Actress plays double-face in 'Woman of Dignity'

Actress Kim Sun-a seen in the JTBC drama "Woman of Dignity" / Courtesy of JTBC

By Park Jin-hai

Actress Kim Sun-a, best known for her leading role as Kim Sam-soon in the popular 2005 TV series “My Lovely Sam Soon,” has joined the director who took her to stardom 12 years ago, for another milestone drama in her 20-year acting career.

In “Woman of Dignity,” a JTBC 20-part drama which premiered Friday, Kim has been stealing the spotlight with a dubious character. She goes to and fro from being a naive and warm-hearted hospice nurse in public and an eerie-looking and cold-hearted woman when alone.

The drama tells the story of an elegant Cheongdam-dong woman Woo Ah-jin, played by Kim Hee-sun, who relished a life of luxury by marrying a quasi-chaebol son, until Park Bok-ja, played by Kim, walks into her life.

Kim takes on a contrasting lead character, a woman from a poor family, whose ambition is to become a member of the upper class. Keeping her background mysterious, Park is hired to attend to Woo’s rich father-in-law and succeeds in seducing him.

“The reason I accepted the offer is the same as it was 12 years ago. I have absolute trust in producer Kim Yoon-cheol and the script looked really exciting. I wanted to live life as Bok-ja and couldn’t sleep because I was so curious to know about what comes for her,” said Kim during a press conference for the drama, Wednesday.

As writer Baek Mi-kyung said she wanted to write a “dangerous story” where the lives of upper classes are depicted cynically, the melodrama unveils the ugly faces of people who polish their lives and disguise themselves with elegance. Park, who ultimately gets killed, acts as a trigger to reveal their hypocrisy.

The lives of the Gangnam upper class are marred with cheating and violence. Woo, who majored in design, supports a pop artist and private tutor to her daughter, while her husband cheats with the artist. The life of a wife of a plastic surgeon seems to have an enviable life, but her husband and close friend are having an affair. Another married couple openly cheats with others but they act like a sweet, doting couple when they are in public.

Culture critic Jung Duk-hyun says even with ample cheating stories, the drama is not a soap opera about couples’ affairs, but a “social drama.”

“The two women’s confrontation symbolizes the power and class structures of our society. The one with money rules as a king and, according to the power of capitalism, the master-maid relationship is replicated in the house,” said Jung. “That is why Park struggles fiercely to leave behind her humble background and climb the social ladder. In the society where the division of the haves and have-nots has become more rigid, this issue is not solely regarded as her personal ambition but will widely gain empathy from the viewers.”