Actress Cha Joo-young, who overcame exposure acting to become the heroine of 'Wongyeong', visited 'Two O'Clock Date with Ahn Young-mi'.
On the 3rd, Cha Joo-young appeared as a special guest on MBC FM4U's 'Two O'Clock Date with Ahn Young-mi', which was broadcast live, and talked about her life work, tvN's 'Wongyeong', stating, "Historical dramas are difficult. Since they must be based on historical facts, it's not enough to just act well. I had to study a lot and seek advice. It was challenging to find the right balance, but I felt like I could do well."
He smiled when he noted the praise for his eye acting, saying, "I'm the type who is faithful to the script. Surprisingly, I felt limitations in the constraints of actions that a queen should display. Since it's a character that shouldn't come off as too cute, the only way to express myself was through my eyes. I should convey the story with my eyes. I'm grateful for you recognizing my hollow gaze acting. I don't calculate it specifically; I express as I feel."
'Wongyeong', which concluded last month, attracted attention as a female-centered narrative reconstructed from the perspective of Queen Wongyeong, rather than the frequently spotlighted King Taejong Lee Bang-won. Cha Joo-young took on the role of Queen Wongyeong and unleashed her acting potential. She garnered praise from viewers for the "perfect casting" alongside Lee Hyun-wook, who played Lee Bang-won, proving its hot topic status.
However, before the broadcast, various controversies arose surrounding 'Wongyeong', ranging from concerns about historical verification to explicit scenes rated 19+. Reports even emerged during the broadcast stating, "At the pre-filming storyboard stage, the production team increased the level of exposure, and although Cha Joo-young and Lee Yi-dam filmed the scene while dressed, the production team edited in the body of a stunt actor."
According to OSEN's coverage, when the project was planned in March 2023, 'Wongyeong' already included bed scenes. This was a narrative setup to shed light on the marital relationship between King Taejong Lee Bang-won and Queen Wongyeong. However, there was a need for more freedom of expression. Additionally, to differentiate from another jointly planned tvN and Tving project titled 'Avoiding Loss', 'Wongyeong' added a restriction for viewers aged 19 and older.
In connection with this, the 'Wongyeong' production team issued an official statement clarifying, "From the very beginning of planning, we sought to differentiate the tvN version from the OTT version, and we were open about the fact that the OTT version would be produced with a 'restricted for youth' rating. The presence of exposure scenes was also disclosed."
However, during a post-broadcast interview, Cha Joo-young revealed, "I think I'm quite courageous when it comes to boldness. As an actress, I have no reservations, but when attempting something with very well-known figures, even we were very cautious. There had to be lots of discussions and agreements, but there are definitely parts where our calculations were less thorough."
She further elaborated, saying, "Because I was confident that I could recover it with the remaining story. Of course, I understand there were parts where one might think, 'Do we really need this?' I've also mentioned such things on set, but the emphasis was on the love story of the royal couple in the Joseon dynasty. It seems we wanted to show everything."
In a meeting with Ahn Young-mi, Cha Joo-young expressed, "If we could get through the difficult early opinions, I thought people would watch our work. There are well-expressed parts and parts that I feel could have been better. There were also scenes reworked on set and many added in the later episodes. I thought that as long as what we had done was properly presented, it would be fine, but we faced a lot of challenges."
What was her family's reaction? Cha Joo-young shared, "My parents opposed me at first. They seemed to want to prevent me from stepping into it. But after 'Wongyeong' concluded, they said just one word: 'You endured it'. I portrayed Queen Wongyeong while thinking of my grandmother and maternal grandmother. Knowing that, my parents said, 'Thank you for your hard work.'"
Especially, he directed his remarks toward his fans, affectionately known as "KkuKkudul," saying, "How can I repay you? I feel like I haven't done enough compared to what my fans have given me. Hello, KkuKkudul. I've been leaving a lot of letters lately, right? There's no end to expressing my gratitude, so I want to say thank you once more. Let's keep our spirits up and enjoy each other's company for a long time."
[Photo] Capture
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