Actor Jung Soo-bin talked about her acting chemistry with Lee Hyeri.
Jung Soo-bin performed passionately as Woo Seul-ki in the STUDIO X+U drama "Competition of Goodness" (written by Kim Tae-hee and Min Ye-ji, directed by Kim Tae-hee), filling each other's shortcomings amidst friendship and desire during the growth story.
"Competition of Goodness" is a mystery thriller centered around the suspicious death of the father, who was a commissioner for the college entrance examination, revealing the desires of her friends when Seul-ki (Jung Soo-bin) transfers to the elite Chaehwa High School, where brutal entrance exam competition occurs. Not just a simple school drama, it combines a tightly structured story and artistic direction that delivers a high level of immersion for viewers, focusing on the various desires towards college entrance exams, centering on the commissioner’s suspicious death. In particular, the rapidly changing relationships between characters crossing friendship, solidarity, trust, doubt, longing, and jealousy left a strong impression, earning praise for pioneering a new genre of mystery girl thriller.
"Competition of Goodness" not only broke all-time records in viewership counts across U+tv, U+mobile tv, and new viewer influx at the time of its release, but demonstrated remarkable success by dominating domestic buzz charts. Additionally, it swept first place on global OTT platforms in Japan, Taiwan, and received critical acclaim by surpassing a rating of 9 on the largest global review site IMDb. It also secured a spot in the top 10 of the buzz chart announced by content analysis platform Fundex right from its premiere, showcasing its strength by rising to second place in the integrated TV and OTT drama sector as of March 5. Furthermore, Lee Hyeri (as Yoo Je-i) and Jung Soo-bin (as Woo Seul-ki) ranked third and ninth on the actor buzz charts, respectively, proving their popularity, continually topping rankings on TVing.
Playing the role of Woo Seul-ki in the drama, Jung Soo-bin cooperated with Yoo Je-i and sometimes clashed while unraveling the mystery surrounding her father's death. She heightened the drama's weight by flexibly varying her gaze, expressions, voice, and gestures depending on her counterpart and the situation. After leaving a deep impression through "Competition of Goodness," Jung Soo-bin has also achieved success with the recently released film "It's Okay It's Okay It's Okay!" marking her perfect leap as a rising star.
Regarding her participation process in "Competition of Goodness," Jung Soo-bin remarked, "When I was selected for the role through audition, the director noted that there are many parts that have been adapted from the original, so I should focus on the screenplay. To embody the character from the original, I brought in the raw image that Seulgi possesses. In terms of makeup, I aimed for naturalness rather than bold colors, and for costumes, since Seulgi is from an orphanage, I tried to embody simplicity rather than extravagance."
Jung Soo-bin was initially attracted to the character of Yoo Je-i in "Competition of Goodness," but after seeing Lee Hyeri's portrayal of Yoo Je-i, she gave up that admiration. Jung Soo-bin said, "I found Yoo Je-i too charming in the original, but after seeing the Yoo Je-i that Hyeri unnie portrayed, I realized that I couldn’t surpass that. There are very few people who can fully embody ‘the hexagonal human’ Yoo Je-i, and Hyeri unnie encompassed all those hexagonal elements. I was amazed while watching."
In particular, Jung Soo-bin had a past connection with Hyeri. During her school days, Jung Soo-bin performed the dance to Girl's Day's "Something" in which Hyeri was a member. Regarding her chemistry with Hyeri, Jung Soo-bin said, "Before entering the work, I felt a lot of pressure regarding how to approach it, but she invited me over and supported me greatly. Especially, unnie said, 'If you feel comfortable, I will support and encourage you,' and 'Feel free to do as you wish; I will back you up and help you.' From that moment, my trust in her solidified, allowing me to participate in the work more comfortably."
The kiss scene with Hyeri was one of the most dopamine-filled moments in "Competition of Goodness." Regarding that scene, Jung Soo-bin said, "I never felt uncomfortable or found it difficult while shooting with Hyeri unnie. That scene was shot in the middle of filming, and I felt fine after it was done; however, there was a time we all watched the edited version together at unnie's house. While we were okay, those who watched it with us reacted passionately, which was surprising."
Jung Soo-bin stated, "I believe the kiss scene was something that could realistically occur in the context of their narrative. There are various forms of love, and after completing this work, I felt the desire to redefine the chapter of love. (Love) has so many diverse directions and is sometimes too broad for someone that I thought there were enough points to express my psychology within that. However, I was taken aback and intrigued by how warmly others reacted to it."
<Continued in Interview Part 2.>
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