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Jang Seo-hee: 'I Appreciate the Title of Hallyu Star'

Actress Jang Seo-hee, who made a comeback to the silver screen as a protagonist in the movie "Secrets, Objects", said, "It is very lucky for me to obtain the title of 'Hallyu star' at this age in my forties. I might be the oldest woman among Hallyu stars who is holding activities in China". Jang Seo-hee has been working both in Korea and China, and she challenged herself again by appearing in a movie that was directed by the female director Lee Young-mi.

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It has been five years since she appeared in the movie "My Captain Mr. Underground" in 2006. "Secrets, Objects" is a melodrama about love between a forty-year old sociology professor named Hye Jeong (Jang Seo-hee), who has been preparing her dissertation on the subject of extramarital affairs, and a twenty-one year old man named Woo Sang (Jung Suk-won), who supports Hye Jeong's studies. Jang Seo-hee came to a cafe in Jongno to give an interview about her love story with an attractive young man in the movie. She said, "I have wanted to be acknowledged as a movie star, but I did not feel any pressure about appearing in a movie. I came to read the script of 'Secrets, Objects' when I wanted to have a break after finishing the drama 'Obstetrics and Gynecology Doctors', and I decided to appear in the movie without having a break because I really liked the story". The male protagonist, Jung Suk-won, had already been decided and he had been taking acting lessons from the director because he did not have much experience as an actor. Asked whether she had concerns about working with a young actor who does not have much experience, she answered, "I have worked with many young actors up to now, and I could not find any difficulties while working with him. And he was such a diligent actor who always tries his best. But I sometimes gave strict advice to him (laugh)". Jang also mentioned the harmony with the female director, Lee Young-mi, by saying, "I pleasantly filmed this movie with the director. She is a strict director, but it does not mean that I did not like working with her. I just want to say that working with a director with the same gender is not simply easy to agree with and understand better".

Jang Seo-hee debuted when she was 11 years old, and it has already been thirty years since she began acting. She is forty years old now, which is exactly the same age as Hye Jeong, whom she played in the movie. She revealed that she completely agreed with the script that says "How have I come to become forty already?" There are many types of characters whom she wants to play and there are still many things that she wants to do now, but she knows very well that there is a certain limitation on her roles within works due to her age. She said, "Time has gone so fast. But I do not feel afraid about growing old anymore. I started this work from an early age and I am very much accustomed to waiting. I had to wait until someone chose me before, but now I feel much relieved and happy because I can choose something now. I am also very happy to have the title of 'Hallyu star'. But I am sad about the fact that I am in my forties already (laugh)". Jang Seo-hee has been holding various activities in China. She is now appearing in the Chinese drama entitled "Soo Dang Young Woong" by playing an empress of the Soo Dynasty, and she will also appear in the drama "Seoul Limsabu" next year, which will be a drama to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties with China with five million won of funding. The drama will be about a romance between a Chinese cook and Korean woman. Jang said, "I am learning the Chinese language. China is a huge country and it has many kinds of regional dialects, so it is very natural that people cannot easily understand my Chinese on TV without reading the subtitles. So I usually use post synchronization. I heard that there is a voice actress who is exclusively dubbing my voice in China. I have not seen her yet (laugh)".

The character Hye Jeong in the movie is a settled university professor, but she dreams about deviation from her stable life just like any other ordinary person. Asked whether she wants to deviate from her life, she answered, "I am a person who likes a stable life. I never break my routines. It always applies to my love and profession. Basically, I am not like other stars who try to hide their lives. I become an ordinary person when I come back to my daily life. I go around my village after putting on a cap and I go travel with my family members. I want to preserve my private life even though I am an actress, so I totally become myself when I do not work". She added, "I think that I could achieve success in my later days because I never blame others in any occasion. It never ends if I start to blame others. It will waste me. I have an attitude to change myself before I blame others. When I was an unknown actress in the past, I always thought that I needed to improve myself and I never stopped challenging myself for my own development. And I think that those efforts created good results".

◇ "Secrets, Objects" = The sociology professor named Hye Jeong (Jang Seo-hee) who has been writing a dissertation on the subject of extramarital affairs realizes that she has been attracted to her assistant student named Woo Sang (Jung Suk-won), who is nineteen years younger than her. One day when she gradually opens her mind towards him, Woo Sang's sad secret drives her into shock. The scene where a copy machine and a digital camera who love their owners tell their owners' thoughts is very unique. The bluish screen looks beautiful and the humorous lines of the copy machine (dubbed by actor Lee Pil-mo) sounds exciting. There is a very explicit scene in the bedroom with six minutes running time. The debut movie of director Lee Young-mi, who had participated in producing the movie "Notting Hill", will be released on November 17 an X rating.

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