I never clicked on anything so fast because of the thumbnail
[ENG TRANS] SOOYOUNG ON MARIE CLAIRE JUNE 2023
Q. You went to Paris last April for this photo shoot, right? What memories do you have from the days you spent there?
Sooyoung: I’ve had a few chances to go to Paris during my activities, but with the opportunity brought by this pictorial, I was able to visit (Paris) again after a long time and stayed for about four days. Perhaps it’s because I’m lucky when it comes to the weather (laughs), but the sky was so clear and the sun was shining beautifully too on the day of the shoot. Thanks to that, I had fun working and I also enjoyed the atmosphere on the site during my spare time. After working, I went to Switzerland to travel with my mom and sister.
Q. Some moments you experience on a trip can give you inspiration in life for the future. Did you feel anything new while traveling to Switzerland?
Sooyoung: I realized that experience is important. I went to Matterhorn and faced the snowy mountains for the first time in my life, and I was overwhelmed by the magnificent beauty of mother nature. I personally prefer trips in the city, but I want to go backpacking and enjoy nature. Another new experience was paragliding. Before I jumped down, admiration of the scenery and fear crossed my mind. But when I returned to the ground, I was like, ‘Do birds feel this way?’ it was strange, something I’ve never felt in my entire life. It was a trip that made me determined to actively try out things that I haven’t done before.
Q. Coming back after your trip, the drama <NamNam> is about to be released. It is based on a webtoon of the same name which depicts the story of Hopeless Mother ‘Eunmi’ (Jeon Jyejin) and Cool Daughter ‘Jinhee’ (Choi Sooyoung). I think it would have been necessary to have a process of adding new interpretation while still reflecting the original version.
Sooyoung: Jinhee’s job in the webtoon and drama are different. The Jinhee that appears in a drama is a police officer, and we thought that a neat short hair would look good so I didn’t dye my hair red like Jinhee in the webtoon. It was a choice made to bring out Jinhee’s personality in the drama, different from the webtoon. In terms of the development of the drama, there is also an episode wherein Jinhee is only a police officer. I referred to the tone and disposition in order to preserve the unique fun of the original version, but I focused more on the character in the drama itself that I had to express.
Q. How do you feel about waiting for the first episode which airs on July 17th?
Sooyoung: I’m the type to clear my mind once the filming is over and it goes out of my hands, but I’m hoping <NamNam> will do well. I hope this drama becomes a meaningful work for the viewers. Recently, there have been a lot of works that make female protagonists stand out such as <Queen Maker>, <Kill Boksoon>, <Work Later, Drink Now> and there are various genres as well. I hope that <NamNam> which captures the daily life of Eunmi and Jinhee, will also receive a lot of attention, and further help more female narratives to appear.
Q. A lot of people are looking forward to the kind of chemistry that you will show together with Actress Jeon Hyejin who plays the role of Eunmi.
Sooyoung: I like Jeon Hyejin sunbaenim so much. Just the fact that I’m participating in a project with Hyejin unnie makes me feel like I became a ‘successful fan’, and appearing with unnie as mother and daughter makes it an even more special opportunity. I thought that I have to be in harmony with Hyejin unnie in order to act to my heart’s content with her. (laugh) I was at a drinking party with unnie recently, and she said “I’m so happy that I got to act with Sooyoung”. Hearing her say those words made me feel relieved and touched.
Q. I’m getting curious about the chemistry that both actresses will show.
Sooyoung: It might feel strange at first. The relationship between Eunmi, who raised her daughter alone as a single mother, and Jinhee, who treats her mother like a friend, it’s not something common around us. <NamNam> is a work that tells us that there are also mother-and-daughter like this in the world. I think the charm of this drama is seeing Eunmi and Jinhee quarreling and living with complex emotions which are a combination of love, resentment, and respect.
Q. After wrapping up the filming for <NamNam>, you posted on SNS saying ‘Jinhee-ya, thank you for coming to me’. What were you feeling when you wrote those words?
Sooyoung: I was thinking that I wanted to tell a story about a mother through my work. I was lucky to be able to express and act out the emotions that Jinhee feels while looking at Eunmi. It was a point that I wanted to act out someday.
