‘The Glory’ Cha Joo-young, a villain you can’t hate

Actress Cha Joo-young's acting captivated the world.

Netflix ranked 3rd in the non-English TV category in the Netflix TOP 10 chart just 3 days after release, and recorded 82.48 million viewing hours in the second week of release (2nd to 9th), showing off its spirit of rising to 1st place. In the series 'The Glory', Cha Joo-young surprised everyone with a face that was noticeably different from before.

He poured out the solid acting skills he had built up so far without hesitation, and received favorable reviews for adding his own color to the character's characteristics. Hye-jeong (played by Cha Joo-young), played by Cha Joo-young in the play, is a member of the group of perpetrators who bullied Dong-eun (played by Song Hye-kyo) during her school days, and is a person filled with a sense of entitlement and a desire to reach a higher place than her friends.

Among these, Cha Joo-young, who attempted a transformation, imprinted an indispensable presence in the work by powerfully unfolding Hye-jeong's emotions and psychology that appear in multi-layered relationships. Cha Joo-young created Hye-jeong, the so-called example of 'strong and weak, strong', with her unique slyness and flexible expressiveness, into an attractive character who is an unforgivable villain but cannot be hated.

In particular, Hye-jeong's complicated inner self is conveyed through her shaking pupils and breathing as she holds back tears and nods her head in response to Yeon-jin's cold warning and ridicule of herself wearing Sara's clothes. In addition, the tense atmosphere was revived by showing off Hyejeong's helpless side by taking pictures and uploading them to SNS, despite her anger.

In addition, in the scene where she asks for forgiveness after finding out that her prospective mother-in-law and Dong-eun are acquaintances, Cha Joo-young densely captures Hye-jeong's two-faced characteristics. It is a three-dimensional portrayal of a person who seems to sincerely apologize to Dong-eun for his past mistakes, but behind the scenes he only cares about his own safety.

In this way, Cha Joo-young embodied the character itself with solid and stable acting. By delicately controlling the pace, a breathtaking tension was created, adding not only texture but also weight to the play. Accordingly, many people's attention is focused on Cha Joo-young's future moves, who have shown a bolder and newer face.

Meanwhile, Part 1 of the Netflix series 'The Glory' starring Cha Joo-young is available only on Netflix.

Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr