INTERVIEW For Gong Seung-yeon, 'Aloners' marks a new beginning

Actor Gong Seung-yeon / Courtesy of VARO Entertainment

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Actor Gong Seung-yeon said that she did not expect to get such a strong reaction and win an acting award for playing an expressionless character in “Aloners,” a drama film that subtly captures the life of a loner who deliberately avoids social interaction.

“I did not expect to win the Best Actor award at the Jeonju International Film Festival, nor did I expect to be met with such a favorable reaction from movie fans,” she said during an interview with The Korea Times via Zoom, Thursday.

“It's a relief, because I was worried that I might have done something bad. We filmed the movie in 2019, but I hadn't heard the plan about the release date until recently.”

Directed by Hong Sung-eun, “Aloners” revolves around Jina (Gong), a customer service employee at a credit card company call center, who dislikes and rejects interacting with family, neighbors and coworkers.

Instead, she prefers to work alone, eat alone and rest alone. One day, her next door neighbor is discovered dead, several days after having died alone in his apartment.

Jina is shaken by the incident, and realizes that she has empathy and yearns for human connection. She simply chose to suppress her emotions and isolate herself because she didn't want to feel hurt or betrayed by others.

Gong said that she was worried about taking up the role because it was her first leading role in a feature film.

“To be honest, it was overwhelming because I had to express subtle emotional changes without being dramatic. Portraying Jina was also challenging because there were some things that I couldn't understand about her,” she said.

“However, I was able to pull off the character thanks to director Hong, who provided detailed commentary about the characters and the setting, and my sister, who shared her candid experience of working in call centers.”

As the film suggests, “Naholojok,” a term referring to people who prefer being alone over engaging with others, are common in Korea.

According to data provided by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the number of single-person households in Korea grew to 9.009 million as of November last year, which made up 39.1 percent of the total 23.03 million households nationwide.

The figure contrasts with 34.4 percent (7.23 million) of the total households, posted five years earlier in November 2015, and 33.3 percent (6.61 million) a decade earlier in November 2010.

Actors Gong Seung-yeon, left, and Jung Da-eun, right, in a scene from “Aloners” / Courtesy of The Coup

“I could relate to Jina although we have different personalities. I've been living alone for six years, and I love spending time alone, just doing household chores. I also enjoy eating alone, going to the cinema alone and drinking alone,” Gong said.

“We live in a time where doing something alone feels completely normal. I'd like viewers to reassess the quality of their lives and ask themselves if they are really okay with being alone.”

Because Jina appears emotionless, she deals easily with rude customers and neighbors. When asked how she deals with such unpleasant or disrespectful situations in real life, Gong said that she often expresses her discomfort directly because she has high standards of ethics.

“Those who have bad manners or poor social etiquette irritate me. For instance, I had a neighbor who would just leave his food waste right outside his house. So once I rang his doorbell and told him to get rid of the waste,” she said.

The 29-year-old actor revealed that she gained a lot of confidence through this film and vowed to choose a bolder role for her next project.

“I feel like I can proudly present 'Aloners' in my filmography. I've gained so much confidence through it and I feel like I should do more adventurous roles in the future,” she said.

She also hinted that her next film, “Handsome Guys,” a comedy, is poised to hit local theaters later this year.

Gong shared that her family provides her with the motivation to work harder.

“My family is the most valuable thing in my life. They're the reason why I work hard. When my sister Jungyeon of TWICE had to take a break due to anxiety issues, I also had a tough time. However, I tried to comfort her by telling that I'm always on her side,” she said.

Of their reaction to the film, she said, “My family came to the film premiere, although they didn't say much. My mother simply told me, 'Good work, see you at home,' though I could feel her support from her warm gaze.”

“Aloners” will hit local theaters on May 19.