Kim Ji-eun of Channel A‘s new weekend drama ‘Check In Hanyang’ has expressed her determination to take on the role of a woman disguised as a man.

At the production conference for ‘Check In Hanyang’ held at the Eliena Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 17th, Kim Ji-eun said, “This is my first historical drama. There were many senior actors with a lot of experience in historical dramas, so I trusted them and appeared.”

She continued, “While doing historical dramas, I realized that there are so many beautiful and nice places in Korea. The filming locations were all far away, but it was really fun. The scenery is really pretty, so please look forward to it.”

She plays the character of Hong Deok-soo, who enters the inn Yongcheonru while disguised as a man. Here, she recalled actors who had previously played women disguised as men in historical dramas, such as Park Min-young in ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal’ and Park Eun-bin in ‘Yeommo’, and confessed, “Since my seniors had shown great acting before, of course I felt a lot of pressure.”

Kim Ji-eun added, “I worried about how to overcome the pressure, but I tried to make it fun. I tried to show a more brazen and shameless side when I was with these friends. I really hoped that the viewers wouldn’t feel awkward. I studied the character diligently, such as showing the director the makeup steps from step 1 to step 5.”

Meanwhile, ‘Check In Hanyang’, which will be aired for the first time at 9:10 p.m. on the 21st, depicts the turbulent growth romance of Joseon youths who join the ultra-luxurious inn Yongcheonru, more splendid than the palace, as interns. Actors Bae In-hyeok, Kim Ji-eun, Jung Gun-joo, and Jae-chan will appear as the main characters.



Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com