"Is this love translatable?" showcased Zainichi Korean actress Hyunri revealed her first experience with the Korean drama system.
Hyunri recently played the role of Nanami in the Netflix original series "Is this love translatable?" This is her first Korean drama, but she actually debuted in Japan in 2006. As a Zainichi Korean actress who began her career in Japan and now works in Korea and the U.S., we heard her story.
The series in which Hyunri appears, "Is this love translatable?," is an unpredictable romantic comedy drama that unfolds when multilingual interpreter Joo Hojin is assigned to interpret for global top star Cha Mu-hee. It is a new work by Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran, the writing duo among Korea's popular drama writers known as the Hong sisters, and actors Go Youn-jung and Kim Seon-ho play the leading roles of Cha Mu-hee and Joo Hojin, respectively.
Appearing in a Korean drama for the first time through this project, Hyunri said of her connection to the work, "I was grateful to be offered the casting first, and when the director came to scout locations in Japan I met him in person and had a meeting." She added, "I have long enjoyed watching Korean films and dramas, and it happened to be a time when Korea-Japan co-productions were becoming active, so I really wanted to participate, and it led to a good opportunity."
So what differences did she personally experience between the Korean and Japanese production systems? Hyunri said, "From an actor's perspective, performing in front of the camera itself does not have a big difference," but added, "I felt that the processes leading to that are somewhat different." She said, "In particular, the set of 'Is this love translatable?' was not only large in scale, but, fitting the characteristics of the romantic comedy genre, the process of carefully finding the actor's most attractive angles, wardrobe images that match the character, and makeup image checks from the camera test stage was impressive," stressing that it was "a different and interesting work I had not experienced in Japan."
Life as an actor in Japan was not easy. Hyunri, who said, "I was often offered street castings during my school days, but my parents were strongly opposed at the time," added, "After long conversations I promised 'I will start activities after graduating from university,' and after entering the law department I worked hard to achieve my goal and graduated in four years, and only then was I given permission."
In fact, Hyunri is a graduate of the law department of Aoyama Gakuin University, one of Japan's prestigious private universities. Known as 'Aogaku' or AGU, Aoyama Gakuin University is located in Shibuya, Tokyo, and boasts a history of more than 150 years. There are many well-known alumni, including Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte and part of the Lotte owner family, Shin Dong-ju, chairman of SDJ Corporation, and modernist poet Baek Seok, who was recognized for his genius even during the Japanese colonial period.
However, Hyunri's dream of becoming an actor was something she cherished from childhood before entering university. Hyunri said, "I liked reading novels from an early age to the point that my elementary school teacher told me, 'You've read all the library books,'" and added, "I was especially influenced by the book 'Momo.' I named my companion dog 'Momo.' I grew up deeply sympathizing with the protagonist who sincerely listens to other people's stories. The sensitivity and thoughts I built through books then have become a precious foundation for my acting activities now."
(Continued in interview 2.)<
[Photo] Provided by HB Entertainment.
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