Park Ji-hyun of ‘Hidden Face’ revealed the reason she chose this film with a somewhat unconventional setting.

On the afternoon of the 19th, at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, actress Park Ji-hyun of the film ‘Hidden Face’ had an interview with Donga.com and talked about the film.

When asked about her thoughts ahead of the release of ‘Hidden Face’ and after watching the film, Park Ji-hyun said, “I saw it at a technology preview, but I‘m the type of person who has a hard time looking at my works objectively when I first watch them. Maybe because I saw it in a theater, I got so immersed in it as an audience member that I didn’t even think about it as if I was watching a movie.“

She continued, “I got goosebumps even though I knew about the plot twist. It was fun to watch. It‘s being released tomorrow, and I hope a lot of people will see it. It’s a film that I learned a lot from in the process, so I don‘t have any grand dreams about how I hope it turns out in the end. I just hope the movie does well,” she said.

Regarding the reason she chose ‘Hidden Face’, which had to be quite explicit and involved nudity, she said, “First of all, when I chose the project, I just read the script, and the story was interesting. I strongly felt that I wanted to play the character of Mi-ju. When I read the script in writing, it was something that made me imagine a lot. I like to imagine myself and create characters while reading such text. And I strongly felt that I wanted to see the Mi-ju that I was expressing. I didn’t think much about nudity. I don’t feel that it’s hot right now,” she honestly confessed.



Park Ji-hyun also said about the character of Mi-ju that she played in ‘Hidden Face’, “First of all, the plot itself, where Mi-ju’s desires cross the line that she shouldn’t cross, was interesting. And I think that everyone has desires. Not only Miju, but everyone is honest about their desires. And they were satisfied by proxy. The character who pursues what people who usually live within social norms cannot easily do was attractive. The conflict that arises in such desires was also attractive. When I read the script, I tend to lean to one side. To the character I play or the good character. But this work is not one-sided. I understood the narrative that followed Miju’s desires, and I also understood the other characters. I couldn’t tell who was good and who was evil. I also thought about which character the audience would root for when they saw it. I also thought about which character they would empathize with, and it was a book that made me imagine.”

Park Ji-hyun explained the appeal of the character Miju, “I think I followed that desire because I thought she was a friend who was true to her desires. I don’t think there is anyone who lives a life where they can speak and act according to their own consciousness. You shouldn’t live your life like that. I thought Miju was a friend who had that kind of courage. So I envied her and naturally understood her. Everyone has such desires”

Meanwhile, the movie ‘Hidden Face’, which will be released on the 20th, is a unique locked-room thriller movie that unfolds as Seong-jin (played by Song Seung-heon) is chasing after his missing fiancée Soo-yeon (played by Jo Yeo-jeong) when Soo-yeon’s junior Mi-joo (played by Park Ji-hyun) appears in front of him, and Soo-yeon, who he thought had disappeared, is trapped in a secret space closest to them and witnesses her bare face being stripped away.

In ‘Hidden Face’, Park Ji-hyun transforms into ‘Mi-joo’, Soo-yeon‘s junior and a new member of the orchestra, and portrays the process of her falling for Seong-jin without realizing it after meeting him while he is searching for the missing Soo-yeon.

Choi Yoon-na, Donga.com reporter yyynnn@donga.com