INTERVIEW Yum Jung-ah depicts twisted maternal love
Actress Yum Jung-ah poses prior to the interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in southern Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Artist Company
By Park Jin-hai
In the recently ended JTBC drama “SKY Castle” that made history as a cable TV series with record ratings, actress Yum Jung-ah played a “tough mom.” Her character Han Seo-jin, was enough to be called an evil parent who would do anything for her own sake.
Han, born as Gwak Mi-hyang from a family who sells meat products including intestines, forged a fake identity as a banker's daughter. Getting married to a doctor under the false identity, she always listened to her own desires, looking to be at the top of the social class, ignoring others she may hurt along the way.
But viewers responded more fervently to the plotting mother Han than the philanthropic, good-hearted mother Lee Soo-im.
“With this drama, I've been receiving the most attention from people in my entire 28-year acting career,” said the 46-year-old actress, who played the elite mother living in the affluent SKY Castle residential complex, during an interview with The Korea Times in a cafe in southern Seoul, Thursday. “On my recent visit to Bali, Indonesian teen fans greeted me at the airport, saying they are my fans in Korean. I was totally dumbstruck.”
Throughout the drama, she focuses on her single goal of getting her daughter accepted into Seoul National University medical school, considered the most prestigious. She sheds “crocodile tears” when needed, but her face instantly transforms into a thin smile once things go the way she intended.
“Han is an extreme version of a mother you would rarely find in the real world. Except her love for her daughters, she is a mean person who often hurts others' feelings. I tried my best to make her less hateful. I think this character has received great love from viewers, because Han's maternal love, albeit skewed, appealed to so many fans,” the actress said.
In the drama, Yum's character persuades her daughter to cover up a dark secret saying she would never give up on her daughter's future, even if she had to parade around the streets with a sign around her own neck saying she was a criminal. "I could understand Han as a mother who wanted to sacrifice herself for her daughter," Yum said.
After hiring an academic coach Kim Ju-young who is employed by super-rich parents obsessed with their children's education, Han's perfect-looking family is shattered. The black comedy mocking Korea's education craze kicked off with 1.7 percent viewership but the number surged to a cable network record of 23.8 percent.
The beauty pageant-turned actress, married to a medical doctor in real life with two children at elementary school, confessed that she was also a helicopter mom once. “Until they were in kindergarten, I was a passionate mother. I used to sit and wait outside the room when my kids took classes at academic institutions and I myself tutored them sometimes. When people around me said they were putting their children into some classes, I also thought that I might have had to do likewise,” said Yum. “Now I just trust them and let them study on their own. Through this drama, looking at the special box-like study rooms with a desk, I felt pity. I learned things I wasn't aware of about Korea's educational environment and I think it must have changed my ideas on educating my children.”
The actress said the final scene of each episode with the theme song, “We all lie” gave her goose bumps. The actress gave credit to the director and camera crew. “In many scenes the director used my reflection in mirrors and glass to feature Han, hiding herself underneath a multitude of layers. The lighting director read the actors' emotions and did his job accordingly. Making pretty shots of actors and actresses was his least concern.”
Yum added that she feels more comfortable in accepting getting older. “As an actress, if you cannot accept the idea of getting old, it could be tormenting. But, once you accept it and let it go ― giving less focus on looks and how you are seen by others ― you can be more relaxed and viewers also give a positive response. After all, actresses should speak with great acting performances.”