'The Absolute Value of Romance' Kim Hyang-gi: "Struggled with her first comedy role since debut, ended up cutting her bangs" [Interview ①]

*This content was translated by AI.

• Interview with actress Kim Hyang-gi, who plays Yeo Ui-ju in Coupang Play's series 'The Absolute Value of Romance'

Actress Kim Hyang-gi shared her thoughts on taking on the comedy genre for the first time in her 19-year career.

On the morning of the 11th, an interview with Kim Hyang-gi, an actress in Coupang Play's series 'The Absolute Value of Romance' (script by Lee Min-ju, directed by Lee Tae-gon and Kim Jun-hyeong), was held at a cafe in Palpan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

'The Absolute Value of Romance' is a high school comedy series about Yeo Ui-ju (played by Kim Hyang-gi), a high school girl who writes romance novels featuring handsome male teachers, and who ends up becoming the protagonist of a tumultuous school life after encountering unexpected moments with them in reality. Kim Hyang-gi plays Yeo Ui-ju, a high school student who transforms into romance novelist 'Lee Mook' at night, freely creating a world of imagination.

Kim Hyang-gi took on the comedy genre with 'The Absolute Value of Romance' for the first time in 19 years since her debut. Regarding this, Kim Hyang-gi said on the day, "I had always admired comedians. When developing the character, I considered the comedy element to be 'sincerity.' I wanted the image of a friend with dreams at that age to be expressed naturally and harmoniously, so I practiced hard on my own."

She added, "Since it was my first time, there were moments when I wondered if this was right. As the number of characters increased, the synergy grew, and I felt a stronger desire to make people laugh, so I felt like I might be overacting, but the director did a great job of setting the right boundaries."

She also spoke about her hairstyle. Kim Hyang-gi explained, "After finishing the previous project, my hair wasn't particularly long. To make a big change, I would have needed to attach a hairpiece, but when I imagined Yeo Ui-ju, it didn't feel like a good fit. I wondered what I could do with my own hair, and then the idea of a spiky hairstyle came to mind. After considering how to bring out the comedy element externally, I decided to cut off my bangs."

Kim Hyang-gi recalled that the filming brought back many memories of her own school days. "I studied engineering. The director held auditions for all the supporting actors and personally assigned each role. Since the friends with energetic roles fit well, we also talked about trending memes and had fun during filming."

How was the acting chemistry with Cha Hak-yeon (as Ga Soo-woo), Kim Jae-hyun (as Noda Ju), Son Jeong-hyeok (as Jeong Gi-jeon), and Kim Dong-gyu (as Yoon Dong-ju)? Kim Hyang-gi said, "At the beginning of filming, everyone was quite tense. I often saw them checking the acting tone with the director, but as time passed and they gained more freedom, it was fun to see them perform to their own satisfaction."

She continued, "In my case, I have many scenes with my classmates, and even in those scenes, I found myself talking more and more. The director also gave us a lot of freedom later on, saying, 'You guys go ahead and do it freely. What do you think would work best?'"

What was Kim Hyang-gi's actual school life like? She said, "I still meet my middle and high school friends the most. I think I lived in an environment where I was naturally accepted. Even while pursuing acting, it was an environment that didn't put too much pressure on me, and I am truly grateful to my friends for that. I think I had a pretty good school life."

She added, "During my third year of high school, I tried my best not to cause any trouble for my friends. In that regard, my homeroom teacher gave me a lot of encouragement, which is a memorable part of my memory."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.