"Change will definitely happen, the very fact that I was able to audition is a change....I'm only just beginning." 'A person surnamed Son's granddaughter'—Australian Korean actress Ha Ye-rin, who was called that, has risen to prominence in the global content market as Sophie, the female lead of Bridgerton 4. I visited Ha Ye-rin's visit to Korea, where she confidently said "there was no racism on set" and talked about her next steps.
Netflix Korea held a press conference for the original series Bridgerton 4 on the afternoon of the 4th at Community Masil in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Ha Ye-rin, who played the female lead Sophie in Bridgerton 4, attended. Under the moderation of broadcaster Park Kyung-rim, she spoke with domestic reporters about the work and her recent activities.
Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn's best-selling novels and is set in the British Regency era, depicting the love stories of the aristocratic Bridgerton family in London. In season 4, the Bridgerton family's second son Benedict shows a transcendent love with Sophie Beck, a maid born out of wedlock, and received intense love. Riding that momentum, it reached No. 1 among Netflix global series and, despite being a foreign series, rose to the top two in Korea, generating great buzz.
In particular, Ha Ye-rin, who plays the female lead Sophie, is a Korean-descended actor from Australia and is drawing intense interest. She is also the granddaughter of Korea's theatrical doyenne Son Sook, and through Bridgerton 4 she is receiving praise for showing a Korean actor starring as the female lead in a globally popular series.
Ha Ye-rin, who smiled awkwardly saying "my grandmother didn't really give me advice," said, "My grandmother saw everything. I sent photos and it seems she watched them with her juniors. My grandmother's eyesight isn't good. She texts me saying she watched it up close on TV and that she's proud and loves me, which felt warm and touching. My grandmother saw the exposing scenes and said she was a bit surprised," she joked.
In particular, she said, "When I was young I tried to visit my grandmother at least once a year. The most memorable was a one-woman play. I clearly remember a scene where she held a pillow like a baby and cried. The audience also cried, and I thought it was the power of art. In the end, we humans are the same and emotions are the same, and I thought it's such a wonderful job to be able to give comfort to people through theater. And because my grandmother stood on stage herself and showed me it's a real, achievable profession, she always gave me great inspiration," revealing her bond with Son Sook.
Currently, Son Sook is performing The Old Man's Dream, and he said, "I plan to see it tomorrow. She leaves again on Friday but she hopes I go see it so I'm going to go," he laughed. He continued, "Even this morning I saw my grandmother at another set. In the past it was Son Sook's granddaughter Ha Ye-rin, but these days she says it's Ha Ye-rin, grandmother Son Sook, which made me feel both moved and proud. My grandmother always says, 'I have no regrets now, it's okay if I go back tomorrow,'" he said with a laugh.
Her Korean heritage is the driving force behind Ha Ye-rin's immense popularity in Korea and also makes Sophie more appealing. In the original, Sophie Beck also appeared as Sophie Beck. On that, Ha Ye-rin revealed, "When I got the casting acceptance call I wanted to discuss the character, but of course when they asked what Korean surname would fit Beck, I thought of 'Baek' starting with 'B.' Beck has a similar sound to Baek. So I asked very easily if 'Baek' would be better and it was accepted, so it was changed. There wasn't much discussion. But it was actually refreshing. Because I'm a Korean actor, I thought changing it to a surname that matches my identity was only natural," she disclosed about the casting setup anecdote.
However, she did not try to avoid Asian stereotypes. Ha Ye-rin said, "It took a long time. I tried to be comfortable in my own body. This is my body and this is how I look, so I thought I should celebrate it," and regarding using her Korean name as her stage name she said, "I've used Ye-rin since I was young. Even in Australia. I didn't have another English name. I always changed it to 'Yerin Ha.' I actually think that was really good. Looking back, I'm grateful my mother didn't give me another English name. As a Korean, I think I could confidently show my identity, so I will continue to use it."
Bridgerton has been loved as a steamy romance to the extent that every series received an age rating of 19 and over. She said she felt a burden about that, too. Ha Ye-rin confessed, "It was burdensome. Society talks a lot about women's bodies. These days I think many people feel they have the right to criticize women's bodies shown on screen as they please. Because of that, there were worries and burdens."
She said, "Especially in Korea, beauty standards differ from the West and can be strict. Having grown up and spent time in Korea, in some ways the way I looked at my body flowed in a certain direction. Fortunately, working with an intimacy coordinator, I thought it was an essential role in the industry. That person did an excellent job and organized the work like a choreography. Thanks to that, they did their best to make me feel safe. I think it's important that actors feel it's a safe space so they can deliver their best performance."
