All About the Real Sam-Soon [Cine21 Mag Interviews Kim Seon-Ah]
The 'girl next door'. You know, the one you see when you go down the street, eating some junk food at a 포장마차 (tent bar), half drunk and swearing like a storm; the one you can talk to, without worrying about how you'll look; a friend who understands you and can relate to your problems. How many actresses try to become that, only to fail miserably, showing how much different from that image they are? How many seem to perfectly fit that image, only to reveal they don't really care about being the girl next door, but just advancing their career using this persona to fool people? But there's always exceptions, and Kim Seon-Ah is certainly one of them. She's not one of those obnoxious beauties sculptured by cosmetics, with model-like bodies creating an immediate distance from the viewer. She's just an average woman, with all the flaws and charms that come with it. And that's the reason why Korea has fallen in love with this 30 year old 'girl', because she's real, she never tries to change her image on purpose, never tries to hide her personality traits in an attempt to fit with a certain trend. And when her latest TV Drama 내 이름은 김삼순 (My Lovely Sam-Soon) rocked the nation last Summer, recording ratings of over 50%, even Chungmuro realized Kim Seon-Ah was not only the reigning 'Queen of Comedy', but also a sort of new age Choi Jin-Shil, the new girl next door.
She had quite an interesting childhood, moving from one country to the other, experiences which added certain elements to her personality, like that of feeling like every other Korean, but with that extra touch of awareness, that ability to adapt to new situations people who travel a lot often show. Born in Daegu, she moved to Tokyo and spent most of her adolescent years there, to later move again to the States, and attend Ball State in Indiana. Finally returning to Korea in the early 90s, she majored in Theater/Film at Kyunghee University, and started her modeling career in the mid 90s. But, even though her debut on TV came around 1997 with 뉴욕 스토리 (New York Story), few people noticed her. Her eclectic mix of accents, a potboiler of Japanese speech patterns, Konglish accent picked up in the States and her native Jeollado 사투리 (dialect) made her early days in the industry a struggle. The first time I really noticed her was in 황금시대 (The Golden Age), a 2000 Historical Drama set in the 1930s, and starring Cha In-Pyo and Kim Hye-Soo. Not a great show by any means, but Kim's performance there was enough to give a lasting impression.
Her debut in films came with the maligned SF blockbuster 예스터데이 (Yesterday), one of the films which started the so called 'IMF crisis of Chungmuro', with venture companies deserting the business after a few blockbusters tanked at the box office. But if there was anything salvageable from the film was Kim's performance, as the sexy agent Mei, complete with her sultry Catwoman-meets-Blade Runner suit. If the film was a giant failure at the box office, things went a little differently for her in 몽정기 (Wet Dreams), a sweet little comedy which fell right in the middle of the 'nostalgia' craze starting around 2001 with 친구 (Friend), but also one of the many sexy comedies which populated Korean Cinema during those years. The comedy, also starring Lee Beom-Soo, confirmed her popularity, and positioned her as a potential top star.
Her profile raised even more when she had a very poignant and funny cameo in Lee Joon-Ik's gem 황산벌 (Once Upon a Time in The Battlefield), as Gyebaek (Park Joong-Hoon)'s wife, and later the top hit 위대한 유산 (The Greatest Expectation), an ode to unemployed Koreans all over the country. Everything seemed to go well for her, but then came 해피 에로 크리스마스 (Happy Ero Christmas), still considered the most regretful decision in her career by Kim herself. Save for Park Young-Gyu's hilarious tirades about Japanese melodramas, the film was a complete waste of time. And, considering Kim was cast in a rush and didn't have much of a connection with the director, it's pretty clear why she remembers the film with sadness.
