Kim Sejeong Talks Future Roles and Challenges in Romantic Comedies

"So far, I've often played roles that gradually grow like candy. In the future, I'd like to portray characters who come from wealthy backgrounds and wear beautiful clothes."

Kim Sejeong shared these thoughts during a roundtable interview at a café in Gangnam in late December last year. Since debuting as the runner-up on 'Produce 101' in 2016, she has built a steady career as a member of a girl group, a solo artist, and an actress. She proved her presence as a lead actress in the 2020 drama 'The Uncanny Counter' and gained a global fanbase with 'Business Proposal' in 2022. In 2025, she expanded her filmography by taking on her first historical drama role.

From her first appearance on 'Produce 101', Kim Sejeong was loved for her bright, sunny image. Now, nearly a decade later, she has taken on a challenging role in 'The Moon Flows Over the River', playing three different characters, and once again cemented her status as a 'sunshine heroine' with a new iconic role.

In the year she debuted with I.O.I, Kim Sejeong also participated as a member of the group Gugudan, planned by Jellyfish Entertainment. However, Gugudan disbanded in 2020 after four years without significant success. Since then, Kim Sejeong has been actively pursuing various avenues.

In the MBC drama 'The Moon Flows Over the River' (hereafter 'Moon River'), which aired last year, she captivated viewers by playing three roles, including a cross-dressing character. Her character, Park Dali, is central to the story, which involves a soul-swapping romance fantasy between a crown prince who has lost his smile and a merchant who has lost his memory.

Before 'Moon River' aired, MBC had been struggling with low ratings in the 1-2% range for dramas like 'Bunny and the Brothers', 'Mary Kills People', and 'Let's Go to the Moon'. In this context, 'Moon River' was scheduled as MBC's last Friday-Saturday drama of 2025, drawing attention. The director expressed pressure about the ratings, saying, "I feel like I'm going to die from the burden." However, 'Moon River' started with a relatively stable 3.8% rating and concluded with a peak rating of 6.8%, ending on a high note.

Looking back at Kim Sejeong's works, including 'Business Proposal', 'Drunken Romance', and 'Moon River', they all share the common theme of romantic comedy. Given that her recent works are in the same genre, there was curiosity about whether she had concerns about genre repetition when choosing 'Moon River'.

"Having done romantic comedies consecutively, I had a lot of concerns when selecting projects. I worried about my character or image becoming fixed and whether it was okay to keep choosing the same genre, and if it might harm previous characters. When genres continue, it can seem like similar characters rather than fresh interest."

Kim Sejeong concluded, "Ultimately, I decided to do 'Moon River' because I felt it was worth continuing with what people love right now." She added, "I think it's not too late to show other genres when I'm more prepared and a bit older. The time to do what people love now is actually only now," she smiled.

"I believe I can show endless possibilities within the romantic comedy genre. Not just showing one face in rom-coms, but capturing multiple aspects. Thankfully, this project was just that case. As it was my first historical drama challenge, I could show a new side while maintaining the genre I consider my strength and even ensuring chemistry with my co-star. So, I think choosing this project was the right decision."

Kim Sejeong stated, "I think I'll be more thoughtful in future choices," and "I don't want to let go of romantic comedies because I consider them my strength." She continued, "But if other offers come, I'm definitely willing to take on the challenge," emphasizing, "This project was a significant challenge for me and became the starting point for another challenge."

"Through this challenge, I hope I can move forward without hesitation in future choices. I hope more challenges are thrown my way. I'm always ready to take them on. While people see me as having a lot of positive images, I believe I also have the opposite face."

She expressed, "I want to play a villain. I really want to take on a hidden villain role." She added, "Above all, since I've done a lot of acting that requires effort, now I want to try acting that doesn't require any effort, expressing emotions as they are."

Lee So-jung, Ten Asia Reporter forusojung@tenasia.co.kr