Kim Tae-ri entered the Maeran National Theater Company as a replacement trainee.

In the second episode of the new tvN Saturday-Sunday drama ‘Jeongnyeon’ (directed by Jung Ji-in and written by Choi Hyo-bi) that aired on the 13th, the main character Yoon Jung-nyeon (played by Kim Tae-ri), who came to Seoul with only one dream of becoming a national theater actress, faced one crisis after another as soon as she entered the ‘Maeran National Theater Company’, the best national theater company of the time, through an audition.

After many twists and turns, Yoon Jung-nyeon was able to participate in the Maeran National Theater Company‘s new trainee audition that day and took the audition with nervousness. Yoon Jung-nyeon, who failed the dance test because of her injured shoulder, unexpectedly stood out in her acting. Yoon Jung-nyeon, who was ordered to act out sadness, completely immersed herself in her emotions as she thought of her father who passed away during the evacuation, and just shed tears. This made her stand out among the other contestants who literally ‘acted’ sadness. The highlight, of course, was her voice. Yoon Jung-nyeon, who chose ‘Chewolmanjeong’, dominated the atmosphere of the audition venue with just her voice, and So-bok (played by Ra Mi-ran), who was judging the audition, thought of her childhood friend and pansori genius Chae Gong-seon (played by Lee Ga-eun), who had intimidated her. In fact, So-bok was the young disciple of pansori master Im Jin (played by Kang Ji-eun) who the Gong-seon family had come to visit in 1931.

Yoon Jung-nyeon’s audition result was unexpectedly ‘passed by a by-election’. Yoon Jung-nyeon thought it was because of her dancing, but there was another reason. So-bok called Yoon Jung-nyeon aside and revealed the real reason, saying, “If I accept you, all the Maeran members will think that you joined because of Moon Ok-kyung.” She also said, “Prove yourself,” and made Yoon Jung-nyeon convince all the Maeran members during the grace period that she joined because of her own abilities and not because of Moon Ok-kyung‘s halo. She emphasized that if she couldn’t do this, she wouldn‘t be qualified to join Maeran. Furthermore, because she was curious about Yoon Jung-nyeon’s relationship with Gong-seon, So-bok asked Yoon Jung-nyeon the name of her mother, but tilted her head when she answered, “Seo Yong-rye.”

Yoon Jung-nyeon, who was full of confidence in her singing, started her life in the national theater troupe with great momentum amidst the hot interest of the Maeran members, including her jealous classmate Chorok (played by Hyun Seung-hee) and her group. In the meantime, Yoon Jung-nyeon, who became close with her new friend Joo-ran (played by Woo Da-bi), learned about the systematic practice system and discipline of the national theater troupe from Joo-ran, the appearance of the sophisticated and skilled entertainers, and the fan culture, and adapted to Mae-ran.

She also met Yeong-seo (played by Shin Ye-eun), who would become her fateful rival. Yoon Jung-nyeon was drawn to the exceptional voice coming from one side, and when she saw Yeong-seo practicing there, she realized that she had been a frog in a well. Also, during a singing class, Yoon Jung-nyeon and Yeong-seo were called out to the front and had a singing competition in front of the members, and they became official singing rivals among the students. Yoon Jung-nyeon reached out first, expecting that they would be able to have a friendly competition with Yeong-seo, but Yeong-seo coldly drew the line. However, the fact that Yeongseo was Yoon Jeong-nyeon‘s roommate was revealed, and the tenacious relationship between the two became more interesting.


In the meantime, Chorok’s prank on the research student Yoon Jeong-nyeon, who was in the spotlight, began. Chorok didn‘t give Yoon Jeong-nyeon the research uniform properly, so Yoon Jeong-nyeon, who couldn’t wear the practice uniform during class, was kicked out during class due to Sobok‘s scolding. Yoon Jeong-nyeon, who was very angry, asked Chorok the whole story, and Chorok provoked Yoon Jeong-nyeon, saying, “If you bring me the regular performance audition script, I’ll do anything you ask me to do. But if you don‘t bring it, you’ll admit that you came in because you have no skills and are following Moon Ok-kyung‘s side and leave Maeran on your own two feet,” and Yoon Jeong-nyeon accepted. However, this was Chorok’s mean scheme. The audition script managed by senior Do-Ang (Lee Se-Young) was not one that new trainees could receive, and there was no way that the strict and discipline-oriented Do-Ang would give the script to Yoon Jeong-Nyeon, who had just joined the national theater troupe.

Jeong-Nyeon was at a loss, but he didn‘t give up and went to Do-Ang to ask for the audition script. As expected, Do-Ang became furious at the reckless request of a new trainee. At that time, Yoon Jeong-Nyeon argued that it was unfair to not even give her an audition opportunity just because she was new, and this unexpectedly proved to be a surefire way for the principled Do-Ang. Do-aeng tells Jeong-nyeon that he will discuss with the director about giving her the audition script for the regular performance if she shows her skills on stage at the charity performance ‘Chunhyangjeon’ prepared by the trainees, and with this, the key to Jeong-nyeon’s destiny shifted to the trainee charity performance to be held in ten days.

The trainee performance was being prepared under Yeong-seo‘s leadership. However, Jeong-nyeon, who had just become a trainee, did not even have a role. Jeong-nyeon asked Yeong-seo for a role, but Yeong-seo surprised everyone by giving her the main role of ‘Bangja’. Jeong-nyeon, who was given the important role of Bangja on her first time performing an actual national musical, literally performed ‘reading acting’ without any interpretation of the character, and ended up ruining her practice. Here, Yeongseo simply repeated the word “again” to humiliate Jeong-nyeon, and when Jeong-nyeon started to cry, he showed off his wild acting as if he was going to kill Jeong-nyeon’s spirit. Yeongseo gave Jeong-nyeon the role of wild man not as an opportunity, but to tell her to “know your place”.

After this, Jeong-nyeon and Yeongseo clashed fiercely, making the tension explode. Yeongseo said, “If you‘re not confident, you can just leave now” and provoked Jeong-nyeon by saying, “You’re stupid for biting into a big role. Choose. Either embarrass yourself on stage or figure out your place and step down now.” Finally, Yeongseo snickered in front of Jeong-nyeon, who was grumbling, and stabbed her, saying, “The only ending is you getting booed by the audience and leaving the stage.” Jeong-nyeon replied, “Now open your eyes and watch. He gritted his teeth, shouting, “How can I do anything?”

However, Yoon Jung-nyeon, who could not understand her ‘arseness’ at all, went to Ok-kyung with a desperate feeling. At this time, Ok-kyung shocked Yoon Jung-nyeon, who was expressing her frustration, with an unexpected answer. Ok-kyung handed her the ‘Regular Performance Audition Script’ and urged her to skip the research student charity performance and prepare for the regular performance audition. Then, she said, “I didn’t bring you to Seoul to stand on the research student stage. I brought you because I thought you would succeed me, or rather, compete for my spot. You will rise faster than anyone else, and higher than anyone else. Just do whatever I say,” and shook Yoon Jung-nyeon’s heart with sweet words. While everyone is criticizing her for not being qualified, attention is focused on what choice Yoon Jeong-nyeon will make after receiving Ok-kyung‘s tempting offer that could be a shortcut to becoming a national theater actor.

Meanwhile, ‘Jeong-nyeon’ is currently in a legal dispute with MBC. It has been reported that there were differences of opinion between the broadcasting company and the production company during the process of changing from MBC to tvN. In this situation, the broadcast is proceeding as scheduled.

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