Actor Ham Eun-jung recalled her mother, who passed away last year.
Ham Eun-jung gave a passionate performance as Kang Jae-in in KBS2 daily drama Queen's House (written by Kim Min-ju, directed by Hong Eun-mi and Hong Seok-gu), which ended on the 19th.
Queen's House is a revenge drama in which a woman who firmly believed she had a perfect life has her life stolen from her and then fights to reclaim it. Directors Hong Seok-gu, who showed delicate directing in numerous works including Beauty and the Loyal Man, Oh! Samkwang Villa!, and My Only One, and Hong Eun-mi, who delivered stylish direction in Beauty and the Loyal Man, Pure-Hearted Boxer, and School 2021, teamed up. Writer Kim Min-ju, who led the revival of daily dramas with Golden Mask, Sunny Again Tomorrow, and Shine, Eun-soo, once again delivered intense immersion for viewers, and the series concluded after 100 episodes aired on the 19th.
In Queen's House, which received much love and recorded a peak rating of 11.9% (episode 97), Ham Eun-jung played Kang Jae-in, the youngest Head of Team in the YL Group design department. Jae-in was born into a household everyone envied but instead dreams of a simple, modest life, and an unexpected incident completely upended her life. Having delivered highly engaging performances in works such as Sujimat-eun Uri, Love's Twists and Turns, and Even If Fooled, Ham Eun-jung solidified her position as the "queen of daily dramas" by taking on her first revenge role in Queen's House and delivering thrilling catharsis and immersion.
From 2024 through 2025, Ham Eun-jung's life could not have been more hectic and busy. After finishing the KBS1 daily drama Sujimat-eun Uri, she had planned a trip to Bali with her mother, but she fell into deep sorrow after her mother's death; as soon as she overcame the grief, she attended award ceremonies and appeared in the KBS2 daily drama Queen's House, living at a breathless pace. In particular, shortly before Queen's House ended, she suffered a knee injury that left her on crutches.
Her mother, who died last year, had been a great source of strength and insight for Ham Eun-jung, so the depth of her sorrow is immeasurable. Ham Eun-jung said, "I remember that when I poured out my worries about what kind of actor I wanted to be and what direction I wanted to show, she told me, 'Just do your acting well.'"
The reason she poured out those worries was that most of Ham Eun-jung's recent filmography has been filled with daily dramas. Although taking longer acting breaths allowed her time to study, some viewed Ham Eun-jung as "an actor who only does daily dramas," forcing her to worry about her future direction. Ham Eun-jung said, "I feel that my mother was right. There are seniors, but they are not limited to daily dramas. When I did daily dramas, some people warned me, asking why I would play a mother or supporting role, but now they say it's impressive. The boundaries of right and wrong, good and bad are gone, and these days it's a time when being seen through your work is valuable, so I think it's fine as long as I don't get boxed in by where I appear."
Reflecting on herself because of her mother's words helped Ham Eun-jung move forward. There was another change after her mother's death: her thoughts about marriage. Ham Eun-jung laughed, "My friends are all mothers, so I was influenced, but I used to have a childish idea that entertainers can get married a little later. I also thought focusing on work came first, but after my mother's death I faced reality and felt my age. Having been active in T-ara for a long time, I don't have much daily life data, but I do have the romance of getting married and having children. When you do daily dramas you receive much love from older viewers, so I think there's a possibility."
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