'Three Siblings' Kim So-eun "Dating a divorced man 12 years older than me with a child?"

"I don't care about age differences when dating, but as a daughter who follows her parents' instructions, I think I'll get scolded. I like people older than me, so I can go up to 8 years older than them, but I think it'll be a bit difficult if they're 10 years older than me. (Laughs)"

Actress Kim So-eun of KBS2's weekend drama 'Three Brothers and Sisters', whom we met at a cafe in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, said this when asked if she could date a divorced man 12 years older than her character in the drama.

'Three Brothers and Sisters Bravely', which ended on the 19th, is a story of 'love and war' in a Korean-style family where K-eldest daughter, who had to compromise and mature for the sake of her family, and K-eldest son, who had to support the family as a top star, meet and set out to find happiness. In the play, Kim So-eun played the role of Kim So-rim, the second child of three siblings.

Kim So-eun said, "I prepared from May of last year and filmed for a long time until mid-March. I am very attached to the staff and actors, so I am also sad. I will meet again somewhere someday, but I will miss you."

Kim So-eun, who returned to the KBS weekend TV show for the first time in five years since 2017, said, "It's been a long time since I filmed a feature-length film. It has a longer run than a mini-series, so it requires a lot of stamina, so it was easier than before because I had to stay alert and work hard with determination." “I think I have more free time now that there are 52 hours a week,” he said.

When asked why she chose the work, Kim So-eun said, "KBS' Flower is a weekend drama, so I was greedy. Also, the character in the drama was enterprising and confident, so I was attracted to it. The director and writer also said that it would be good for a friend who is good at acting to play a romance with a large age gap. “I gained courage. I was very happy while creating Shaolin,” he said.

Kim So-eun said that the synchronization rate with So-rim’s character was ‘48%.’ He explained, “Sorim is a bold and generous friend. In that respect, I am different because I tend to be cautious and prudent. Even when it comes to dating, Sorim confesses first, but I am the type of person who looks at things for a long time and meets cautiously, so I approached her in a different way.” did.

Kim So-eun received a lot of love for her love line with Shin Moo-young (played by Kim Seung-soo) in the drama. In the drama, the age difference between the two is 12 years, but in reality, Kim Seung-soo is 18 years older than Kim So-eun. Regarding this, Kim So-eun said, "At first, I was worried a lot. It was difficult," and "But as time went by, my senior joked around a lot and was witty. He's cute, even though he looks. We worked together a lot during rehearsals and learned a lot about him." He expressed his gratitude.

“Generation gap? I barely felt it when we were talking. Ah! When we talked about ‘Kpop Top Ten’, I felt a little bit of a generation gap. In music. (Laughs)”

Was it because the two people had good chemistry? Kim So-eun and Kim Seung-soo were the only 'Three Siblings Bravely' couple to also win the Best Couple Award (hereinafter referred to as the 'Becker Award') at the '2022 KBS Drama Awards'. Kim So-eun said, "I felt my popularity through this award. Isn't it an award chosen by viewers?" and "Seungsu senior was eager to receive the Becker Award, and I was honored to receive the award he wanted to receive as well. I was also very happy because it was my first time receiving the Becker Award. “It was good,” he said.

When asked about the reason for the popularity of 'Moorim Couple', Kim So-eun said, "I think the narrative of the two was solidly well-made. It was neither hasty nor slow. It may have been because they shared hobbies, formed a consensus, or because the narrative was built up one by one, so they were popular. “I think the chemistry between my senior and I was good. Even the ad-libs came out,” he said with a smile.

However, 'Three Brothers and Sisters' had a low viewership rating of 10%, leaving a stain on the weekend drama's reputation. The average viewer rating was also around 20%, which fell far short of expectations. In response, Kim So-eun said, "I tried not to be concerned about viewership ratings because I wanted to be faithful to my duties. As times have changed, there have been many OTT and other broadcasts, and it seems that we can't help but follow the influence of the times, not in an era where we watch on TV."

