'A Thousand Faces' actor Go Min-si, the emergence of an unusual newcomer

Actress Go Min-si uses 'Yedam' as her pen name, which means 'go forward while looking at the sky from a high and flat place.' An actress who adds a pen name in front of her name like Yulgok Lee Yi, Toegye Lee Hwang, and Uam Song Si-yeol of the Joseon Dynasty. I think it's unique, but it also feels like I'm strengthening my own resolve. It is the will to walk ‘properly’ as an actor.

Go Min-si, born in 1995, does not have many works as she is a newcomer, but she has a charm that surpasses them. This is because the characters are changed so quickly that no image from the previous work comes to mind. The image of Myeong-hee, a high school student in the movie 'The Witch' (2018), who has a harsh way of saying, "You're noisy, bitch. When I listen to this girl, I get horny even in my sleep," which contrasts with her cute face with pink hair curled in her bangs, is 'The Witch' (2018). I completely forgot when I saw Lee Eun-yu practicing in ballet toe shoes on the rooftop in 'Sweet Home' Season 1 (2020).

Unlike her older brother Lee Eun-hyuk (Lee Do-hyun), who takes the lead in disaster-like situations with a brilliant mind, Lee Eun-yu, who grumbles and is grumpy about everything, is a so-called hateful character. Instead of helping the residents, they beat everything they do, so it doesn't look pretty. However, Go Min-si portrayed Lee Eun-yu, who may have seemed two-dimensional, as a person who cannot be singled out. Although he tells Cha Hyeon-soo (Song Kang), who is in the process of becoming a monster, "I don't know where the pain is. You put it on yourself," he does not participate in the process of putting a band-aid on his arm with traces of self-harm or setting up and practicing traps to catch the monster, but he does not actually participate in the process. When a situation arises, they are the first to rush out and offer a helping hand. “What are you doing practicing?” and his unique nervous tone is a bonus.

Some might say that Lee Eun-yu is inconsistent and has no goals. In Green Home, the residents are given a macro goal of survival and each mission, but Lee Eun-yu feels like a wanderer who does not belong anywhere. Therefore, it is interesting to see Lee Eun-yu gradually becoming integrated with Green Home's rules of survival and coming to the fore as the season ('Sweet Home Season 2') progresses.

Go Min-si, who expressed the face of a teenager who created his own boundaries by repeating departure and entry, depicts a young man standing in a precarious but firm position in the drama 'Youth of May' (2021), set in May 1980. I do it. What's interesting is that Go Min-si and Lee Do-hyeon, who were siblings who were growling in 'Sweet Home', describe a longing love that especially breaks the heart in 'Youth of May'. However, there is no feeling of heterogeneity. Rather, in the 1980s, only Hwang Hee-tae (Lee Do-hyeon) and Kim Myung-hee (Go Min-si), who seem to have survived that era, remain.

Kim Myeong-hee is a nurse with a bold personality that, unlike her gentle smile, is called ‘Ssamdak’. Although he is poor, he is strong and a resolute person who upholds his beliefs and principles as a nurse more than anyone else. If I were to pick a scene that exudes the charm of Go Min-si, it would be the scene where he heads to the stand on behalf of his friend Lee Soo-ryun (Keum Sae-rok). Wouldn't it be difficult to talk about 'Youth in May' without mentioning this scene, which was also the moment when Hwang Hee-tae fell in love with Kim Myeong-hee?

The action-oriented aspect of running straight after spotting a child suddenly running into the driveway and the fearlessness of untying the scarf from around the neck and tying it to the child's bleeding arm immediately draw attention to the actor named Go Min-si. In addition, through 'Youth in May', Go Min-si delicately expressed the love like a sparkling ripple in the sunlight or moonlight at dawn between two people separated by invisible classes and times. This is the love between Hee-tae and Myeong-hee, who hesitated and couldn't approach, but were broken in the moment they were tightly held in hand.

On the other hand, in director Ryu Seung-wan's movie 'Smuggling' (2023), she plays the role of Go Ok-bun, who wears thick lipstick, intensely colored eye shadow that fills her eyelids, and long, thin eyebrows as her trademark, and is a senior with N years of acting experience. He also left his own mark among the people. Set in the 1970s, 'Smuggler' is one of the thrilling points of the story of a spy who stays loyal to the end despite being torn between the female divers Jo Chun-ja (Kim Hye-soo), Eom Jin-sook (Yeom Jeong-ah), and Jang Do-ri (Park Jung-min).

In particular, Go Min-si proved why she is a popular actor in the scene where Lee Jang-chun (Kim Jong-su) and Jang Do-ri set a trap to overturn a situation where they were looking out for each other's interests behind the scenes. In the play, Kang Ok-bun puts Jang-dori in trouble by squeezing out all her tears and snot in an evil voice, saying, "Oppa, you're the bitch I'm going to kill. I, too, couldn't help it." Lee Jang-chun reveals his dark intentions and sends the female divers into a sea full of sharks. The scene where the rice field operation is carried out at the moment when the character is about to be killed doubles the fun of 'Smuggling'. Above all, Go Min-si won the Best New Actress Award at the 44th Blue Dragon Film Awards, 28th Chunsa International Film Festival, and 24th Female Filmmaker of the Year Awards through 'Smuggling', so it is difficult to praise her acting skills. .

Go Min-si, who debuted in the 2017 SBS drama ‘My Sassy Girl’, celebrates her 6th anniversary this year. She is gradually building up her filmography and finding her own color. Of course, there is some uncertainty as to how many years since debut should be defined as a rookie, but I think the important thing is to remember the three letters of the name Go Min-si. Go Min-si, who is moving forward like her hero Yedam, won't soon surprise us.

Reporter Ha-neul Lee, Ten Asia greenworld@tenasia.co.kr