The actor Park Ji-hyun of You and Everything Else was the kind of "Sang-yeon" who, even when she did hateful things, was impossible to hate and ultimately made you accept her. I met the person who met the benefactor Kim Goeun, emptied her own savings to buy a luxury watch, and created a turning point after a harsh three-week diet of only water and coffee.
Park Ji-hyun held an interview on the morning of the 25th at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. At that meeting, he met with domestic reporters and talked about the recently released Netflix original series You and Everything Else.
You and Everything Else is a drama that depicts every moment of two friends, Eun-jung and Sang-yeon, who at every moment like and admire each other most, while also feeling jealousy and hatred, becoming entangled throughout their lives. Actress Kim Goeun played Eun-jung and Park Ji-hyun gave a passionate performance as Sang-yeon. Thanks to this, the drama even rose to No. 5 in the non-English section of the Netflix global top 10 series.
Contrary to the heartrending ending in which the character chooses assisted death because of an incurable disease, Park Ji-hyun greeted reporters smiling, saying "I'm very healthy." He spoke about the work he had seen in person: "They showed it to me before the Netflix release while we were shooting the film, and I enjoyed watching it very much. I watched it four times. Even though it's my work, I watched it from the viewer's perspective and really enjoyed it," he said with uncommon emotion.
For Park Ji-hyun, who played the role directly, Sang-yeon's emotional line was special. He said, "From the beginning I felt sorry for Sang-yeon," adding, "I tend to think that every character has reasons and legitimacy. From the moment I first received the Sang-yeon character, I had a strong feeling that I had to protect and persuade this friend."
However, there were big worries. Because the story is told from Eun-jung's perspective, the view toward Sang-yeon couldn't be purely favorable. Park Ji-hyun explained, "I was quite worried. I hoped viewers would take Sang-yeon's side no matter who they are. There are parts of Sang-yeon's actions that are hard to understand no matter who watches, so I thought even I would have to try to understand her. I wanted people to at least try to understand."
He laughed at the public reaction, saying, "They called her 'the incomparable Sang-yeon,'" and added, "I think people will interpret it differently depending on who watches. We are the ones who show it, but interpretation is up to the viewers, so how they see and accept it is their freedom. I think opinions are open. Whatever way they view it, I'm grateful just that they watch."
He said, "I saw those reactions while watching responses and thought it was simply genius. Looking at Sang-yeon's overall narrative and the situations in the drama, she's very lonely and someone who claims loneliness herself. It's Sang-yeon's story, but because it's presented from Eun-jung's viewpoint, I thought people might view Sang-yeon more from Eun-jung's angle. In a way, I wasn't surprised that responses like 'the incomparable Sang-yeon' would naturally appear."
He continued, "For the drama to have meaning, I think everyone needs to understand Eun-jung and Sang-yeon to reach the final conclusion together. So I tried to make Sang-yeon's actions and harsh words have reasons that are revealed in reverse chronological order, and I thought people would at first ask 'why is she like that?' but then embrace her, hate her but inevitably end up loving the character. I kept trying to preserve that."
Park Ji-hyun said of acting across ages from her 20s to her 40s, "Fortunately we shot by age groups — the 20s first, then the 30s, then the 40s — so it didn't feel particularly difficult. If the timeline had been mixed up, it would have been emotionally hard to portray, but the set wasn't like that, so it was easier as an actor in terms of time and performance. I think it's a blessing to portray one character over a long period in a single work."
She added, "Usually when you play one part of a character in a work, you imagine the past and future, build it among ourselves, and create a backstory for acting. But in this case the script already provided that, and it even included Sang-yeon's life and death, so with the material given, there were answers and it was much easier to act. So there wasn't a particularly difficult period," expressing satisfaction.
"Life and death" was by no means an easy subject to act. Park Ji-hyun said, "Playing Sang-yeon made me think a lot about 'life and death,' which can be difficult but is very closely tied to life. Although the drama deals with human relationships and friendship, until then I had felt death was distant. But while playing Sang-yeon I imagined the death of her brother, the death of her mother, and Sang-yeon facing death, and I felt that death is more connected to our lives than I had realized."
He added, "People are born and will eventually die. I pondered philosophically what death might be, rather than thinking of it negatively. Why had I thought of death only negatively until now? Everyone is born and will die, but I had lived excluding death. I thought death would never happen to me. As I got older I attended funerals for my father and mother, saw close relatives get sick, and my grandparents passed away, so I felt death getting closer and realized it's not necessary to view death only negatively." He also joked that, at his physician father's urging, he continues to have regular health checkups.
Even so, Sang-yeon's final assisted death and dignified death were delicate matters for Park Ji-hyun. She said carefully, "I think part of Sang-yeon's mindset still remains in me. Assisted death is ethically, legally, morally, and socially taboo and difficult to speak about casually. As an actor who played this role, I'm in a position where it's hard to talk lightly. But looking from Sang-yeon's perspective, I haven't fully escaped her yet. Personally, I believe that even if someone couldn't choose to be born, at the end of life, standing before death and suffering, it's not bad to allow a person the freedom to choose their own death."
However, she added, "That's just my personal position; I don't know what social or moral impact it would have. So rather than making it my assertion, from the perspective of someone who played Sang-yeon, I have a vague thought that if a person has that much pain, it might be good to give them a chance to end their life more comfortably."