Although she is the second character in the play, Kim So-eun is in reality the eldest of two unmanly daughters. Since the work contains a story about K-eldest daughter, did he sympathize with the eldest daughter's hardships? Kim So-eun said, "I sympathized 100%. As the eldest daughter, I fully understand the hardships, and my parents depend on the eldest child differently than the second child, so I sympathized a lot with the character of Hye-joo (played by Lee Ha-na). Also, since I am the second child So-rim, I acted while watching my younger sister." “I got the source. I also understood my younger sister’s difficulties. It’s not just the eldest daughter who is having a hard time,” he said with a laugh.

“Looking at my sister’s bag, I thought, ‘Can’t I come in just once?’ When I did that, my sister said, ‘No!’ That was the same thing I said. When my younger brother watched that scene, he said, ‘You did that too.’ I felt that it was difficult to live as a younger brother.”

Kim So-eun recently appeared on JTBC's entertainment show 'Knowing Bros' along with actors Park Sung-hoon, Song Jin-woo, and Lim Na-young from the movie 'Spreaders'. At the time, Kim So-eun said about the 'Miss Autumn' modifier remaining after 'Boys Over Flowers' aired in 2009, "Some actors are uncomfortable with their character's name following them around, but on the contrary, I like it."

On this day as well, Kim So-eun said, "On set for 'Three Brothers and Sisters Bravely,' the staff calls me Shaolin Teacher. There may be actors who don't have a single modifier, but I have one. I'm not uncomfortable with that, and I think the more there are, the better. It's an honor to be remembered." said.

He continued, "I was surprised to hear that 'Boys Over Flowers' is becoming a hot topic again these days. I'm glad that it's being talked about again among young friends, that I'm being mentioned, and that they're looking at me differently. I hope more young friends will recognize me as well. “It would be nice,” he hoped.

When asked if she had watched Park Sung-hoon's recently popular Netflix series 'The Glory', who appeared with her in 'Knowing Bros', Kim So-eun said that she had not watched it and said, "I filmed the drama six days a week and filmed 'Style Me' the other day, so I had no personal time at all. "It's so hard to monitor the broadcast, so if I have a day off, I just sleep. I have filming every weekend, so I've never watched my drama in real time. I'm too busy watching it," he said apologetically.

Kim So-eun debuted as a child actor in 2005 and is now in her 19th year as an actress. He said, "In the past, I did things that were stable and that I was good at, but these days, I want to try acting in something I've never done before, with a completely different feeling. I'm looking for something completely different from the current Kim So-eun. I think my sense of challenge has become much stronger now. “I think it’s an opportunity because there are a lot of OTT channels, and there’s a lot of space for actors to play,” he said.

When asked about the character and genre she is interested in, Kim So-eun said, "In the drama 'All About You', the male actor was a sociopath, but he acted really well. Watching that, I thought it would be great to play the role of a psychopath. I have played many good roles so far, so I have the charm of a twist. "I think this will be big. I want to try genre films. Action is good too. I've worked as a police officer, but I've never played a police officer, so I also want to try playing a police officer," he said.

When asked about the secret to a long run, Kim So-eun said, "I have a healthy mind. Maybe it's because I started out as a child, but I tend to be cautious in everything I do. I love this job so much and plan to do it for the rest of my life, so I tend to be more cautious and careful. I'm confident that I won't have an accident." .

Were there any slumps during that time? Kim So-eun said, “It was the most difficult time transitioning from a child role to an adult. It was my first time acting as an adult in ‘Empress Cheonchu,’ and I was worried about whether I would be able to portray the situation in which I had just become an adult.” “It was a big role that I, a 20-year-old with a high rank, marrying an older person and having children, couldn’t handle,” he said. “I learned a lot while doing ‘Empress Qianqiu,’ and with that, I once again gained the confidence that ‘I can do it, I can transform.’” “I got it,” he said.

He added, "I filmed 'Boys Over Flowers' while filming 'Empress Qianqiu'. Luckily, I think I was able to produce a good project faster than others through 'Boys Over Flowers'."

Kim So-eun turns 35 this year. When asked about his thoughts on marriage, he said, "I've wanted to get married since I was in my 20s. Now, work is the most fun. I'm happiest when I'm working, so I want to continue working," and smiled, saying, "Of course, if a good person comes along, I'll do it."

“Ideal type? Someone I can respect and learn from. I also hope it’s someone with a healthy mindset.”

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr