Actor Seo Sumin spoke about the process of opening her YouTube channel before her debut.
On the 27th, at a cafe in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, an end-of-run interview with Seo Sumin of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama Manager Kim was held.
Seo Sumin played Kim Minji, the daughter of Manager Kim (played by So Jisub), delivering such stable acting and a clear presence that it belied the fact that this was her first drama attempt, leaving a deep impression on viewers.
Manager Kim started with a 9.5% rating in episode 1, surpassed 21.6% in episode 4 and exceeded the milestone 20% rating. Up to the final episode, episode 10, it recorded over 20% ratings for seven consecutive episodes and ended with a nationwide 23.0% rating. (Provided by Nielsen Korea)
When asked if she feels Seo Sumin's popularity, she said, "Even after Manager Kim aired I went out without wearing a hat or mask, and gradually some people recognized me," adding, "My friends didn't know I was acting. High school teachers, too — they thought I was a student studying, and suddenly seeing me on TV they contacted me, and a retired teacher also reached out so I was grateful."
She is currently working part-time. She revealed, "I'm still doing part-time work. I'm about to stop soon, so I'm telling you. I'll work part-time only until the end of July. I'm working at a takoyaki place."
Seo Sumin said, "I started after the drama ended. I wasn't filming another drama, and I didn't want to just be idle, so I started doing something," and when asked why she quit the part-time job she said, "The takoyaki shop closed," prompting laughter. She added, "I might find another part-time job. While I like acting and being an actress, I think the experience of earning money in everyday life is also important, so if I have the chance I think I might do a part-time job."
Seo Sumin drew attention by uploading videos to a YouTube channel named after herself before debuting through Manager Kim. Asked if she started YouTube for acting, Seo Sumin said, "Honestly I had no intention of doing YouTube at all; before YouTube I only used Instagram. Some existing followers wanted to see my high school life, and at that time I actually had a company, but I uploaded to YouTube without the company's knowledge. I uploaded little by little and didn't expect it to grow."
Seo Sumin confessed that she uploaded videos despite company advice, saying, "Only then did I realize the situation and thought I shouldn't do it secretly. I said 'I'm sorry' to the company, and the company said 'it's okay but it's better not to upload more.' I had uploaded it just thinking I'd hang out with friends, but I was grateful for so much interest, and even though they told me not to upload, I uploaded again. After 3–4 months I uploaded again, and it went viral again."
She said, "This time the company called me first and asked 'why did you upload again,' and I said I was so bored I couldn't help it. I said 'I really won't upload anymore' and then uploaded again. That is now the bus video that remains, and it's the only one I left public," adding, "It's the only one where my high school friends' voices are heard, and among my high school videos it's my favorite, so I wanted to leave some memories and secretly uploaded it again and left only that one public."
Seo Sumin said, "I was going to make the rest public too, but when Manager Kim became a hit attention focused on me; I'm grateful for the good attention but because I'm introverted, I kept the rest private. If interest disperses or quiets down a bit, I'm thinking of making them public again."
When asked when she joined her agency, Seo Sumin said, "I remember joining the company around the winter break of my second year of high school. I went there myself. A makeup video had about 2 million views so many other companies contacted me," adding, "Offers came from idols, influencers and actors, and one of those was my company. I can't dance so I couldn't be an idol. I could have been an idol but I wanted to act, so I kept meeting with acting agencies."
Asked what Manager Kim will mean to her, she said, "I think it's the work that allowed me to dream of being an actress. I thought being an actor could be a difficult job, and wondered if this path was right, but while acting on set there were times I felt strange. There were moments when I felt like I became that character and was feeling the emotions."
She said there is no single favorite scene from Manager Kim, adding, "Honestly, there isn't. While monitoring I felt I couldn't act well, so rather than being satisfied I thought I needed to learn acting diligently from all the scenes. I hope there will be satisfying scenes later. So I feel grateful to Manager Kim but also very apologetic."
[Photo] Y1 Entertainment, YouTube capture
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