Park Ji-hyun paid delicate attention to weight management to portray a sick patient. Above all, she said, "I observed how patients in their 40s act and even tried fasting. I fasted for about two to three weeks, drinking only water and americano," revealing a shocking dedication.
She said, "My body got thin but my face swelled. It turned yellow and swollen. I thought, 'this is it.' I needed a swollen face. So right before shooting I cried a lot. I'm naturally an 'F' type. Sang-yeon is supposed to be cold and composed, but on set when I made eye contact with Goeun unnie I couldn't hold back tears while delivering lines. Normally we record the breast (emotional) scenes first, but mine was last because I cried too much. I couldn't control myself; my ability wasn't enough then," adding, "Holding back tears was very hard. I cried for two to three hours before shooting. I went to set with a puffy face. In a way it was intentional. In full shots or scenes where I'm not prominent, I cried. I'm still sorry to Goeun unnie. When I filmed her breast scenes in front of me, I cried even though I shouldn't have. By the time we filmed my breast scenes I felt much better, so I could avoid crying. Also, I don't usually swell much, which can be an advantage in my acting career, but I cried a lot to try to make my face swell."
Although such dramatic acting could have been hard, Park Ji-hyun said, "I enjoyed the filming so much. I realized I enjoy roles with a wide emotional range. The narrative isn't huge, but I thought the narrative was great. Just being able to play a role with a wide emotional range based on this narrative was so fun. The lines, situations, and emotions are so varied. It really felt like the stage was set for me. I thought, 'I've hit the mark,'" she said with a laugh.
She said, "The director was someone I had worked with before, and the camera, lighting teams, and Goeun unnie all supported me so well that I could act without major worries. It was a set where I didn't have to worry about going too far or not being enough. During filming there wasn't a single moment of hardship, worry, or pressure."
She continued, "But even after finishing filming and taking a long break, I felt Sang-yeon's values remained with me to some degree. I realized then that I had always thought I could separate role and self well, but seeing that some values remained, I first felt I hadn't fully separated from Sang-yeon. I realized as an actor I needed to complete this character and separate a bit."
Among other things, what You and Everything Else left Park Ji-hyun was the benefactor Kim Goeun. Park Ji-hyun said, "If I had to name the greatest gain from this work, I think I acquired a benefactor in Kim Goeun. I've acted with many seniors and peers, but this gives me goosebumps," she marveled.
She explained, "I think this person has been the only one to have such a big influence on my life so far. Many people say they want to work with actress Kim Goeun, and I did too. At first I thought this close, long collaboration was 'a blessing from heaven.' But after working with her I met someone who could change my life. It could be called a turning point in my life."
She added, "In the past on set I thought if I imitated everything Goeun unnie did I might become like her. I wanted to be like Goeun unnie. I thought doing that would make me a good actress. But when the work opened and I saw her finished performance, I thought I couldn't win. I couldn't catch up. Just her existence is a blessing for Korea. Not only Korea but the film, drama, and arts community are blessed. I don't know how Goeun unnie thinks of me. Dare I call her my mentor? More than that," she emphasized.
Park Ji-hyun said again, "I think I'm very empathetic toward others, but I'm also very independent in my decisions because I felt no one fully accepted and understood me until now — not even my parents or family. No one saw me as I am, let me be as I am, supported me when needed, or kept distance when needed. But Goeun unnie did that for me," she expressed with emotion.
She said, "Seeing Eun-jung as Sang-yeon and seeing Goeun unnie are different. Sang-yeon is a friend who isn't honest. I looked at unnie transparently and honestly and showed everything. I spoke frankly. But when I stood in front of that unnie I couldn't help but be different. Saying that might sound exaggerated, but it's true," and added, "Sang-yeon's view of Eun-jung and my view of Goeun unnie were quite different. Sang-yeon admired Eun-jung as a friend but also resented her. I didn't dare feel resentment. I admired, aspired to, and respected her."
In addition, Park Ji-hyun spent her own money to prepare props and costumes for Sang-yeon. She explained, "I've said I like shopping, but I tend to buy clothes and items related to a character more than for my usual wear. I like using them. So when I take on a character, my wardrobe becomes like the character's. After filming it's like a storage room. A normal person's closet reflects their tastes, but mine is different. In a way that's my hobby. Styling based on references helps both acting and appearance."
She said she bought the 40s Sang-yeon's luxury brand outfits herself because sponsorship didn't come through. Park Ji-hyun said, "I discussed a lot with the costume team and thought styling for the 40s was most important, though styling for the 20s and 30s also mattered. I referenced the fashion of successful older sisters around me. I bought various clothes and props with my own money, from luggage to scarves, watches, and earrings. I like those details. Sometimes it felt burdensome or like I was being greedy, but seeing the result and hearing many say she really looks like she's in her 40s and that the costumes were very well done makes me inwardly proud," she said with a laugh.
However, she said, "I don't usually wear such flashy luxury goods. I mostly wear tracksuits. But maybe I'll use them for other clothes someday. My closet might become a costume room and I worry about when I'll save money, so I should stop, but it's hard," she laughed, adding, "The most expensive item is the watch. I don't wear it now. I just keep it."
[Photo] Provided by Netflix.
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