Im Soo-hyang, regains her lost memories

Actress Im Soo-hyang has really stepped on the accelerator.

KBS 2TV drama 'Beauty and Pure Man' is back on the air after a two-week hiatus, and the third season has begun in earnest with Im Soo-hyang's performance. In episodes 37 and 38, which aired on the 10th and 11th, Ji-young (Im Soo-hyang) regained all of her memories from when she was Dora after going through many hardships.

As soon as Ji-young was cast as the main character of the drama, she changed her style 180 degrees to fit the role and showed off her new charm. Ji-young received the drama contract money in advance and gave it to Mi-ja (played by Cha Hwa-yeon) to try to resolve the uncomfortable relationship with Jin-dan (played by Go Yoon), but Mi-ja continued to force her to meet Jin-dan, and when Do-sik (played by Yang Dae-hyeok) and Do-jin (played by Lee Sang-joon) found out about the whole situation, they were furious at Mi-ja.

Ji-young fell into confusion as she searched for her memories of when she was Dora one by one. Ji-young remembered going to see Pil-seung (played by Ji Hyun-woo) before she died, and was distressed by his not trusting her and pushing her away. She ended their relationship by telling Pil-seung, "I can no longer like the director because of the memory of him cruelly abandoning me."

Soon, Ji-young recalled her memories with Jin-da. At first, she thought Jin-da's feelings were sincere, based on fragmentary memories, but while filming the drama, she found memories of Jin-da locking her up, and Ji-young, who ran out of the set in confusion, said, "I understand everything now," and remembered all of her past. At the end of the broadcast, as the misunderstanding about Pil-seung was resolved, she cried and apologized to him for always being by her side, which made viewers feel sorry.

Im Soo-hyang has been actively acting to maximize Ji-young's various emotions, from her confused appearance as she regains her memories in just two episodes to her pained appearance after learning the whole truth. She has drawn Ji-young's stormy narrative with delicate acting and sincerity that has put forth all her effort, making us look forward to the second half of 'Beauty and Pure Man' even more.

In particular, following the transformation from Park Do-ra to Kim Ji-young, she transformed perfectly once again for the character in the drama within the drama, doubling the fun of watching. Although she is the same person, she showed completely different charms with three different stylings and expressions. Im Soo-hyang's unprecedented performance, which adds transformation to transformation, was well-received by viewers this time as well.

Kim Seo-yoon, Ten Asia reporter seogugu@tenasia.co.kr