Ratings quadruple Red Balloon Seo Ji-hye Na is not lonely so I have a lot of luck.
It is the power of actress Seo Ji-hye (38) to persuade viewers with her solid acting.
It is even an affair woman setting with the provocative narrative unique to the writer Moon Young-nam of “The Godmother of Madness.” It is an unlikely combination to match Seo Ji-hye with a sophisticated and intelligent image, but Seo Ji-hye’s 20-year acting experience shone through the TV Chosun weekend drama “Red Balloon.” For Seo Ji-hye, who is about to be in her 40s, “Red Balloon” is a work that has given herself a new challenge and confidence while taking off her existing image.
Seo Ji-hye had such strong trust in writer Moon Young-nam that she decided to appear without even watching the play of “Red Balloon.” The “Red Balloon,” which started at 3.7% (based on paid households in Nielsen Korea) in the first episode, ended at 11.6% in the last episode thanks to word of mouth. Seo Ji-hye attributed the rise in viewership to writer Moon Young-nam. “It’s not a grand transformation, but I thought it was the actor’s role to show another character. When I was thinking about what kind of roles would be different, I got an offer from this work, and I chose it right away because the writer’s writing skills were so famous.
“Red Balloon” is a drama about human desires, and Seo Ji-hye played the role of Cho Eun-gang in the play. He is surrounded by relative deprivation and endless jealousy of his friend Han Bada (Hong Soo-hyun) and falls into an affair with his friend’s husband, Ko Dimensional (Lee Sang-woo). Seo Ji-hye carefully portrayed a woman who abandoned her 20-year friendship and pursued only her desire to love.
Seo Ji-hye, who found Eun-gang’s 180-degree different appearance and hidden desires interesting, said, “The writer told me during the pre-meeting that I could express my feelings from 0 to 100 through this character, and that’s why I wanted to challenge it.”
Acting to release exaggerated emotions, such as screaming and throwing up anger, was also a new task for Seo Ji-hye. It was awkward and difficult to use such emotions after a long time. These days, dramas have a lot of inner acting, so there have been many times when I was not immersed in the emotional scenes that are going to the drama,” he said. “Sometimes, I felt cathartic because I screamed.” “If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it,” he said with a smile.
Usually, characters such as Eun-gang, played by Seo Ji-hye, are often portrayed as sub-characters, not main characters. It was thanks to actress Seo Ji-hye’s solid experience that led the play and even drew sympathy from viewers. He also looked back, saying, “It was difficult,” and said, “There is a stereotype that the main character should be nice, and this work does not completely break it, but does a one-string. The writer said, “There is no complete villain or good man,” and he said, “Isn’t that what you want to talk about through this drama?”
He also expressed respect for Hong Soo-hyun, who played together. “We became friends quickly because of the setting of being friends. He was such a veteran that he led me,” he said. “He has a very high concentration and is a hard worker. He can handle long lines without making any mistakes. All the actors clapped as they gazed in rapture. “I thought my skills were very hard,” he praised.
Seo Ji-hye, who started acting with the SBS drama “All-in” in 2003, gained huge popularity through her role in tvN’s “Crash Landing on You” following SBS’s “Jealousy Incarnate” and KBS2’s “Black Knight.” Seo Ji-hye has been running nonstop since last year. Disney+ original series “Kiss Six Sense,” tvN’s “Adamas” and “Red Balloon” appeared in three consecutive films.
It must have been physically difficult to film 20 episodes of “Red Balloon” in a short time of 5 months. Seo Ji-hye said, “I’m satisfied because it was a challenge in my own way in the sense that I showed a completely different image. “The process of thinking about what the next challenge will be also fun,” he said.