pure and normal."
Previously, Cha Joo-young (played by Choi Hye-jeong) revealed in an interview that she was verified for school violence during the casting process. Lim Ji-yeon said, "I barely talked to the production team about my school days and talked more about character aspects. I don't think there was anything directly verified or verified with me."
Lim Ji-yeon's portrayal of Park Yeon-jin, who spews profanity, further highlighted Park Yeon-jin's vicious appearance. Regarding the acting of swearing, she said, "I didn't think the swearing would come out so well. In the play, several characters swear a lot and the script doesn't have many provocative words. I think the director had the influence of making Yeonjin's swearing vivid. “I thought it would be a lot more fun if I did it in a tasteful way. Swearing was also something that Yeonjin couldn’t avoid. There were a lot of things that made her feel refreshed,” he said.
When asked if there were any aftereffects after portraying a vicious character, Lim Ji-yeon said, "If you film all day long, aren't you stuck with that temper all day? There are days when all your emotions are concentrated. On days when the weather cast scene is concentrated, you actually become gentler. Afterwards, you will be in prison. It was the same with the scenes, and when I came home from filming something like that, I felt irritated by the world. It was because I was feeling that way all day. I already had a lot of wrinkles between my eyebrows and things like that. 'Why am I so angry?', 'Why am I so bad-tempered? 'You lost, right?' “There was a time when I thought about it. I think it’s because I’m very sensitive and I yell a lot,” he confessed. “I joked to the staff on set, ‘I’m going to do something really nice next time,’” he said with a laugh.
Lim Ji-yeon said, “Thank you” to Song Hye-kyo. Song Hye-kyo plays the role of Moon Dong-eun, a victim of school violence. Lim Ji-yeon confessed, "Of course, I wanted to become closer to my sister. As Yeon-jin's character, there were many scenes where I was unkind to my sister and I cursed her a lot. So, I wanted to become more comfortable with my sister." He continued, “On the first day of filming, I asked Hye-kyo, ‘What should I do to become closer to you?’ I am the type of person who approaches seniors a bit. I think I was anxious.” “On the contrary, my sister treated me comfortably. She had the mindset of ‘Do whatever you want to do.’ Even when filming strong women fighting, we talked about food, dogs, and other useless things. Acting with my sister made me feel very uncomfortable. “There was nothing. Rather, it was Dong-eun who was the most comfortable.”
Lim Ji-yeon had a moment of glory as an actress with ‘The Glory’. When was the moment of ‘glory’ in his life?
“When I debuted with ‘Human Addiction,’ it was like the moment when my mom came to the preview day, handed me a big bouquet of flowers, and said, ‘You were so pretty, Jiyeon.’ It was the moment when my mom came to see a movie that wasn’t easy and said, ‘Our Jiyeon was so pretty.’ I will never forget it. It was the moment of greatest honor. From now on, I would like to see you in a different form in a good project by working hard and persistently, even if slowly, as I have always done. My goal is to become an actor full of passion and good at acting. ."
Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr