“A warm and professional actor with a passion for acting.”

Lee Seon-jeong(55), who worked with the late Kim Sae-ron on her last work, ‘Guitar Man’, remembered the deceased like this.Lee Seon-jeong, who is also the CEO of Sungwon Pharmaceutical, was in charge of leading role, directing, production, screenplay, planning, and music for ‘Guitar Man’.

Even after Kim Sae-ron left in February, it was painful to watch “Kim Sae-ron’s bright appearance in the movie” while working on the post-production.However, he said that he could not stop in order to keep his promise with Kim Sae-ron to “make sure the movie is shown in theaters,” and asked, “I hope that the audience remembers Kim Sae-ron as an ‘actress’ and not as the main character in the midst of various controversies.”

O “Kim Sae-ron, it’s hard to be in the public eye”

At the time of casting, the public’s view on Kim Sae-ron’s return was cold due to the aftermath of her drunk driving accident, but Lee Sun-jung said that she trusted ‘actress Kim Sae-ron’s ‘acting.Some staff members even tried to dissuade her from casting, saying, “The lead actor may be at risk, so the film may not be released,” but she did not give up and pushed through with the casting until the end.

“I had another actor in mind for the role, but after meeting actress Kim Sae-ron, my thoughts changed.From the first meeting, she read the script carefully and actively suggested various ideas.I was just grateful that she was so passionate about a small project like ours.I couldn’ t forget that bright smile.”

After her casting was confirmed, Kim Sae-ron temporarily stopped her part-time job at a cafe and focused solely on filming the movie.Lee Sun-jung said that she could not forget “Kim Sae-ron’s appearance, smiling in front of the camera but then struggling when she turned around.”

“I was very conscious of people’s gaze.I was mostly in the car when I wasn’t filming, as if trying to avoid people’s gaze.We had a meal together and a drink, but I drank from a water glass in case someone saw me.I felt bad, thinking, ‘Does this have to be this way?’”

O “She was a natural born actress”

Kim Sae-ron looked back and said that even in such difficult situations, she was a ‘professional herself’ when acting.

“He hardly made any NGs.Even when he was having a hard time due to personal issues, he would smile brightly when he was acting.When I saw him like that, I thought, ‘This person is someone who has to act.He’s a natural actor.He’ll become an even better actor in the future.’So it’s even more heartbreaking.”

He said that he still cannot forget ‘that day’ when he first heard the sad news about Kim Sae-ron, and he also blamed himself for “not being able to look into the pain of the deceased more.” He said that the reason he decided to donate all the proceeds from the movie’s OST and his own song ‘A World Without Pain ‘to the Korea Life Respect Hope Center was also because of his sorrow for Kim Sae-ron.

“It’s sad that there are so many noisy situations surrounding the deceased, even though the person who left doesn’t say anything.I wanted to remember Saeron Yang, who I only remember as an actress, through a song.It’s nonsense to try to make personal money with such a song.”


Reporter Seungmi smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.