Actress Song Hye-kyo is aiming for the title of ‘Genre Goddess’.

After leading the Netflix drama ‘The Glory’, which contained a fierce revenge drama, to success last year, she chose the occult film ‘The Nuns’ as her next project. ‘The Nuns’ is the first occult genre that Song Hye-kyo has chosen in 28 years since her debut, and is also her first Korean film in 10 years since ‘My Palpitating Life’ in 2014.

The film, which will be released in theaters on January 24 next year, is a spin-off of ‘The Priests’, the debut film of director Jang Jae-hyun, who joined the ranks of directors who drew 10 million viewers with ‘The Grave’ last year. It tells the story of nuns trying to save a boy possessed by a powerful evil spirit. The unique setting in which nuns, who are not permitted to perform exorcisms according to Catholic doctrine that only priests can perform them, undertake a forbidden ritual stimulates interest. Director Kwon Hyuk-jae, who created ‘The Count’, ‘The Fixer’, directed the film.
Song Hye-kyo said at a production report meeting held at CGV Yongsan I-Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 16th, “It‘s true that I had a lot of pressure (about choosing my next project) because I received so much love for my previous work, ‘The Glory’,” but added, “‘The Glory’ is my first genre work, so I find new acting fun, and I ended up reading more genre scripts for my next work. He explained, “That’s how we met and this is how we met.”

In the drama, she plays the role of Sister Junia, who is considered a person of interest even in the religious community due to her bold personality and impulsive behavior. She is a character who judges that the condition of a boy possessed by an evil spirit is too serious to wait for an exorcist priest who may come at any time, and steps forward to perform the exorcism herself, which is not permitted, with the sole purpose of saving the boy.

Song Hye-kyo, who said that it was not an easy challenge to the point that she “experienced my hands and feet stiffening from acting out intense emotions with all her might,” confessed that “memorizing the difficult prayer lines” was the hardest part. And then, he looked back and said, ”Even the day before filming, I would wake up suddenly and recite a prayer, or I would recite it while brushing my teeth, eating, and doing the dishes.“

It wasn’t an easy series of acting, but the person who gave him the most strength was Jeon Yeo-bin, who played the role of Sister Michaela in the drama. He even described Jeon Yeo-bin as ”my savior,“ and smiled, saying, ”I had heard so many good things about Yeo-bin before we met through this drama. When we actually met on set and acted together, it was even better than what I had heard. They said I was their strength on set, but for me, Yeo-bin was a great strength.“


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com