Lee Hye-ri shows off her ‘new face’. She will be taking on the role of a genius high school girl in STUDIO X+U‘s new drama ‘Good Competition’, which will be released on the 10th, and is embarking on an image transformation.

After transitioning from being a girl group member to an actress, Lee Hye-ri, who has mostly shown a bright and cheerful image, is attempting a “bold challenge and transformation”.

Based on the popular webtoon of the same name, ‘Good Competition’ is a mystery thriller surrounding the friends who reveal their desires to Seol-gi, a transfer student to Chaehwa Girls’ High School, which is in the top 1% of South Korea, where a cutthroat college entrance exam competition takes place, and the suspicious death of her father, who was a member of the CSAT committee.

In the drama, Lee Hye-ri plays Yoo Je-yi, a genius in the top 0.1% who everyone admires. Woo Seul-gi, a transfer student who receives special attention from Yoo Je-yi, is played by Jung Soo-bin.

Just like Lee Hye-ri‘s extraordinary determination, in the highlight video released before the first broadcast, it was said that she had changed from head to toe, to the point that people said, “It’s the first time I‘ve seen her like this.”

The lively and spirited image she had shown in her previous works is nowhere to be found, and she shows a face that is so ambiguous that it’s hard to tell whether she‘s good or evil.

Her uniquely lovely charm and her trademark charming gestures full of eye smiles have also disappeared.

After the press conference held at CGV Yongsan I-Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 6th, she said, “She is a character who boldly expresses her desires, and in a word, she is a cheeky character.” “I focused on expressing a kind and gentle appearance but also a cold gaze and an expression and gaze that cannot be read. In order to show this mysterious charm, I completed the character by excluding justification.”

He continued, “While reading the script, I felt a sense of liberation about breaking taboos,” and added, “Unlike before, where I mostly played characters with positive energy, this time, it’s a character who is somewhat dark and merciless. I think viewers will feel, ‘Did Hye-ri have this kind of face?’”


Reporter Lee Jeong-yeon annjoy@donga.com

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