Lee Ha-nui, the comeback of the overtly pretty ‘Miss Universe’

“I felt that he would become a great actor. Is it correct to say that he plays freely like a fish in water? I learned so much.”

This is what Lee Sun-kyun said about actress Lee Ha-nui. Like a fish out of water, Lee Ha-nui returns to the screen with an undeniably pretty character.

Lee Ha-nui will appear in the movie ‘Killing Romance’ (directed by Lee Won-seok), which will be released on April 14th. 'Killing Romance' is about top star Yeorae (played by Lee Ha-nui), who suddenly announces her retirement after falling in love with island tycoon Jonathan (played by Lee Seon-gyun), and meets Beom-woo (played by Gong Myeong), a student from the 3rd fan club, and plots an extraordinary comeback plan. It's a story.

Director Lee Won-seok, who directed the movie 'Men's Manual', and Park Jeong-ye, writer of 'Beauty Inside', began their work under the motto of "let's create something that has never existed in the world." As the title is 'Killing Romance', the formula of romance genre films was excluded and a story close to anti-romance was completed.

Lee Ha-nui said that after seeing the ‘Killing Romance’ scenario, she thought it would be great if it existed in the world as a Korean movie. He, who was one of the enthusiasts of the 'Men's Manual', said, "He wrote the book saying, 'You can do whatever you want, this is what I want to do.'"

Previously, 'Killing Romance' garnered explosive attention when teaser posters, stills, and trailers were released. Lee Ha-nui and Lee Seon-gyun were also aware of the enthusiastic response. In the play, Lee Ha-nui plays the role of Tathagata. Tathagata is a person who was enjoying popularity as a top star, but decided to retire after becoming a subject of national ridicule due to his bad acting.

Lee Ha-nui said, “I threw it without any middle ground.” He said, "I felt the determination and determination to create an unprecedented character. I wondered what Tathagata would be like with Nathan next to him. There was a mutual relationship like action and reaction. The Tathagata itself is a very unique character. I found it attractive while portraying it, “It’s a character that is fun to play,” he explained.

In particular, through this work, I met the character who was supposed to be the prettiest for the first time, Lee Ha-nui. He said, “He wrote things like weight and ‘when are you perfect?’ in the script. (So far) I don’t think we’ve filmed anything while paying attention to visuals.” Honey Lee ranked 4th in Miss Universe 2007. Lee Ha-nui, who boasted a healthy and solid charm, this time returns as a person of a different level, with an overtly pretty appearance.

Director Lee Won-seok, who was in charge of directing, expressed satisfaction with the casting of Lee Ha-nui. Because I had to play the main character in a movie that was real but slightly unreal, it had to be realistic in terms of conveying emotions. In that respect, Lee Ha-nui was the right fit. Lee Ha-nui described ‘Killing Romance’ as ‘high quality.’ That means you have affection and confidence. Attention is being paid to whether it can deliver good energy.

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr