Girls' Generation member and actress Im Yoon-ah candidly revealed her honest feelings about the prejudice against idols-turned-actors.
On the 10th broadcast of tvN's You Quiz On The Block, actress Im Yoon-ah, who is active in the drama Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, appeared and spoke.
Yoon-ah, who has recently been receiving tremendous reactions for Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, said the drama's popularity makes her "check the ratings first thing when I open my eyes. There's a time slot. I get up around then and look it up, refresh it and check."
Yoon-ah said, "I didn't feel the popularity until I heard I got a call from You Quiz. That was a point where I could kind of feel it. When people see me they say 'Yeon Ji-young,' and when someone passing by suddenly says, 'You must have had a hard time because of taekwondo,' I feel it."
She added, "The members all say it's so funny and that they're watching it well," and said, "Not long ago we gathered for Tiffany's birthday and debut anniversary. Every time we post a group photo on social media, many people seem to like it."
Recalling when she was first offered Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, Yoon-ah said, "When I first got the role, I really wanted to work with director Jang Tae-yoo. They sent me the web novel to read, and I felt like I was involved from the early stages. It's a work I have a special affection for."
Yoon-ah lamented, "I did almost all of the cooking, about 95 percent. I attended a cooking academy starting three months ago and learned. Because the work is centered on cooking as a medium, cooking was important. When acting, you have to perform while remembering and recognizing things as if it's a memory test. It felt like a memory test."
With Lee Chae-min also drawing attention for his acting, how is the chemistry between the two? Yoon-ah said, "He feels like a very upright young man. Even though his preparation time must have been short, seeing him fully equipped and showing up made me think 'he is Lee Heon' itself."
Yoon-ah said her drama debut came earlier than her Girls' Generation debut, noting, "I debuted first in the drama '9회말 2아웃.' The next month I debuted with Girls' Generation." She continued to balance acting and group activities afterward. Yoon-ah said, "At that time I was filming You Are My Destiny while promoting 'Gee.' I often couldn't sleep, and I remember even feeling drowsy during music video shoots."
She said, "At that time I didn't want to be negligent in any one thing. Because it's a team activity, I hoped that me being tired wouldn't cause harm. I didn't want people to think I was neglecting either side."
On the prejudice against idol actors, Yoon-ah said, "There may have been such views, but I mostly thought I just had to do well. If I do well, people tend to view it favorably."
With quite a few idol members, including Girls' Generation members, switching to acting, Yoon-ah said, "When friends I used to perform with meet me as actors, even if we're not close, I find myself cheering them on. There's a reaction that the work 'King the Land' is 'a meeting of Girls' Generation and 2PM,' and it even reached No. 1."
Are there advantages to balancing idol activities and acting? Yoon-ah said, "Because I danced, it really helped me use my body. For action or doing wire work. At concerts I rode wires."
Reflecting on her 30s, Yoon-ah said, "I think I really lived busily. I was so busy and have so many memories, and because I was always working toward the next step. I felt like I didn't know myself. It made me think I should look back at myself, not what I was looking at."
[Photo] OSEN DB, broadcast capture
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