Actor Ha Yoon-Kyung mentioned her satisfaction with the ending of Undercover Miss Hong.
Ha Yoon-Kyung held a finale interview for the tvN weekend drama Undercover Miss Hong (directed by Park Sun-ho, Na Ji-hyun / written by Moon Hyun-kyung / planned by Studio Dragon / produced by Celltrion Entertainment, Studio Dragon) on the 6th at a café in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul.
Undercover Miss Hong is a late-1990s, turn-of-the-century retro office comedy drama in which 30-year-old elite securities supervisor Hong Geum-bo (Park Shin-hye) disguises herself as a 20-year-old entry-level employee to take a job at a securities firm where suspicious funds have been traced, and Ha Yoon-Kyung played Go Bok-hee, the president's secretary at Hanmin Securities, who has maxed-out social skills.
Ha Yoon-Kyung opened up, saying, "I am the type to speak my mind a lot and not bottle things up. Still, I try to speak carefully, or sometimes I don't speak at all. Part of it is because I've never been the lead before. Now that I am in a leading role, I learned that I have to take responsibility."
She said, "I learned a lot from watching Shin-hye unni. She suggested necessary things softly and without rudeness. I thought, that's what a leader looks like," and added, "It's hard for a newcomer to voice even one opinion, but pulling them into the conversation is a true leadership quality. You could let things slide to avoid getting criticized, but I thought I should learn to lead next time. I learned that sometimes you have to take responsibility so juniors can trust and follow you."
Discussing the growing responsibility as a lead actor, Ha Yoon-Kyung said, "Even now, while working on other projects, I try to voice my opinions. I say, 'I'm just throwing this out there, so please take it,' and bring up things comfortably," adding, "Then juniors also voice their opinions more comfortably. It's not easy, but I try to make that effort."
Ha Yoon-Kyung explained about how she is changing, "I used to be scared even to present. Now I try to go for it more. I think I'm trying to get rid of that self-consciousness. I learned that you have to be shameless. You can't be shameless all the time, but I'm pursuing a 'respectful shamelessness.'"
At the time of the interview, the final episode had not yet been released. Regarding her satisfaction with the ending, Ha Yoon-Kyung said, "I like the ending, but there are parts fans might be disappointed about. People say they wished Bok-hee had gone to Santa Monica Beach, but she doesn't go to Santa Monica. I thought it's because she either goes later or she no longer needs to go. Bok-hee no longer needs to escape anymore," adding, "It doesn't explicitly say she goes to Gwangalli, but there's a part that suggests she might go."
When asked whether the ending was open enough for a season 2, she said, "The knot is tied, but it's an ending that could be made into (season 2) if they wanted to make it," and added, "But would Bok-hee have something to do in season 2? If so, of course that would be good. If not, I wouldn't be disappointed."
Having filmed successive hits, Ha Yoon-Kyung has been praised for having a good eye for projects. On her selection criteria, she modestly said, "I think I'm just lucky," then added, "I choose projects if there's something to gain from them, like the approach to a character, chemistry with other actors, or directing style, rather than ratings or box office. Thankfully, that seems to lead to good results. There's no special secret."
She cited 'freedom' as the biggest change she gained from this project. Ha Yoon-Kyung said, "The directors really liked my ad-libs, so I could act freely," adding, "If it wasn't funny, they would have cut it in editing, so I wondered why I had been acting so cautiously before. It was a project where I gained confidence."
While Choi Soo-yeon in Extraordinary Attorney Woo was called the spring sunlight, Go Bok-hee in Miss Hong drew reactions calling her the 'sunlight on a spring day with dark clouds.' Ha Yoon-Kyung said, "I don't find that label burdensome at all and I like it very much. I was one of the actors who had lost a name. I'm grateful to have received this label, and I also like the critique that 'it didn't evoke spring sunlight.' I think it's fun to act with that in mind."
She added, "I'm absolutely not spring sunlight. It's my only burden. I try to be that way, but since I shouldn't disappoint people anyway, I tend to try to live as a good person."
Finally, when asked if she had a message she wanted to leave for Miss Hong's Go Bok-hee, Ha Yoon-Kyung said, "I think Bok-hee is a character who, in a way, transcends eras. People who have to smile even when they don't want to, people who can give comfort like that — I think Bok-hee provides that comfort," adding, "If we love one another, situations can get better, and I think Bok-hee shows that. I hope Bok-hee lives happily, and I hope the world becomes a place where people like Bok-hee can be loved and healed."
[Photo] Hodoo&U Entertainment
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