Lee Hye-ri was confident that she would show a different side of herself than before.

STUDIO X+U‘s drama ‘Good Competition’ (directed by Kim Tae-hee, written by Kim Tae-hee and Min Ye-ji) is a mystery girl thriller about Seol-gi, a transfer student to Chaehwa Girls’ High School, one of the top 1% in Korea where fierce college entrance exam competition takes place, her friends who reveal their individual desires, and the suspicious death of her father, who was a member of the CSAT committee.

On the 3rd, Lee Hye-ri personally revealed the reason she chose the project and the character of Yoo Je-i through the production team. Lee Hye-ri said about the reason she decided to appear in ‘Good Competition’, “I felt a slight sense of liberation about breaking taboos while reading the script. I thought there wouldn‘t be many opportunities to act out a story like this, and I immersed myself in a unique atmosphere that I couldn’t feel in other works.”

She continued, “The intense psychological tension felt in the relationships between the characters was interesting. Also, Jay is a character with a completely different determination from the roles I‘ve played so far, so I think I was looking forward to showing a new side of myself.”


What kind of person is ’Yoo Je-yi‘ played by Lee Hye-ri? Lee Hye-ri said, “Yoo Je-yi seems like the perfect friend. She comes from a good family, is good at studying, and is pretty. She’s a star and wannabe at Chaehwa Girls‘ High School. However, behind her perfect appearance, she’s hiding a flaw, and Yoo Je-yi‘s seemingly good-intentioned actions could have other intentions. He explained, “It would be more fun to watch while trying to guess the hidden meaning in the scenes that are visible on the surface.”

Lee Hye-ri said, “I focused on expressing the cold gaze and expression that does not reveal the inner feelings in contrast to the kind and gentle appearance. In order for me to act as Yoo Je-i, I had to understand Jay’s attitude, so I always imagined what choices Jay would make and searched for the answers.” She said, “In order to make Yoo Je-i a mysterious and attractive character, I think I completed the character by excluding justification.”

Lee Hye-ri said, “Since Yoo Je-i is a wannabe from Chaehwa Girls’ High School, I tried to make her look prettier than usual. “Not only in scenes where I appear in plain clothes, but also in scenes where I have to wear a school uniform, I paid great attention to details such as accessories and bags,” she said.


Lastly, when asked what ‘Friendly Competition’ will mean to Lee Hye-ri’s career, she said, “I think you’ll be able to see a side of ‘Lee Hye-ri’ that you’ve never seen before. While I’ve played many characters who are bright, spirited, and have positive energy in the past, Jay is a ruthless character who has a dark side. He expressed confidence, saying, “I think viewers will feel like, ‘Did Hye-ri have a face like this?’ because the character is more cold-hearted than warm-hearted.”

‘Friendly Competition’ will be first aired on U+tv and U+mobiletv on the 10th.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter, projecthong@donga.com

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