'The Glory' school violence victim Ahn So-yo "I identify with Song Hye-kyo"

A person whose ambiguous attitude caused confusion as to whether he was a member of the victims' solidarity or a member of the group of perpetrators. This is Kim Gyeong-ran, who added curiosity to the story of ‘The Glory’. Ahn So-yo, who plays the role of Kim Kyeong-ran, meticulously portrayed the complex inner self of a character with school violence trauma, including anxiety, nervousness, defensive attitude, loneliness and suffering.

Kim Gyeong-ran provided Jeon Jae-jun (played by Park Seong-hoon), a perpetrator of school violence, with an excuse to make him suspect Park Yeon-jin (played by Lim Ji-yeon), and above all, he dealt the final blow to another perpetrator, Son Myeong-oh (played by Kim Geon-woo), killing him. In the end, I became a member of the victims' solidarity and escaped the trauma of being a victim of school violence. On the 29th, I met actor Ahn So-yo, who appeared in Netflix's 'The Glory', at Ten Asia's headquarters in Jungnim-dong, Seoul.

'The Glory' is a Netflix series that depicts the story of a woman whose soul was broken by violence in her childhood, who risks her entire life to carefully prepare a cruel revenge, and the story of those who fall into the vortex. According to Netflix's TOP 10 as of March 29, 'The Glory' recorded 413.05 million cumulative viewing hours, ranking 6th in all-time viewing hours in the Netflix TV (non-English) category. This is an achievement that follows ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Our School Now’ as domestic Netflix series works. Part 1 of ‘The Glory’ entered the TOP 10 list for 5 weeks, and Part 2 maintained the top spot in the non-English language category for 3 consecutive weeks immediately after its release.

Regarding the reactions of those around her, Soyo Ahn said, "People close to me know that I've been acting for a long time, so they're calm." He continued, "When I was young, my friends and people who didn't know much about my acting sent me many text messages of support and congratulations. I don't really realize that my awareness has changed, but I still went to interviews and this is my first experience like this, so I received a lot of love for 'The Glory'. “I feel honored to have received it and to have participated in this work,” he said.

Soyo Ahn revealed that she joined ‘The Glory’ after two auditions. Soyo Ahn said, "At first, I received a script with lines written between Hyejeong (played by Cha Joo-young) and Sara (played by Kim Hee-ra). At that time, I wore a T-shirt and jeans without any makeup. The director wanted my image to look young and that I was a baby. “He said that we looked like him and that he didn’t seem to fit my image or age range for the role, so I thought, ‘It’s not a good idea,’ but fortunately, he invited me to the second audition,” he recalled.

Accordingly, Soyo Ahn went to the second audition wearing heavy makeup and makeup. However, this time, I received a line from Seong-hee, Moon Dong-eun's (Song Hye-kyo) factory colleague and revenge assistant. Soyo Ahn said, "The way I dressed up didn't suit me again. This time, the director said, 'You look older. There's a big age difference with your role.' So, 'Last time, he said I looked younger, so I dressed up.' 'The wise doctor.' “I played the role of a baby’s mother in ‘Life’ and appealed that I can play characters of all ages,” he said. He also said, "During the second audition, the director asked me to read Dong-eun's lines, so I did. He gave me feedback that my acting was good, but when I heard later, I heard that he was struggling because of his image and age group."

While playing Gyeong-ran, Soyo Ahn said, "The director said he wanted the character of Gyeong-ran to create tension by appearing confused as to whether he was a member of the victims' solidarity or a group of perpetrators. I tried to find that ambiguous point while acting." He continued, "I wanted to play Kyung-ran with all my heart, so I kept picturing in my head each day of Kyung-ran's life from her high school days until now. Rather than trying to find an answer to the question, 'Why did she do that?', I approached it by slowly drawing out each day. “I did,” he explained.

Even after becoming an adult, Kim Gyeong-ran cannot escape from the group of school abusers. He works as a manager at Jeon Jae-jun's (Park Seong-hoon) clothing store and as a stylist for weather caster Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon).

When asked what she thought was the reason why Kim Gyeong-ran still could not escape from the group of perpetrators, Ahn So-yo said, "Many people were puzzled and at the same time made inferences through their own direct and indirect experiences. Looking at them, I sympathized. Many people understood. “I think you did it,” he replied. He continued, "I think it would be difficult to explain in one line why I did that. The days of failure and frustration piled up day by day, and now I don't think I have any strength left to try or try anything more. Now, I have to endure each day in front of me and stay safe. “I think that alone was an overwhelming experience,” he said.

