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| A scene from Coupang Play's original series "Anna" / Courtesy of Coupang Play |
Jung Eun-chae felt drawn to her role in series "Anna" from start
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actress Jung Eun-chae, who is familiar to global audiences for starring in the SBS fantasy series "The King: Eternal Monarch" and the Apple TV+ original "Pachinko," shared that her recent role as a self-centered character in the Coupang Play original series "Anna" felt cathartic.
The six-part drama series, which released its final episodes earlier this month, follows the life of a woman named Yu-mi (Bae Suzy), who was born to poor but loving parents. She has always been the intelligent and beautiful kid among her friends, but life doesn't seem to go in her favor as she grows up.
Burdened by her parents' hopes and expectations and faced with constant failure, she steals the identity of her wealthy, bratty employer, Hyun-joo (Jung), going by her English name Anna. Under the new name, she attains the affluent, sophisticated life she always wanted.
The series is led and scripted by filmmaker Lee Joo-young, who directed the 2016 drama film, "A Single Rider."
Jung explained that she came across the series' script about four years ago through the director, adding that he specifically wanted her to play the role of Hyun-joo.
"(The script for 'Anna') stood out the most among the scripts I read at the time. I could read through it from start to end so well. And after I finished it and closed the script book, I thought 'this work has to be shown to the world," she said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.
"I was curious why this script came to me, because it was a type of character that I had never been offered. I'm far from being a cold, uptight character. I'm more of a smiling and laid-back person. And as the director got to know me and saw my friendly side, I think he wanted to bring out that side of me in the series."
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| Actress Jung Eun-chae played the role of Hyun-joo in the Coupang Play original series "Anna." Courtesy of Coupang Play |
Jung's character Hyun-joo has the life Yu-mi wanted, a wealthy family, and a degree from a prestigious school, Yale University. She always had everything she wanted in life. She is straightforward and honest about her emotions, often overlooking other people's feelings, which triggers Yu-mi to feel more inferior and leads her to find a new life under Hyun-joo's identity.
The actress said she felt drawn to the role of Hyun-joo, who she perceived as a multi-dimensional character.
"Although she makes people feel a sense of relative deprivation, she is not the type of character that directly impose harm on others," she said. "What's interesting about Hyun-joo is that she is blunt and egocentric, but when she talks to herself, she would mutter self-deprecating, pitiful lines. And I felt that made her attractive. Such sides made me think that this character could be portrayed multi-dimensionally."
Jung noted that she didn't approach her character as the antagonist of the series.
"Just like Yu-mi, most of the characters in the series are double-sided. They have more than one side to themselves and each has flaws of human nature. And Hyun-joo is just one of them," she said.
She added that playing such a candid and outspoken character gave her a sense of freedom in acting.
"I think I kind of envied her (personality). I feel the viewers also felt like they are living vicariously through (Hyun-joo), seeing her directly speaking her mind. And since I've never had to let everything out when I play a character, (playing this character) was cathartic. It felt liberating," she said.
"(Working on this series) taught me to be more tolerant of myself and have more freedom… It gave me confidence and fall more deeply in love (with acting)."
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