In the latest Smart Hallyu Hangouts, the Korean superstar answered questions from her Filipino fans. She’s just doing her job, she said, but the love she’s been getting in return is amazing, inspiring her even more to make her legion of admirers happier with her next projects.
By Alex Y. Vergara
She listens intently, readily breaks into giggles and gesticulates on occasion to get her points across. And before she ended her “hallyu” (Korean wave) session presented by Philippine telco giant Smart, Korean superstar Son Ye-Jin shared with her Filipino fans online something new that most likely is still keeping them abuzz hours after the latest “Smart Hallyu Hangouts” ended Thursday afternoon: after gaining a global following while playing Yoon Se-ri in Crash Landing on You sometime last year, Ye-Jin will soon be shooting a new series next month titled Thirty-Nice.
“It’s about the love and friendship between women who are all 39 years old,” said the actress in Korean. The youthful-looking Ye-Jin has never been shy about sharing with the world her real age. Why would she? Born January 11, 1982, the 39-year-old actress could easily pass herself off as a 20 something, thanks to her glowing, wrinkle-free skin, slight frame and youthful demeanor.
“We were wrapping up CLOY when the pandemic struck,” she said, trying to explain the gap between her two projects. “We never realized until much later how serious it is. Like most people, I’ve been staying most of the time at home. It’s been a difficult time for everyone. And like everyone, I’ve been making the most out of the situation.”
She occasionally spoke in English, a language which she has been trying to learn, she said, for almost 15 years now “so I could reach out to more people, especially when I’m abroad,” she said, again through an interpreter.
“But as soon as I start working on a project in Korean, I seem to lose everything I know (about English) and I’m back again where I started,” she said with a broad smile.
The Smart experience
For her Smart commercial though, everything about it was real, from her voice to her lines in English. “I really wanted to deliver my lines in English so I had to practice hard. Thankfully, the results were well-received,” she said.
The one thing she needed help with was riding a motorcycle. Since she didn’t have enough time to learn how, she had to rely on a double rather than endanger herself, as her bike-riding character was required to zip through Seoul’s freeways. Shot entirely in Korea last year, but with a remote crew that also oversaw it in the Philippines, the Smart ad featuring her and CLOY partner Hyun Bin took them all day and all night to finish. Soon after its global release, it went viral.
“I had a happy and memorable time doing the Smart commercial,” Ye-Jin, who once went on a family vacation to the Philippines as young girl, said. Although her memories of her brief stay in the country have begun to fade, one thing she still clearly remember are “the Filipinos’ friendly faces.” If ever she gets the chance to visit the country again, she wants to go to Boracay.
And since “nature scenes in the Philippines are fantastic,” the likelihood of Ye-Jin going on an extended stay in the country, even living here, when she’s done with showbiz isn’t remote.
For more than an hour, she gamely answered all sorts of online and prepared questions from her countless Pinoy fans who, judging from the assembly of live Zoom images on a video wall, were mostly composed of teenagers and young women. Questions ranged from Ye-Jin’s beauty secrets to her workout routine, favorite food to her go-to looks, roles of a lifetime to what she wants to be if given a chance to be born again.
She even revealed to fans whether she drinks or not—she doesn’t! But for love of her heart, she drinks real beer and soju on camera if the scene requires her to. “It helps me do my drunk scenes with believability,” she reasoned. “But since I’m not used to drinking in real life, I turn red easily.”
On the few instances when she did drink one too many, Ye-Jin believes she could be a bit “hyper” than her usual self. But not too many people probably know about it because she would go to bed as soon as she could to sleep it off.
Beauty secrets
“For my hair, I occasionally indulge in hair treatments,” she discloses. “But I guess you have to be born with it.” Her skin, however, is a different story. “I wasn’t born with great skin. I had to exert great effort to achieve it.”
To maintain her svelte figure, the actress doesn’t subscribe to any fad diets or rigorous workout programs. But she did disclose that she has been doing pilates for 10 years now. In between projects, she does a lot of walking with her pet dog in tow. People complement her for her overall stance on the golf course, including her swing, but she’s the first person to admit that “my swing may look good, but I’m just a beginner.”
“I try to exercise every day,” Ye-Jin said. “I feel bad for myself and for my instructor whenever I cancel. As much as possible I try to squeeze it in because it’s good manners to keep a promise. In the end, it benefits me because it helps me stay fit.”
Dressed in a sleeveless and belted knee-length dress in beige, Ye-Jin insisted that she is no slave to fashion like her designer character in CLOY. She likes to look feminine in tailored dresses that skims instead of hugs the body, but she’s also comfortable wearing a simple white shirt and jeans.
Humble and self-effacing
During a segment of the hallyu wherein Ye-Jin was asked to answer with a yes or no to certain questions, the actress revealed her humble, self-effacing nature. “Are you the best actress in the world,” her interviewer asked.
Ye-Jin’s quick answer: “No!” Despite “your many awards,” the interviewer pressed on. “A little yes,” Ye-Jin, her eyes twinkling, said, albeit a tad reluctantly.
But if she were to be born again, she would definitely want to be someone else. If the fates would grant her her wish, Ye-Jin would probably be born again as a pilot and not as a glamorous and multi-awarded actress. “I want to be born to fly,” she said. “I want to experience something new.”
Equally good in comedy, a fact she attributes to timing and that all-important chemistry between her and her co-stars, and drama, Ye-Jin also revealed to fans where she draws inspiration from to breathe life to certain demanding roles. “I attribute this to a deep sense of empathy,” she says. “Whenever somebody’s sad, for some reason, I also feel sad.”
When she was starting in the business, Ye-Jin, like most newbie actresses, relied mostly on the script and her director to act out a role. But after several years in the business, she isn’t content anymore on merely playing a character. “I now want to speak through this person I’m playing, which is something very difficult to do,” she said.
Her dream roles, she confessed, are far too many to mention. But Ye-Jin expressed a deep appreciation for Renée Zellweger’s Oscar-winning performance in Judy. She would love to do something similar either on the big or small screen.
“The character’s entire life was acted through her face,” she said of Renée’s work. “As I age myself, my wrinkles would show and could probably be of use to breathe life into a character.”
Sending love to her fans
Before the hallyu came to a close, she had the chance to talk to a couple of fans over Zoom. She also saw a collage of fans on a pre-recorded segment who wished her well and expressed their longing to see her in person. Ye-Jin, her eyes turning a bit misty, was all ears listening to every word they were saying. She was elated to find out that she has brought so much joy to Filipinos, especially during the pandemic. The actress also acknowledged and thanked them for all the gifts and messages they’ve been sending her.
“Acting is hard, but I love what I do,” she concluded. “All I did was act, but I’ve been getting so much love. For me, I’m just doing my job. But when I hear fans saying how much they are inspired by my work, it makes me more motivated to do even better in my next projects. By doing so, I could hopefully make more people, especially Filipinos, happy. When this pandemic is over, I’m definitely going to the Philippines.”