When asked if it was mentally difficult for her to play the victim of school violence, Soyo Ahn replied, "I wanted to go deeply into Gyeong-ran's heart. I wanted to accept Gyeong-ran with my body. Of course, I felt the darkness in Gyeong-ran's heart." He continued, "I had a lot of bad feelings, but basically, I am myself. I was so thankful that I was doing the work, so the dark emotions of this role were not painful and difficult. I was sober enough to accept those feelings. “There was an underlying feeling that I loved and wanted to act well,” he confessed.

An So-yo says, “There are many days when I can’t sleep” when I have to portray emotions that are difficult to digest in any role. During 'The Glory', "I didn't film much. It was intermittent, and I couldn't sleep well that day when I filmed almost every scene. I kept reviewing it. Also, aren't there scenes that are connected to the scenes I filmed? How did you do it today? “When I thought about whether I was acting and the character’s emotions, I found it difficult to fall asleep,” he confessed.

Ahn So-yo, who collaborated with Song Hye-kyo in this work, said, "I didn't see her much in real life, but I felt a kinship with the character. She was a senior and I had a 'dramatic I' personality, so I didn't know how to talk to her on set. But as soon as we started filming. "My senior became Dong-eun. I also came to treat her as Dong-eun, not as a difficult senior. The waves of emotions that wavered behind those calm and determined eyes were conveyed to me," he recalled Song Hye-kyo's appearance at the time. Regarding Lim Ji-yeon, he said, "She is easy-going and bright. She had a comfortable atmosphere, but when we started filming, she became 'bad Park Yeon-jin.' She acted well, so I was able to naturally immerse myself in her."

Kim Gyeong-ran dealt the final blow to Son Myeong-oh, who was losing consciousness after being beaten by Park Yeon-jin, with a bottle of alcohol, causing his death. Soyo Ahn shared the story behind the scenes, saying, "Many people were interested in that bottle. In fact, the bottle was heavy and hard. There were two bottles on set. One felt like a hard cushion and the other was a real glass bottle." . He continued, “I thought it would hurt if I got hit hard even if the cushion was hard, so I kept asking actor Son Myung-oh, ‘Will it be okay if I do it this much?’ Actor Myung-oh kindly told me that it was completely okay, so I hit him with all my might in one hit.” He also said, "All the scenes were difficult, but wasn't that scene an important point in playing this character? Until I met Dong-eun, I was avoiding (the anger and revenge toward the perpetrators) to the point that I buried it deep inside and didn't recognize it myself. Dong-eun "When we met, I was reminded of myself and Dong-eun when I was young. A wave of buried emotions arose again. Didn't I watch them break down little by little and have a hard time? I must have felt a little sad," he said, emphasizing Gyeong-ran's emotions.

How does Kim Kyung-ran live after that? Soyo Ahn said, “I’ve thought about it many times. Because it heals my heart.” He continued, “Many people say, ‘This is how Kyungran must have lived,’ or ‘Is Kyungran living happily?’ A lot of people ask questions on social media. Of course, it will be difficult for everything to get better all at once. I think Kyung-ran will now become a person who takes care of herself. Before that, if she left young Kyung-ran uncared for for a long time, she will now hug her and take care of her. “I think I will move forward one step at a time. I think I will learn new things and challenge new things,” he said, expressing his affection for the character.

Soyo Ahn's next work is the OTT series 'Namnam', for which filming has already been completed. Soyo Ahn laughed, saying, "I'm playing now. I'm a homebody, so I zone out at home, read books, think about the contents of the books, and imagine them. I like that kind of thing. I also watch movies."

Born in 1987, Soyo Ahn made her official debut in the 2015 film ‘In Her Place’, but is said to have started acting at the age of 20. He said, "There was no reason. Looking back, even though I was an introvert since I was young, it was fun to go out and make people laugh when a mat was laid out for me. At that time, I was energetic, but afterward, I was embarrassed and wondered why I did that. I think I dreamed of becoming an actor because of the accumulated memories. "he said. He continued, "When I was thinking about my career as a senior in high school, I thought I wanted to act. My parents were initially against me becoming an actor. I enrolled in the Department of Journalism and Broadcasting, but as soon as I entered school, I joined the theater club and double majored in theater." He said. He also said, "I still keep in touch with my club members and meet them often. I feel like the club members are my strong supporters. They are people who know and acknowledge me as an actor. I have deep affection in my heart. Some of them are acting now."

Although Soyo Ahn debuted later than others, she continued her passion for acting. He said, "There have been many moments in my acting career so far when I felt like I was not working out or had no talent, but each time, it was the 'works' that gave me strength and inspiration again. I love the work itself and sincerely hope to do well in this work. “I want to,” he confessed.

Soyo Ahn said, "'The Glory' is a work that introduced me as an actor to many people. I am grateful. However, as I played various characters in previous works, I have a lot of experience. I have material to show a lot of things, so I have a lot of experience. “I want to show my role,” he said. He also said, "I have a strong desire to become a better person and a growing person. I will not lose this desire."

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr