Han Hyo-joo looks forward to Dong Yi
by javabeans
With the airdate approaching for the historical drama Dong Yi, lead actress Han Hyo-joo has spoken about her feelings playing the lead in such a large production. Her character starts out a water maid in the palace, is selected as concubine, becomes the queen’s faithful confidant, and gives birth to a future king. Han has had leading roles before, but inasmuch as she is portraying the title role and a real historical figure, the pressure is on.
How does it feel playing the title role of a historical blockbuster?
“I feel a tremendous amount of pressure. It’s a large production and I’m playing the person the drama is named after, so I really feel that I have to do well. Everyone else says the same thing, and if I get too ambitious I feel angry so I’m trying to work quietly and do my best.”
When you were offered the role and decided to do it, how did you feel?
“At first, I hesitated a bit. I knew that the challenge of acting in the sageuk genre wouldn’t be easy, and given that the role has me acting from my teens through fifties, I wasn’t sure I could do it. But that soon changed into ambition and I thought that I’d better not let go of this opportunity to act with such range. Also, it’s such an honor to act the title role in a drama. This kind of chance isn’t common in an actor’s life, so I decided to take on the challenge.”
What kind of person do you think Dong-yi (Lady Choi) is?
“She feels the pain of losing her family when she was young, but she lives on with a bright spirit. She overcomes adversity to stand again so she’s tough and clever, and as the mother of King Yeongjo, she has a brightness that allows her to move past her own social class. Dong-yi is a righteous person who is strong against the strong, and gentle against the weak.”
Director Lee Byung-hoon expressed strong faith in you, saying, “Han Hyo-joo has a diverse image and wide acting range, so I’m sure she will lead Dong Yi to success. She’ll show a side to her in this drama that she hasn’t been able to show yet.” How do you get along with the producers?
“I’m so thankful to him for saying that. Actually, I’m still lacking in many areas, and I feel that. Because of that, I want to throw myself into working hard, and if I fall down I’ll get back up and do my best. In the beginning, I really want to start from Dong-yi’s position. Also, there’s just one thing the producers ask of me: to smile.”
Are you looking forward to the performance of your co-star Ji Jin-hee as Suk-jong?
“Everyone says that he’s a really great person, that he makes everyone around him feel comfortable, so I think he’ll be a huge support while filming. I hope that filming with the other actors can always be enjoyable.”
I’ve heard that your haegeum (stringed instrument) performance skills are top-notch. Aside from that, what kind of preparations did you take before starting the drama?
“I’m not top-notch, and I’ve only learned the basics. When the theme song is written, I’ll have to practice playing it. I took acting classes with the director for about two months, and I really learned a lot. It allowed me to get a handle on some of the more technical aspects of acting, such as how to get into the emotions quickly, keep in step with others, vocalize, and so on. I’m thankful to the director for that.”
Many of your dramas have been successful, such as As Much as Land and Sky, Iljimae, and Brilliant Legacy. How do you feel about Dong Yi?
“To be honest, I hope it can be a drama that many people will love. That’s how hard I’m working. 2010, please give Dong Yi lots of love.”
What would you like to viewers who will be watching?
“Everyone, happy new year. Please be healthy and happy. I’ll work hard on my acting and see you in a good drama. Please give Dong Yi your love. Thank you.”
Via Asia Economy
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Tags: Dong Yi, Han Hyo-joo, interviews
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1 jo
February 21, 2010 at 1:17 PM
Well, good luck to Han Hyo Joo!
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2 gg
February 21, 2010 at 1:19 PM
loved her in brilliant legacy! Looking forward to this drama. Thanks for the translation javabeans!
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3 Amy
February 21, 2010 at 2:05 PM
The hanbok in the last photo is really stunning.
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4 pasnd
February 21, 2010 at 2:05 PM
Beauuutiful! My dream girl.
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5 eiko
February 21, 2010 at 2:24 PM
Best wishes to a beautiful lady....I am looking forward to this one and I believe she will be working with an incredibly talented group of people!
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6 Akiness
February 21, 2010 at 2:27 PM
I like Han Hyo Joo and I'm really looking forward to Dong Yi but I'm still feeling kinda reserved about seeing her in this role. I guess we'll see what happens.
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7 amg01
February 21, 2010 at 2:30 PM
Once again I will make the same observation, Asian woman specially, can turn the way they look almost at will, If no one told me that this girl was the star of Brilliant Legacy, just by the way she looks in this pictures I will never been able to recognizer, another example is Yoon Eun Hye, just by altering their hair cut they look almost like a total different person while maintaining their natural beauty, She looks so Beautiful in this pictures that is breath taking!!!! best of luck in her new drama.... : O }
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8 Sora
February 21, 2010 at 2:31 PM
nice/// can't waittt
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9 all4movies
February 21, 2010 at 2:43 PM
She reminds me of Han Ji Min in Yi San.
Looking forward to this.
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10 Kender
February 21, 2010 at 2:46 PM
Is it just me, or does she look rather tired in these pictures? I hope she's not overworking herself..
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11 angl2mx
February 21, 2010 at 3:53 PM
what does a water maid do?
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12 anastassia
February 21, 2010 at 4:26 PM
Oh, i'm sooo looking forward to this. I didn't watch BL but I love a great seaguk.
The fact that she took 2 month of acting classes really make me anticipatig more of this drama. Hope this drama do well.
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13 Porcelain
February 21, 2010 at 5:35 PM
The first pixs from the bottom looks like... Lee Bo Young?
Anyway hanboks is gorgeous...
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14 mimi
February 21, 2010 at 5:40 PM
So glad she changed out of that mushroom hair-do. I'm interested to see her acting in this. Although I liked Brilliant Legacy I didn't see her acting as standing out.
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15 samsooki
February 21, 2010 at 6:06 PM
Interesting...
HHJ drops out of Chuno, picks up Dong Yi... could end up being the choice of the year for her...
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16 nicovante
February 21, 2010 at 6:43 PM
it surprises me tt HHJ still has to go for acting classes. Her acting is really good already. tt makes me anticipate the show even more! tt being said Chuno for Dong Yi was a really difficult choice but seriously Dong Yi does require more versatile acting and more importantly she will be the MAIN lead as the show WILL be about Dong Yi. In Chuno i do see LDH getting overshadowed by the likes of Jang Hyuk and Oh Ji Ho(which isn't a bad thing).
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17 Gita
February 21, 2010 at 6:44 PM
She's a very beautiful girl, and thanks to the gorgeous Hanbok, her grossly skinny body is looking a little plumpier, I'll keep my eyes on this one :)
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18 DramaPrincess
February 21, 2010 at 7:53 PM
one of my fave actress in K-drama..but she seemed to have been underrated as an actress. Ii love her in Spring Waltz...and Brilliant Legacy...and definitely i will support her in Dong-Yi
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19 seasonssummer
February 21, 2010 at 9:02 PM
wow! i will watch this drama ..:)
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20 ghian
February 21, 2010 at 9:14 PM
she really looks gorgeous....
;D
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21 Rovi
February 21, 2010 at 10:10 PM
IMO, the last shot will be when Yeongjo is like 왕세제 already...I mean, look at her binyeo; I haven't seen any 後宮 (concubine) who has that kind of binyeo...
@11...
collect water...it's so self-explanatory...
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22 moochi
February 21, 2010 at 11:39 PM
@ 10
i think she looks tired too! at least compared to brilliant legacy
but i guess in these dramas, the dialogue is much more difficult to memorize and the clothing makes it troublesome to even walk so yah..good luck to han hyo joo, I LOVE HER. and i'm still waiting for someone to explain what is going on with her online music drama, i'm still clueless to what was going on.
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23 fa
February 22, 2010 at 3:31 AM
Im glad she pick up DongYi over Chuno. but if she was UN/HW, i could at least doesnt hate that character even if i think the character is useless. she could atleast show an appropriate expression at the right time.
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24 Chandrika Anna
April 2, 2010 at 5:47 PM
You look so beautiful here....
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25 Ibrahim
May 4, 2010 at 9:05 PM
You beautiful woman...:)
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26 tyjaht
October 10, 2010 at 9:25 PM
han hyo joo unnie , ur perfect girl...ur so pretty...hope n always wish hhj unnie n lee seung gi oppa be real couple , amin...n brilliant legacy season 2 come unnie TT
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27 tyjaht
October 10, 2010 at 9:30 PM
hwaiting unnie hhj.... =) everyone love u ...
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28 sun hee
October 15, 2011 at 9:23 AM
thank you han hee joy everyone love you you are besutifuul
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29 prasad karunanayaka
March 19, 2013 at 5:33 AM
wow wow wow drama..................all sri lankans are like it.thanks all of you.....................dong yi (abeetha diyani)dong yi (abeetha diyani)dong yi (abeetha diyani)dong yi (abeetha diyani)
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30 Han Hyo Joo
November 11, 2015 at 2:13 AM
I Love Han Hyo Joo as Dong Yi.
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