Ex-reality TV actress says she hesitated to accept mom role

Here's a common dilemma that Korean actresses face: when to start playing moms.

Actress Kim So-yeon says she had to think long and hard about whether she should accept the role of Bong Hye-ryeong, an unhappy housewife in the upcoming weekend drama "Gahwamansaseong." The title is a Korean saying that roughly translates as "a happy family makes for an easy life."

The 35-year-old is better known for her reality show appearances. She was on MBC's "Real Men - Female Soldier Special,"

in which she got a taste of the Korean military life, and "We Got Married," where she was virtually married to actor Kwak Si-yang.

"Since last year, I started telling myself I shouldn't miss out on good shows just because I'd be playing a mother," she said at a news conference in Seoul on Wednesday. "I've done that in the past and regretted it."

She says she was worried the role would set a precedent for all her future ones.

"I was worried I'd never be cast into a younger role afterward," she said. "But now I'm like -- what was I thinking?"

Actor Lee Sang-woo will play the handsome neurosurgeon who introduces an element of excitement to Bong's otherwise unhappy marriage to Yoo Hyeon-gi (Lee Pil-mo).

The show premieres on MBC at 8:45 p.m. Saturday. (Yonhap)