(interview ② continued) Actress Jin Se Yun, who gave a passionate performance in "Recipe For Love", expressed satisfaction at being praised for taking on her first KBS weekend drama amid a slump in the broadcasting industry, while offering a harsh self-assessment and ambitions as an actor.
Jin Se Yun held an interview at a café in Noryangjin-dong, Dongjak District, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 20th. At the meeting she spoke with OSEN about the KBS 2TV weekend drama "Recipe For Love" (abbreviated as "Recipe For Love"), which ended on the 19th.
"Recipe For Love" is a family makeup drama in which two families entwined by bad ties for 30 years resolve their misunderstandings, heal each other's wounds and are reborn as one family. In it, Jin Se Yun played the female lead Gong Joo-a. Gong Joo-a earned a medical license under her mother's pressure but ultimately followed her dream and chose the path of a designer. Despite the label of being from medical school, she has relentlessly honed her skills and was loved for always brightening those around her with her characteristic lovable energy.
In particular, "Recipe For Love" recorded a steady viewership of around 15% nationwide on Nielsen Korea throughout its 50 episodes. It achieved its highest rating of 15.9% at episode 44 and ended with 15.3% at episode 50 (finale). About this, Jin Se Yun said, "We saw that our show's ratings fluctuated relatively little and stayed about the same. If you put in sensational things for the sake of ratings, ratings might go up, but I also thought it could stray from the theme the work set out with. So I was glad we were able to finish as a work that heals without that. I thought that's why viewers who started watching from the beginning were able to watch comfortably until the end and stuck with it."
Since debuting in the 2010 SBS drama "It's Okay, Daddy's Daughter," Jin Se Yun has appeared in various works such as "Bridal Mask", "Dr. Jin", "The Merchant Gaekju 2015" and "Grand Prince", but KBS weekend dramas, which have consistently been loved by middle-aged and older viewers, were new territory with "Recipe For Love." What did those around her say? Jin Se Yun laughed and said, "My family really enjoyed it. I heard my mother's friends texted after every episode more than for any other work. They said, 'Gong Joo-a is so pretty. Your daughter did so well.' Hearing that made me so happy. One reason I wanted to do a weekend drama was to feel that again after a long time. I felt that even during historical dramas, but KBS weekends definitely feel different."
Amid growing concerns about a slump in the broadcasting industry, KBS weekend dramas, which have steadily been loved, could not be exempt from that sense of crisis. Jin Se Yun confessed, "I didn't directly feel the slump as much as I expected," but calmly added, "I did think this work would become a valuable experience." She said, "I felt if I didn't do a KBS weekend drama now, I might not get another chance later. Stations are deep in the red, and as the age of weekend drama viewers rises, they may disappear. I chose this partly because if I didn't do it now, I might not be able to later. For the future."
She continued cautiously, "On set I don't directly feel things like a production slump. But indirectly I hear from newcomer friends that auditions have disappeared. Meetings are fewer, and when they happen they are limited. With fewer projects and many people appearing in OTT works, new actors seem to be struggling more than before."
Above all, Jin Se Yun said frankly, "I'm not completely at ease either. I need support from my agency. I think I'm in an ambiguous position. I have recognition, but I'm not a hugely popular actor. Because of that, I don't yet think I have a role that would let me show off my acting dramatically. So I wonder if my position is ambiguous."
To that end, Jin Se Yun had her profile photos newly taken once and actually agonized over showing a new image from that time. She tried a different look, cutting her bangs and losing weight so her face looked slimmer, replacing the previous bright makeup and wide smile look with natural profile photos that emphasized clear facial features. However, after posting them on SNS she regretted not being able to use them properly due to unexpected malicious comments.
In fact, since her debut Jin Se Yun handled serious characters in many works such as "Bridal Mask", "Dr. Jin", "The Merchant Gaekju 2015" and "Grand Prince" even in her 20s, and felt a strong longing for age-appropriate images and acting. That is why the KBS weekend drama "Recipe For Love" felt like a turning point to her. Jin Se Yun said with a smile, "I'm grateful that viewers who watched the show liked it. The senior actors who played family with me in the work all said, 'We thought you would naturally be bubbly, talkative, tomboyish and a bit scatterbrained like Joo-a.' At least I think I wasn't awkward." She added, "Because of this, I think I may have taken a step toward a character change, since I hardly ever played such a bright character before."
She added, "Nothing is decided for my next project, but I want to keep my options open and look at everything," expressing pride at being praised for playing a role suited to her age for the first time as Gong Joo-a in "Recipe For Love." Jin Se Yun laughed and said, "I wanted to say thank you to the viewers of 'Recipe For Love' for supporting and enjoying it until the end. Many people rooted for the melodrama between Joo-a and Hyunbin (played by Park Ki-woong), and I always gained strength reading those reactions and posts. I'm thankful."
[photo] provided by the subject.
[OSEN]