But after that she finally conquered the big audiences, with a string of lightweight but entertaining comedies, like S 다이어리 (S Diary) and 잠복근무 (She's On Duty), all successful and well received by the public. Her return to TV after a half decade in 'My Lovely Sam-Soon' was a striking success, and now all she has to do is choose one between the ocean of proposals she's getting. But, never betraying her nature until the end, she's taking a break. She's focusing once again on her studies, and letting all the stress of gaining weight (for her role in the TV Drama) and subsequently losing it fade out. Perhaps the most shining star of 2005 on TV, and one of the few surefire box office draws in Chungmuro, Kim Seon-Ah recently had a very lengthy and interesting interview for the print version of Cine21. Here's a few highlights:
I know you've been playing the piano since you were 5. Was it something your parents hoped from the beginning?
Kim Seon-Ah: No, I started by myself. There was a dealer selling pianos next door, and when I was a little kid I used to meet him pretty often, and fooled around with him. He'd start singing a song, and I'd follow him moving my fingers on the piano. I still have a photo of that. So my mother thought I might have had talent, and I started taking lessons. I progressed really fast, and teachers said I was naturally gifted. But then! That's where problems started. I did all the things lazybones do... I'd go to the back room saying I was practicing piano, then I'd close the cover and play over it (bursts out laughing). Even without practice, I won some prizes and contests, I boasted all the time about that. But then after three years of Primary School I faced reality, and failed an elimination contest. All the other kids would practice, what, 8-10 hours a day. Me? Not even half an hour. I'd go out, play with elastic cords, fool around all day and always come home with holes in my socks. I was always curious about new things, so when I was 7 I started figure skating, swimming, tennis, I even went to an Art Academy.
When I was in Primary School, I falsified my mother's signature and entered an 학원 (Academy) by myself, then later I went to my mother and asked for money (laughs). I even studied violin for a year, but my jaw kept hurting so I stopped. But then we moved to Japan. When I was in my sophomore year of High School, because I was thinking of majoring in piano, I called 114 to ask the phone number of Tokyo University's professor, without any particular plan in mind. Listening to me play, the professor said I had talent, but my fingers were too stiff, that even if I practiced like crazy it would be hard. Right that moment... I gave up. During High School I had a lot to think: while learning Mandarin, since I thought it living there wouldn't be that difficult, I even planned to move to China to study with a few friends. But I was probably too vague, so I went to study in the States after all.
You went to Primary School in Korea, Middle and High School in Japan, and College in the States. How do you think your friends in all those countries will remember you? Any major difference in how you looked over the years?
Kim: In Primary School I looked like a tomboy. Still (whispers softly)... not to brag, but the guys kind of followed me around. Even now. I can't. Possibly. Understand why. Talking with them nowadays I just say I liked the good old days, and ask if it's the same for them, that kind of stuff (laughs). In Middle School, when we moved to Japan, I was really fat, and lost 15Kg in a month. Not just me, but the whole family lost weight together. At first we couldn't speak the language, so all us three brothers and sisters did was go to school, eat apples and watch TV. Friends from my High School days will remember I was really shy, I have a lot of nice memories from that period. Just a week after I transferred schools, the homeroom teacher came to me and even if I couldn't speak a word of Japanese, he offered me to take part in the school choir, since I could play piano.
The first song we played, all the kids started applauding, and I couldn't be happier. Back then I'd carry 5 dictionaries with me all the time: Korean-Japanese, Japanese-Korean, Hanja, Korean-English and English-Korean. I flunked all the subjects I needed to graduate: Japanese, Nature and Society. No matter what the teacher asked, I'd always end up with a blank. He was so sorry for me that in my Junior year he even gave me special tutoring. The Japan I imagined was full of いじめ (Ijime, bullying), but the reality I experienced there was much different and nicer than I expected. My schoolmates started buying conversation books, and learned how to speak Korean. The first time one of them talked to me in Korean, it was really cool. I even had a crush on him for about a year, and followed him in the swimming team. Since I was too embarrassed to show myself in costume, I always made up excuses not to swim, and just practiced swimming on the ground (laughs). We were really close, but I never had the courage to tell him how I felt.
