Lee Se Young - Arena Korea 2018 Interview

Disclaimer: Article is roughly translated. It may contain inaccuracies. Please pardon any mistakes.

I Like New Things

Actress Lee Se Young said she doesn’t like being dragged along (meaning she prefers to take initiative and make her own choices rather than follow others). She said she looks forward to roles that challenge her and allow her to learn.

“You shouldn’t be unhappy just because the public reaction isn’t good. After all, how much time in life do we really get to be happy?” - Lee Se Young

Q: I heard you recently held a fan meeting. That was your first one, right?

Yes, it was my first, so I kept it small: about twenty people. I’ve always wanted to meet my fans in person, but the timing and circumstances just never worked out. Some of the attendees were new fans, but many have supported me for years. There were also fans who couldn’t come but sent letters and gifts, and shared all sorts of warm messages. But since I’m not very good at talking and I’m quite shy, we all ended up being a bit shy with each other.

Q: Did you just talk with the fans?

We played games too. But I ended up winning all of them. One of the games was a “spot the difference” using my own photos. So of course I had the advantage because they were my clothes and accessories. I got every answer right, and even won all the rounds of muk-jji-ppa (a different type of rock-paper-scissors). I’m very competitive by nature. I was on a winning streak when I noticed the promotion team staff’s expression wasn’t very happy. Honestly, at events like that, I should’ve let the fans win and granted their wishes as a “penalty.” But instead, I ended up earning four wishes for myself.

Q: We interviewed you for Arena four years ago. You were beautiful then, but you seem even more beautiful now. What changed?

I actually think I was prettier back then. I’m still young now, but at that time there was a kind of freshness, a youthful energy, you know? These days, I find myself becoming more like my mother. I pull candies out of my bag to share to people, hand out hand cream, and keep Vitamin C packets in my pocket. I’ve started acting like a warm, caring adult.

Q: I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes when I hum songs to myself, I feel like an old man.

I wish we could just keep talking about things like this.

Q: Actually, I was going to ask you about your latest project. I looked up photos from A Korean Odyssey  and saw you dressed as a zombie.

Ah! You have to watch it on TV! Let’s pretend you haven’t seen those yet and then be surprised again after you actually watch it.

Q: Then I’ll make sure to scream when I watch it on TV! I’m curious — how do you choose your projects?

I don’t have a strict checklist, but I like projects where I can learn something new. Even if a drama is likely to get high ratings, I hesitate if the character feels too similar to one I’ve played before. I don’t really like doing the same thing twice. I need to understand and love the character I play. But if the role feels bland or uninteresting, it’s hard for me to connect with it emotionally, and that makes acting difficult. I don’t like passive characters; I’m drawn to ones who are proactive and ambitious. I’d also love to play a role like this someday: a charismatic professional, like Dr. House from the American series House M.D.

Q: After The Best Hit, you said in an interview that rather than chasing ratings, you’d focus on playing the roles you truly want.

How many dramas in a year actually get high ratings, really? Of course, being a hot topic is important, but it’s not everything. Things can’t always go well. I think what really matters is growing and improving myself. If I keep building my skills, I’ll be able to make good use of them later on. I still have a lot to learn as there’s so much I don’t know yet, so I’m naturally drawn to opportunities that let me show new sides of myself.

Q: I can really feel how much you love being an actor.

I really love my job. It’s wonderful to be able to love what you do and make the most of it. The beauty of being an actor is that you get to live many different lives, and as you study each character, you also start to reflect on who you are. It’s also a chance to understand other people more deeply.

Q: Many actors who start out as child actors struggle with image transformations when transitioning into adult roles. But it seems like, rather than focusing on image, you’ve always known what you truly want to do and have stayed focused on that.

What really matters is having the acting skills to seize opportunities when they come. Even if you try desperately to change your image, it’s pointless if you can’t deliver a convincing performance. Of course I try my best, but I don’t obsess over things I don’t have right now. If you’re recognized through your work, people will take notice. And if you’re genuinely good at acting, you won’t be forgotten. Someone will always want to cast you.

Q: Was The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop a turning point in your acting career?

Yes, it was. That’s why I worried a lot and doubted myself quite a bit. I bothered the director a lot. I kept asking after every shoot if he was satisfied with my acting. I can’t monitor myself on set. I just can’t watch it.

Q: Do you get embarrassed when you watch yourself act?

I think I become too self-conscious, so I just don’t watch. On set, I completely trust the director’s judgment. Still, I often ask, “You didn’t just say OK even if it wasn’t good, right?” I thought of twenty five as a really crucial age. I was in my mid-twenties and appeared in a drama with decent ratings. With so many people watching, I felt that if I couldn’t do well, then maybe I wasn’t really good at acting at all. If I couldn’t even handle a small role properly, how could I possibly take on anything bigger? That’s what went through my mind. I believed that to stand out, I needed to do the kind of acting that only I could do, not something just anyone could pull off. So I felt a lot of pressure to perform well, and I was really stressed. Thankfully, the director looked out for me a lot.

Q: Do you feel pressured to prepare for the future?

When I was nineteen, I actually made a life plan up to age twenty-four. I wrote down things like how many dramas I hoped to do and maybe landing a commercial or two by then. Back then, I felt like I had to study during my breaks, and if I rested, I felt lazy. I’ve never really liked taking time off.

Q: Have you achieved most of the goals you set when you were younger?

Yes, I have. I don’t set unrealistic goals. Some of them took longer to achieve than I expected, but I don’t obsess over that. Achieving things quickly isn’t necessarily better. I’ll probably be acting for another fifty years, so learning how to pace myself is much more important. Being an actor means you don’t get to sleep regularly or you sleep less than most people. So I take care of my body since it’s my greatest asset. What matters is enjoying the work. I shouldn’t feel unhappy just because I only got a small role or because the public reaction wasn’t great. After all, how much time in life do we really get to be happy? Not everyone gets to be happy all the time. That’s why I try to enjoy every single moment.

Q: Shall we talk about men for a change? Do you have a type of man you like or dislike?

For me, it’s less about gender and more about the kind of person I don’t like. For example, someone who picks at their food. If someone does that and eats like it’s tasteless, I lose my own appetite too. And I really dislike people who are weak toward the strong but strong toward the weak (people who bully those beneath them but kiss up to those more powerful than them). I prefer people those who are strong toward the strong and kind toward the weak. It’s not easy to find genuinely good people, so whether it’s a man or a woman, I naturally feel drawn to kind-hearted people. Still, I do have a small ideal type: I’d like someone whose fingers are longer and straighter than mine, someone who’s taller than me, and whose eyes look clear and sincere. The kind of eyes that make you think, “I should live kindly too.” I guess finding someone like that won’t be easy, huh?

Q: You’re quite the homebody, though. Maybe you’d meet someone if you went out more.

I do go out, but I don’t really get many chances to meet men. The only men around me are people from my agency or the filming staff. When I see the lighting crew working on set, I sometimes find that really admirable. Watching them, I wonder to myself, “Maybe someday I’ll end up dating someone who works on set, too.”

Q: People who work with passion are always admirable.

Even when they’re working without time to properly wash up, they still look cool to me. Maybe it’s because on set, I see them through affectionate eyes. I know how much effort they put into their work.

Q: Since this is the January issue, let’s talk about your goal for 2018.

Hmm… to become a better version of Lee Se-young than I was in 2017.

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