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 Go Youn-jung on resemblance to her character in 'Moving'
Actress Go Youn-jung plays the role of Hee-soo in the Disney+'s action series “Moving.” Courtesy of Walt Disney Company Korea
By Lee Gyu-lee
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actress Go Youn-jung expressed huge satisfaction with her latest role as an athletic high schooler, Jang Hee-soo in Disney+'s Korean original series “Moving,” saying she shared a lot of similarities with the character.
Actress Go Youn-jung / Courtesy of Walt Disney Company Korea
“I've always wanted to play a character that is similar to my real personality. And Hee-soo was it,” she said during an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Jongno District, central Seoul, Wednesday.
“I got the script for the first time at the audition for the role. I didn't have enough time to prepare or grasp the backstory. But because the character seemed to have a similar personality and way of talking as me, the script felt very comfortable to read. That's how much the character resembles me.”
Based on the popular webcomics of the same name by Kang Full, the blockbuster action series follows a group of teenagers with supernatural powers. Along with their parents ― played by starring Zo In-sung, Han Hyo-joo, and Ryu Seung-ryong ― who have been keeping a painful secret, they fight against dark forces.
The series is led by director Park In-je, who helmed the second season of Netflix's hit series "Kingdom,” and scripted by the original creator Kang.
Go plays the newly transferred student, Hee-soo, who has excellent athletic abilities. Like his father, Jang Ju-won (Ryu), she has a supernatural power to heal herself from injuries.
The actress said everything about the character from the way she speaks to expressing emotion resonated with her.
“We are similar in that we both tend not to show our feelings overtly and are tough,” she said. “I heard that Hee-soo was the only character that writer Kang had a hand in. From what he said, the low, husky tone of my voice suited well with the character.”
Poster for the series “Moving” / Courtesy of Walt Disney Company Korea
The big-budget series garnered huge anticipation even before its release on Aug. 9, with its star-studded cast members. She shared that she was confident that the series will be a hit.
“I expected 'Moving' to be popular. Kang is a famous writer and I know director Park's previous works. And not only the writer and the director, all the big-name actors that I'm familiar with are starring. So I thought there's no way this won't work,” she said.
The actress added that she felt a sense of pressure when she found out about her fellow co-stars. “I got the roles fairly earlier phase (of the pre-production) through the audition. I had no idea about other actors … And when I found out later on, I felt I should really do this role well.”
The 20-part series debuted its first seven episodes on Aug. 9 and has been releasing two episodes every week.
The actress hinted that the upcoming episodes will have more dynamic actions and a deeper story with new characters appearing.
“Everyone sacrifices themselves for others; dad for his daughter, the daughter for her friends, the friends for their family. And Hee-soo grows a lot from it. The word 'moving' also means touching and the later part of the story shows that aspect,” she said.
“The scale and space of the set will be bigger (in the later part of the series). And the action sequences are more colorful. There are a lot of characters who have not yet appeared so I hope you look forward to that as well.”