Personally I realized pretty late that people had this image of you as an actress whose Korean was lacking because you lived overseas for so long, but now I doubt that, at least a little. Now I think the mix of your speech patterns, intonation and your keen colloquialisms are starting to show some variety, and that's what defines you as an actress.
Kim: Well, I always had a sense that I forgot a lot of words. I wasn't living in Korea in my adolescence, so it's pretty obvious I didn't know slang, jargon and difficult words. But I kept writing letters to friends, and never had any problems communicating. Thing is, when I started acting and doing auditions, people would always tell me my Korean was weird, my acting was weird... hearing that I started taking acting lessons. I didn't know about it, but getting used to Japanese pronunciation, I acquired this habit of whirling my mouth and rarely opening it wide. I often had my pride squashed, and lost many roles which fit with my image because of dialogue, even though you might not sense it reading my profile, as I kept working non-stop for so long. But on the other hand I was rejected a lot too. All of a sudden I finally decided to give it a go seriously, and worked hard taking my acting lessons.
You worked with Kim Soo-Mi in 'The Greatest Expectation', Na Moon-Hee in 'S Diary', and Kim Ja-Ok in 'My Lovely Sam-Soon'. Did they ever give you any advice, or did you ever envision yourself resembling them in the future?
Kim: I worked twice with Na Moon-Hee, and when the 8th Episode of 'My Lovely Sam-Soon' was over she called me. She told me I did really well, and that she always wanted to play that kind of role but she couldn't, yet just seeing me do so well made her happy. Even if senior actors usually treat their juniors well, them calling you is something very rare. I felt so strongly about that I sensed the need to say the same thing to my juniors. I think on our side people are too stingy when it comes to praising fellow actors. It's the same between Netizens and celebrities, and even between fellow actors.
I think, personally, that more than an extension of your previous roles, Kim Sam-Soon was a new start for you. With films, you're conditioned by the two hours running time, so you focus mostly on your comic talent, or adding your personal touches to the film. But in a TV Drama, through the many colorful situations which emerge during the various episodes, you were able to show your potential abilities in a more effective way. In other words, 'My Lovely Sam-Soon' was a way to broaden your spectrum, show people your many talents. What do you feel about that?
Kim: Reading the original and the adapted script of 'My Lovely Sam-Soon', I felt this was the kind of TV Drama which you could strongly relate to, which could adapt to any situation and communicate something to all people, like the joys and sorrows of living. At the production meeting, most people asked me why I didn't try to change my image and kept doing similar roles, and back then I just said 'watch the show, and then talk.' I don't know why people always think of transformations as something so important. Sure, I know many of my roles were in the same genre, but without that the opportunity to star in this Drama would have never come, and I would have never been able to act the role that way. Acting might be like that, but I gained a lot from this project personally. I was thanked by many people for giving them courage, and I think I matured thanks to it too.
I still can't rewatch the show, because the feeling is still too strong, but the important thing is that, through this show, I was able to show the kind of sincerity and feeling I was never able to in the past. For example, I used to think about a lot of ways of approaching crying scenes in the past, but I didn't need that even once for 'Sam-Soon'. Even without looking at the script, I could go on, and I'd still be Kim Sam-Soon. Through this character, I was able to let a lot of things buried within me emerge. I don't know if people will relate to it, but when there was a scene that had Sam-Soon in an angry mood, I was really angry. And when we shot the scenes of her 'talking' again with her dead father, I couldn't sleep later. Overseas promotion is just starting, so it looks like that feeling will linger on for quite a while. Maybe this show will have a strong effect on my career. Since many people watched it, even if I don't do a complete u-turn in the future, people might still be able to feel a certain change. But that's just a process you go through, so you can even think of closing your eyes and covering your ears, going straight towards your goal.
[Source: Cine21 Magazine No. 534]