Q. It seems like a work that makes you think about the relationship between a mother and daughter. It may be the most intimate relationship, but like the drama says, they are also like ‘Strangers’ right?
Sooyoung: That’s right. I started living alone in the latter half of my 20s and I was so afraid that my mom might completely disappear from my life. When we met each other again after silently holding out and spending time separately, I was able to truly love my mom. When I was young, my mom cared for me and kept me safe, but now I feel like I should be the one to protect her. I want to know if anything hurts, and I want to show her a lot of good things. We also traveled to Switzerland because my mom often showed me photos of that place while saying, “If heaven exists, is it a place like this?”. I was glad that my mom liked that trip.
Q. Everyone, including mother and daughter, are fundamentally strangers, but there’s also a saying that ‘Only others save us’. Sooyoung, you also have moments where you feel the preciousness of other people, right?
Sooyoung: Of course. There are people who cross the line that I drew in an affectionate manner. They remember the food I enjoyed, or they suddenly give me something pretty as gifts. When someone is willing to give something for me like this, I realize that I have the power to exchange with others. I also want to convey this kind of emotion to the people around me.
Q. I had this thought when I heard that you and Yuri participated as flight volunteers for abandoned dogs on your trip to Los Angeles not long ago.. Sooyoung’s kindness reaches not only people but also animals.
Sooyoung: I heard that there are a lot of abandoned dogs waiting for help from volunteers. I thought that sending many more abandoned dogs to places where there are people waiting for them through planes that fly every day would ease their pain even just a little bit. Even if it's not often, I look into flight volunteer information when I go to places like the US. It was Yuri’s first time being a flight volunteer, and she thanked me for giving her the opportunity to help the dogs. I was also grateful that Yuri was able to feel those emotions and expressed them in words.
Q. It’s not easy to keep a relationship going for more than 15 years, but Girls’ Generation members have already spent that much time together. Not to mention in the closest way. It’s a relationship that started through work, but now, you have become very important people in each other’s lives.
Sooyoung: “When I went to Los Angeles with Yuri and Tiffany this time, every process went smoothly. It was very comfortable because we are used to honestly voicing out if we’re upset about something as well as yielding to each other fairly. We’ve been together for a long time so we know each other well, but I think it’s a blessing that I have friends beside me with whom we still have a lot to talk about whenever we meet. It felt as if we were being compensated for the days we lived intensely together.
Q. Girls’ Generation members, who received a huge amount of love right after debut, are now continuing activities in their respective places. Sooyoung is also solidifying her position as an actress.
Sooyoung: “I used to be shy about saying ‘I’m actress Choi Sooyoung’. Looking back now, I think I had a similar mindset to ‘Forky’ in <Toy Story> who didn’t think of himself as a toy. I was conscious of the prejudiced view about idol-turned-actor and obsessed over a kind of inferiority complex. But now, I have come a long way from such thoughts. I felt a great thirst for this freedom. I hope I can gain a lot more experience and show various faces as an actor using the freedom that I finally found.
Q. Are there more things you want to achieve in the future?
Sooyoung: “I’ve been ambitious/greedy lately. I talked to Yuri and Tiffany about it and they said, ‘It’s my first time hearing such words come out from Sooyoung’s mouth.’ (laughs) I don’t have a specific goal, but I do want to be loved more.”
Q. What is the fundamental reason behind such thoughts?
Sooyoung: “If you were to compare a person to a jar, my jar is filled with water very shallowly. If the amount of water is this little, it’s not an easy thing to share it with someone. I don’t think I’m that big of a person to an extent that I’d share what I have until the very last drop. That’s why I should fill myself up even more. It would be nice if I get filled to the point it overflows so that I can share even more.”
Q. So it’s being filled to be able to share.
Sooyoung: “There are a lot of people around me whom I’m grateful for and they tell me, “Even if you don’t pay me back, I will fill you up.” I wish to become that kind of person too. I want to be more relaxed so that I can give more. Then I will be able to deliver greater love to the people I cherish.”
