Actress Lim Ji-yeon describes herself as “a person who values the process more than the result”. Literally, the expected viewer ratings for a drama or the expected audience number for a movie have never been a ‘standard’ for her.

Lim Ji-yeon, who focused solely on “what I can learn from this” and chose one unconventional thing after another, has finally created a hit maker that viewers trust and watch as a ‘result’ after enduring for 14 years.

The 2014 film ‘Obsessed’ is a representative example, and she garnered attention for boldly challenging exposure acting that would not have been easy for a new actress to attempt. In the Netflix drama ‘The Glory’, which was a global hit in 2022, she even received responses that she rewrote the history of Korean drama villains with the vicious ‘Park Yeon-jin’.

In the JTBC drama ‘Madame Ok’, which ended on the 26th, she surprised viewers once again by showing off her historical drama acting after 9 years.

“To be honest, due to the difficult historical drama experience in my 20s, I had a sense of inferiority and trauma that I couldn‘t do historical dramas. Of course, I didn’t want to do ‘Madame Ok’ at first. But when I read the script, the character of ‘Gu Deok-i’, who goes from being a slave to becoming a lawyer in the Joseon Dynasty, was really good. At that moment, I thought, ‘I‘ve lost my original intention because I’m doing a little well.’ I used to be an actor who would challenge myself, even if it was scary and frightening, even if it meant doing something that people didn‘t expect. I was embarrassed by the fact that I had excluded myself from historical dramas.”

The person who gave strength to Lim Ji-yeon was none other than ‘the past Lim Ji-yeon’. She looked back and said, “I did the villain role of ‘Park Yeon-jin’ that no one expected of me, so I wanted to boldly challenge myself in a historical drama that I was the least confident in.”

“I feel like I overcame my trauma through this drama. Since the entire process is important to me, I’m satisfied if I learned even one thing from my past works. I definitely gained something from ‘Madame Ok‘s Story’ in that I did a historical drama. After acting for over 10 years, I think I’m finally starting to understand what I‘m good at and what I want. I’m more attracted to works that ask the questions ‘What? Why?’ than scripts that give me clear answers. That sense of challenge is my driving force.”

Lim Ji-yeon, who said that even her parents, who are usually “merciless in evaluating her acting,” praised “Madam Ok’s Story” and said it was “the best historical drama” after watching it and shed tears, also honestly shared the reaction of actor Lee Do-hyun, who is five years her junior and whom she has been dating for two years.

“My boyfriend likes historical dramas, so he watches them a lot in the military. We don’t talk about work-related things often, but we really rely on each other. He cheered me on this time too.”

Her next move is also “unexpected.” She will be appearing on a regular entertainment program for the first time in three years with tvN’s “Sister’s Farm Direct Delivery 2.” In the upcoming romantic drama ‘Yalmukun Love’ (tentative title) starring Lee Jung-jae, she will transform into an entertainment reporter.

“I‘ve been focusing on acting for a while, but I wanted to show the ‘human Im Ji-yeon’, so I tried entertainment. I’ll soon start filming ‘Sister‘s Farm Direct Delivery 2’, and just thinking about it makes me happy. As an actor, I’ve mostly portrayed twists and turns in life, so I want to show the daily lives of ordinary people leading the play.”


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com

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