Actor Roh Yoon-seo did not avoid criticism of her acting.
On the 23rd, an interview with lead actress Roh Yoon-seo for the Netflix series "East Palace" (written by Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won, directed by Choi Jung-gyu, planned and produced by Shonarus, Imaginus) was held at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
"East Palace" is the story of Gucheon, who has the ability to cross the realm of ghosts (鬼), and court lady Saenggang, who holds a secret, responding to the king's summons and uncovering the curse dwelling in the east palace. After its release on the 17th, it recorded 4.9 million views in three days and ranked No. 2 on the global non-English show top 10, and immediately after release it ranked No. 1 on "today's top 10 series in Korea." It also made the top 10 lists in a total of 27 countries, including Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines and India.
In this work, which brings out the charm of a Korean-style fantasy historical drama, Roh Yoon-seo achieved a colorful transformation within a single work and showed a new face the public had not seen. Within the novel worldview of encountering ghosts and the fresh concept of shamanism, Roh Yoon-seo finely portrayed Saenggang's mysterious and secretive psychology, and in the process of tracking the strange incidents tied to the palace she displayed a resolute charisma, revealing the opposite side of the character. She accomplished a singular acting transformation with a spectrum that simultaneously digested the character's deep inner life and autonomous growth within one work.
Roh Yoon-seo, who challenged her first historical drama since debut, said, "This is my first time in a historical drama. The Saenggang character is an 'ongju,' so we talked a lot about how to realize that stiffness and elegance. When acting, Saenggang interacts with various characters, so I tried to act while thinking about the differences when moving between them. I learned a lot about how to portray the reaction to seeing something without a physical presence and how to perform CG scenes, and how to make Gucheon's action and Saenggang's reality look effective when cut to cut. I also learned a lot about how to use facial expressions," she said.
Roh Yoon-seo said she also saw reactions that the historical drama tone felt awkward. She opened by saying, "I did feel pressure because I had a challenging mindset," and added, "I am aware of and listening to the reactions after the release. Every actor has regrets about their own acting, and since this is my first time, I myself had regrets. If viewers felt those parts, I was aware of them too, and I think I need to work harder."
In particular, Roh Yoon-seo showed maturity, saying, "I am grateful for those reactions. It helped me know the parts I was aware of and the parts I was not aware of. I think those are areas I need to work on."
Roh Yoon-seo received reactions that her acting became stable and she adapted to the historical drama as the latter part progressed. Roh Yoon-seo said, "At the time of filming I did my best, but it's not because it's a historical drama; in every work there are times when you become one with the character. As it went on, I became one with Saenggang, and the historical drama tone and emotional immersion as Saenggang worked well. While interacting with Cho Seung-woo and Nam Joo-hyuk, exchanging energy, I came to know this feeling. Sharing acting advice, I found my sense by exchanging rhythmic patterns and many acting tips beyond just historical drama. When I was with Gucheon there were many everyday conversations, so I tried to focus on the chemistry. With the seniors, the historical drama tone shifted, so I concentrated on emotions and situations," she said.
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