[New on the Scene] Kim Si-eun, who transparently becomes her character

When actor Kim Si-eun made her Cannes and commercial film debut in July Jung’s “Next Sohee,” many paid attention to how realistically Kim portrayed So-hee, a high school student exploited as an intern at a call center.

“I’m sure any actor at my age must have been interested in playing So-hee, because it was a project helmed by July Jung and co-starring veteran actor Bae Doo-na. But besides that, for me, So-hee expressed a message that resonated deeply inside me, making me want to participate for this particular project so badly,” the 23-year-old actor told The Korea Herald in an interview in February before the film’s release here.

Based on true events from 2017, the film builds up to the death of a 19-year-old student who worked at a call center as part of a student internship.

Kim said before reading the script, she did not know about the incident and felt “shameful.”

“But after that, I did not try doing more research on the actual incident or watch the SBS documentary that looks into the death, because I believed that having too much information may interrupt me from transparently portraying the character and showing flexible acting,” Kim said.

“I did all my best and with sincerity, I tried to get closer to So-hee. I cannot deny that I acted with a heavy heart because the character was based on a real-life event, not fiction,” she added.

Having debuted in 2017 in TV dramas, Kim is aware of her bubbly image from the energetic characters she has played in previous projects such as 2022 TvN series “Mental Coach Jegal.”

Although So-hee is far from the characters that she had played before, Kim felt comfortable becoming a downtrodden high school student thanks to the crew and fellow actors she had worked with before.

“It was the assistant director of my first indie film, ‘The Dream Songs,’ who recommended me as So-hee to director Jung. Soon after I received the scenario, I met with Jung and had a conversation. It was that moment that I became So-hee,” she said, adding she was the first to audition for the role.

“Fellow actors such as Heo Jung-do who played my teacher in ‘Mental Coach Jegal’ starred as a teacher again in ‘Next Sohee.’ So I spent a lot of time chatting with him about our next project and how I should focus on playing So-hee,” Kim said.

Kim said she asked people around her if she was doing OK, and in return she received a lot of encouragement.

She added that although she does not know where she is heading now as an actor, she wishes to be transparent and flexible as an actor.

“To be honest, I do not know what I should do as my next project. My priority is to focus on the film or drama that I work on and become an inch better after wrapping up the project. I believe being a flexible actor can deliver healthy energy to people around and also through the screen,” said Kim.

Finishing the interview, she recalled the time at a seaside restaurant in Cannes when “Next Sohee” was invited to International Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival in May last year.

“I was having my meal and this woman approached me, showing a page of a magazine featuring me, and asked if I was the same actor. It was that moment that made me think that I was an actor,” she said.

“I wish to visit the city again as an actor, but having no Americano a bit sucks,” she joked.

The following article is the first in a series that introduces Korea’s new and emerging actors and directors. -- Ed.