TV
'The Glory' school violence victim Ahn So-yo "couldn't sleep after filming"
On the 29th, I met actress Ahn So-yo, who appeared in Netflix's 'The Glory', at the Ten Asia office building in Jungnim-dong, Seoul. Ahn So-yo played the role of Kim Kyung-ran, the manager of the select shop Siesta and the stylist of Park Yeon-jin (played by Lim Ji-yeon). Kim Gyeong-ran was also a victim of school violence by Park Yeon-jin's group during her school days.
Soyo Ahn said, "The director said that he wanted the character of Gyeong-ran to create tension by appearing confused as to whether he was a member of the victims' solidarity or a group of perpetrators. I tried to find that ambiguous point while acting." He continued, "I wanted to play Kyung-ran with all my heart, so I kept picturing in my head each day of Kyung-ran's life from her high school days until now. Rather than trying to find an answer to the question, 'Why did she do that?', I approached it by slowly drawing out each day. “I did,” he explained.
Even after becoming an adult, Kim Gyeong-ran cannot escape from the group of school abusers. He works as a manager at Jeon Jae-jun's (Park Seong-hoon) clothing store and as a stylist for weather caster Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon).
When asked what she thought was the reason why Kim Gyeong-ran could not escape from the group of perpetrators, Soyo Ahn said, "Many people were puzzled and at the same time made inferences through their own direct and indirect experiences. Looking at them, I sympathized. Many people understood. “I think so,” he replied. He continued, "I think it would be difficult to explain in one line why I did that. The days of failure and frustration piled up day by day, and now I don't think I have any strength left to try or try anything more. Now, I have to endure each day in front of me and stay safe. “I think that alone was an overwhelming experience,” he said.
When asked if it was mentally difficult for her to play the victim of school violence, Soyo Ahn replied, "I wanted to go deeply into Gyeong-ran's heart. I wanted to accept Gyeong-ran with my body. Of course, I felt the darkness in Gyeong-ran's heart." He continued, "I had a lot of bad feelings, but basically, I am myself. I was so thankful that I was doing the work, so the dark emotions of this role were not painful and difficult. I was sober enough to accept those feelings. “There was an underlying feeling that I loved and wanted to act well,” he confessed.
Soyo Ahn said, "I played many characters while working in an independent film. There were dark roles, but there were many days when I couldn't sleep because I had many emotions that I couldn't digest, no matter what role I played. I often wondered about the identity of those emotions and had many thoughts and emotions. “It comes in and goes out. There are days when I sleep soundly, but there are also days when I toss and turn all night.” During 'The Glory', "I didn't film much. It was intermittent, and I couldn't sleep well that day when I filmed almost every scene. I kept reviewing it. Also, aren't there scenes that are connected to the scenes I filmed? How did you do it today? “When I thought about how I was acting and the character’s emotions, I found it difficult to fall asleep,” he said.
'The Glory' is a Netflix series that depicts the story of a woman whose soul was broken by violence in her childhood, who risks her entire life to carefully prepare a cruel revenge, and the story of those who fall into the vortex. According to Netflix's TOP 10 as of March 29, 'The Glory' recorded 413.05 million cumulative viewing hours, ranking 6th in all-time viewing hours in the Netflix TV (non-English) category. This is an achievement that follows ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Our School Now’ as domestic Netflix series works. Part 1 of ‘The Glory’ entered the TOP 10 list for 5 weeks, and Part 2 maintained the top spot in the non-English language category for 3 consecutive weeks immediately after its release.
Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr
