Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
INTERVIEW Kim Hye-yoon on her unconventional character in 'Secret Royal Inspector & Joy'
Actress Kim Hye-yoon plays the role of Kim Joy in tvN's comedy period series, “Secret Royal Inspector & Joy.” Courtesy of Sidus HQ
By Lee Gyu-lee
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actress Kim Hye-yoon became familiar to the public after her breakthrough role as an ambitious, determined girl in the 2018 hit series “Sky Castle.” Since then, she has taken various roles across TV and films, including that of a quick-witted high school student in the romantic comedy series “Extraordinary You.”
More recently, Kim took on a rather unconventional character, playing a divorcee during the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, in tvN's comedy period series “Secret Royal Inspector & Joy,” which ended Tuesday.
The series, which kicked off on Nov. 8 with a 5 percent rating, revolves around a free-spirited secret royal inspector, Ra Yi-eon (Ok Taec-yeon), and an unorthodox woman, Kim Joy (Kim).
Yi-eon, who has no ambition, is just getting by as a royal officer. One day, he gets appointed as a secret agent, or "amhaeng-eosa" who are dispatched to travel around the country to perform undercover investigations of corrupt civil officials.
On his first assignment, he comes across Joy, who has been seeking a divorce from her husband despite the complicated process. As she moves out from her in-laws' house after the divorce, Joy joins Yi-eon to carry out his investigations across the provinces as a secret inspector.
“As this was my first period series, I was very nervous. I wanted to provide a perfect portrayal of the character, but I wish I could have done it better,” the actress said regarding her feelings towards the series' wrap-up in a written interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday.
A scene from tvN's “Secret Royal Inspector & Joy” / Courtesy of tvN
Kim said that she was drawn to the strong-willed, independent side of the character. “One of Joy's lines says, 'A no is a no, and I will speak up for the things that I need to,'” she said.
“And when I read that line in the script, I got the feeling that she is a very independent and cool person. So I instantly thought that I wanted to play her character.”
However, playing an optimistic woman who tries to make her own way in such a conservative era was not easy, she said. She added that her focus was on making her character convincing.
“I wasn't sure if viewers would find it convincing to see such a character in a period series at first. But as I read the script, I came to think that this type of person could have also existed in the Joseon era,” she said. “I thought that Joy was such a brave person. So as I was portraying her, I kept on looking for ways to make her look confident and avoid seeming ill-tempered.”
Adding that Joy's high-spirited optimism is similar to the actress' personality, Kim said that she wanted to leave a positive message through her character.
“Joy is such a bright and energetic person. Her high-spirited side has something in common with me, although her endless optimism might be overbearing at times,” she said. “But these were the characteristics that I could learn from Joy. She was never discouraged and was always confident. So I wanted to deliver that vibrant character well to the audience, and convey a positive message.”
The actress, who debuted as a teen actress in 2013, expressed that she is ambitious to take on various different roles.
“I haven't played a lot of different characters yet. With whatever roles I take, I want to be able to do a good job in fitting into them,” she said. “I will show myself growing and getting better with each project I take on.”