Amid passionate support from Korean fans, there have been many complaints about alleged racial discrimination such as seating arrangements for Ha Ye-rin during promotions. But Ha Ye-rin said, "Change is definitely happening. Where it is happening is in attitude. There has been a change in how people treat actors of color, and compared to before there is a fairer attitude now. If you ask when I first felt such change, I think the very fact that I could audition signaled the start of change. Even if not a lead, even if it was a small role, the fact that Asian actors were given audition opportunities itself felt like a clear change," she emphasized.
She added, "One of the things Bridgerton does very well, I think, is portraying a society that doesn't judge by skin color or outward appearance. It's the most ideal society. No prejudice, no racism, and I think Shondaland depicted a hopeful, bright image. It portrayed things we couldn't see on the street. Maybe because I grew up in Australia and spent time in the U.S., living among diverse races, I could feel that. I think that image is the natural society we imagine. It's right to love all of us, and I don't think anything should be a reason to separate us," she said emphatically.
Above all, she said, "The interesting point is that I personally never felt anyone on set was racist or discriminatory toward me in any form. I think there were some overlooked details. But those things weren't intentional or conscious. I didn't personally feel anything, but there were points that people perceived personally why things happened that way," she said.
She continued, "I think it's an opportunity to understand the overlooked details and show mutual tolerance. On the other hand, I think various media highlighting those details so they aren't overlooked is good. Those parts are things I also had to experience while working before. I thought it was interesting. I just hope these situations become opportunities to learn together that such things exist. I hope it doesn't lead to excessive criticism or hatred," she added.
Ha Ye-rin went on to emphasize the chemistry among the cast. She said, "The cast members are all so kind. Of course we're all friendly, but they've done seasons 1, 2 and 3 together for years, and when I came in as a new character I worried whether things would be disrupted, but they actually wanted new energy and welcomed me. This project was the set where, in my seven years as an actor, everyone treated each other equally and respected diversity. That's why this shoot was the happiest for me."
About the actors she became closest to, she said, "Except for Benedict, I became close with everyone, but I think I became closest with Hannah and Claudia. They were people I could call when I was having a hard time."
Maybe because of their exceptional chemistry, many fans support the real-life pairing of Benedict actor Luke Thompson and Ha Ye-rin, calling them 'Ben seobang' (Ben husband). Ha Ye-rin said with regret, "It would have been nice if we could have come together," and added, "He's doing other promotions in New York. We give each other time to promote separately, and I might be able to do it in Korea."
Responding to reactions saying "I hope they date," she laughed and said, "I think people see the hope of their love moving into reality after watching Benedict and Sophie. I'm really grateful to Luke as a friend, and maybe that shows. I'm thankful people think that way."
Contrary to fans' enthusiasm for Sophie and Benedict's Cinderella love story that transcends status, Ha Ye-rin said, "Except for episode 1, I thought the Cinderella aspect was a different story. Many people asked how I compared it to Cinderella, but I thought differently. I focused more on Sophie's childhood trauma and emotional aspects. I did research on British pronunciation and dance history, but I tried to find many commonalities between the character and myself. If you were to anchor Sophie's personality in various ways, I thought more concretely about the emotional parts."
She said, "Cinderella grabs the prince's hand without hesitation when he offers it. But Sophie does not immediately grab Benedict's hand when he offers it. Our story is about whether the other person is truly who they say they are. It's about looking at someone as they are, beyond class, appearance and social status. Above all, I think it's a story about fighting to win that love. Even if society opposes or blocks it, it's a story about whether you can fight to obtain that love," she said emphatically.
While choosing her next project after Bridgerton might reasonably be burdensome, Ha Ye-rin calmly said, "It's not so much a burden, though of course there is always pressure when choosing any project. Focusing on what kind of next character I want and a role where I can grow as an actor makes that important. Rather than the burden of satisfying someone or proving something extra to someone, I think I should be satisfied with myself."
Regarding activities in Korea she said, "I would be grateful for the opportunity. But when I speak Korean I seem to have an Australian accent. If it's a film that will go to international film festivals, I'm even more interested."
Above all, Ha Ye-rin said, "I'm still at the early starting point as a global actor. Sometimes I experience impostor syndrome. Sometimes I think I came here purely by luck. I fear when that luck will run out. I feel a great sense of responsibility that I was able to reach this position. I don't take that responsibility lightly. I still feel there is a long way to go in representing Asians in Hollywood. I'm glad to lead change where change is needed and to take on that role. If I can bring change for many people in the industry after me, it will be a responsibility I will gladly bear."
She continued, "Through this project I learned leadership. As the lead on set I took good care of those around me and learned a lot about leadership as a protagonist. I think relationships are extremely important in this industry. It's important to create an environment where those relationships can thrive. I also think it's important for me to help create that environment and to produce the best results. Another thing I experienced was feeling that willingly enduring discomfort can be meaningful. When filming steamy scenes, despite fear I think I was able to overcome it and grow."
[Photo] Provided by Netflix.
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