Yeon Hye-ran, a wish to approach only through acting: "I wish you didn't know my past" [★FULL Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actress Yeon Hye-ran delivered a sincere performance in a film based on the Jeju 4·3 incident. Her acting, as authentic as one would expect from Yeon Hye-ran, touched the hearts of audiences.

The film "My Name Is" (directed by Jung Ji-young) is a mystery drama that interweaves the journeys of young Yong-ok, an 18-year-old son who wants to erase his outdated name, and his mother Jeong-soon, who confronts the sealed memories of Jeju in 1949 during the spring of 1998. The screenplay won the Jeju 4·3 Film Screenplay Competition jointly organized by the Jeju 4·3 Peace Foundation and the Jeju International Free City Development Center (JDC). It compressively portrays the unresolved issues of the Jeju 4·3 incident and further demonstrates the power of state violence, trauma, recovery, and solidarity.

Yeon Hye-ran said, "I briefly worked with director Jung Ji-young on 'The Boys.' After that, I wanted to collaborate with her on a longer project, and when I learned she was preparing this work, I insisted on joining. It felt like destiny for director Jung to tell this story." She added, "On the other hand, it was also a somewhat cautious project. From the moment I read the script, I wondered if it would be cinematically engaging. I wanted to take on the role because it wasn't starting from being weighed down by past pain; it had a sense of everyday life."

Yeon Hye-ran revealed, "The director mentioned that she hoped this work would not be an art-house independent film but a mainstream movie that many people could watch. In that regard, I was curious about how to approach it and felt cautious about what kind of work it would be. From what I heard, the director said this is a story that Jeju residents themselves would find difficult to create. Every other household was a perpetrator, and every other household was a victim's family. She described this as an acute and sensitive issue for people of Jeju Island." Yeon Hye-ran further shared, "I am not someone who creates stories; I am someone who embodies them and expresses them through my body. So I worried whether my acting might be colored with political implications. I was cautious about whether I might be exploited or, at the very least, consumed in that way."

Yeon Hye-ran added, "Director Jung frequently asked for my opinions while making the film. Our perspectives could differ, and our discussions often became emotional. I even apologized the next day after some heated exchanges. However, the director always enjoyed such conversations and told me not to apologize."

Yeon Hye-ran, who portrayed a character expressing emotions through dance in the film, said, "I love dancing and thought it was amazing that I could express myself that way, but my body felt exhausted. It was a precious opportunity to encounter Korean dance different from what I had shown in my previous work. The director told me to move freely while acting, so I once shouted, 'Director, do you know how hard that is?' That kind of dance is only possible for someone who has been mowed down in spring. I approached it not as dance but as body movement and gestures."

During the interview, Yeon Hye-ran mentioned the final scene of the film, where she performs a Salpuri dance in a young barley field, and appeared overwhelmed with emotion. She said, "I was very sad when filming that scene. Even now, just thinking about that beautiful barley field brings tears to my eyes."

Yeon Hye-ran stated, "It is indeed a very sad scene, but it is a story that cannot end with sadness. We all know the Jeju 4·3 story is sad and painful, but it shouldn't be only sad. I found it really difficult to express dance while thinking, 'If it's sad, what will we do?' Instead of trying to express emotions directly, I listened to stories of surprise and various narratives in that situation and danced accordingly. Sometimes I said 'I'm sorry,' other times 'I hope you rest peacefully,' or 'I will remember.' I thought this was not a story about punishing or blaming someone, but rather about the direction we should move forward in. There are many behind-the-scenes details about that scene. We filmed it for several days, capturing the sunset and the wind." She expressed her affection for the scene.

Yeon Hye-ran is an actress who has starred in films and dramas but is rarely seen on variety shows. She laughed and said, "I'm good at storytelling, but as soon as I hold a microphone, people around me say it's 'no fun.' I don't like sharing personal stories on variety shows. I wish people didn't know I have a daughter, and I wish they thought I wasn't married. I want them not to know my past. Perhaps I might even play an unmarried woman someday. I want to approach roles as actress Yeon Hye-ran through acting alone, without any personal information about me. However, as a lead actress, I cannot avoid participating in promotional variety shows, so it's a dilemma." She shared her honest feelings.

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

*This content was translated by AI.