MANILA, Philippines — Song Hye-kyo reunites with Descendants of the Sun writer Kim Eun-sook not for a romantic drama or a romantic comedy, but a Rated-19 series.
Called during the recent virtual media junket as the “goddess of Korean rom-coms and Korean dramas,” and rightfully so, Song however vowed to present a “totally new” persona in the revenge-themed show that premieres on Netflix today (Dec. 30).
If anything, the glam images furnished to this section are a teaser of her departure from the leading lady that audiences have come to know if not love in such K-dramas as Full House, Encounter and of course, Descendants of the Sun. According to the writer herself, the Song Hye-kyo from her previous works is “nowhere to be found” in The Glory.
“When I read the script, I felt that this was exactly what I was looking for. This is the genre and the character that I was looking for all my career. I always had a thirst for this kind of genre and this kind of character, (which) I finally met in this show,” Song explained why she accepted the project during the recent mediacon.
Having worked again with writer Kim (whose other widely-popular romance K-dramas are Lovers in Paris, Secret Garden, The Heirs, Mr. Sunshine and Goblin) and having been a fan of director An Gil-ho (Happiness, Record of Youth, Stranger), Song recalled being “confident” that they would be able to bring out a “new side of her that she had not been able to find” in her past projects.
“Yes, I did a lot of melodramas in the past. So, in The Glory, I take on a totally new face. People might not be familiar with the new face that I’m going to show through The Glory. It was challenging, but it was really fun for me,” she added.
In The Glory, she plays Dong-eun, who is out to give hell to those who bullied her during her high school years and who nearly pushed her to the brink of no return, as her school, her parents and even the police couldn’t protect her.
“She is a victim of terrible school violence. She endures an endless tunnel of darkness filled with wrath and hatred, and works bitterly and meticulously for revenge,” Song further described her character.
This leads to her personal resolve to punish perpetrators, no matter how difficult and long the road to revenge takes.
“When I was reading the script, I felt very tragic for Dong-eun, and I couldn’t think of anything else. How can this happen to a person? And this was all so meticulously and so beautifully written by writer Kim. So, (I thought) if I could do a good job of portraying Dong-eun, this would make a great show,” she said.
Nevertheless, Song said it was tough to portray a victim. “It was extremely challenging. The young Dong-eun was helpless and hurt. And all of the hurt, she was open to it. She was unable to put up a fight against it. But the grownup Dong-eun, I didn’t want her to seem as pitiful. I wanted her to seem solid and strong.
“And that was what I tried to focus on. And how the grownup Dong-eun is aware that ‘compared to when I was younger, I am now much stronger, I have toughened up, and I can do this.’ That’s the kind of energy that I wanted to portray through the grownup Dong-eun. And I had many conversations with the director, and thankfully, he and I saw eye-to-eye most of the time. I think it went on quite smoothly.”
Song also incorporated some “physical” details into her character. “I wanted to make her look as humorless and stale as possible, like buttoning up all of my shirt buttons. I went for a natural look with hair and make-up, since she would not have had time for a glow up because she is consumed with her revenge plot,” she said.
Asked about her favorite line from The Glory, Song said, “There were many lines that struck me, but I thought the most about the line, ‘There is no forgiveness, no glory, either.’ Though she is a victim of extreme violence, she can become a perpetrator through her revenge.
“I interpreted this line as Dong-eun wanting her perpetrators to be punished, and at the same time, accepting her own consequent punishment. This is what I kept in mind while portraying Dong-eun.”
Meanwhile, writer Kim was asked how foreign audiences could relate to the series and she stressed that its story about bullying is not unique to Korea, but is a universal issue.
“Well, I don’t think that you can say that school violence is pertaining only to Korea. It’s definitely not something unique to a certain country. It’s universal,” she said.
“I know through Netflix, this series will be released in over 190 countries, and there are many victims of school violence (everywhere). The parents, the students, those that are involved in the healing process… I think we all feel a universal emotion. So, I don’t think it’s going to be a difficult idea or concept to relate to or that it’s uniquely Korean.”
She also pointed out that the message of the series is “pretty clear-cut,” saying: “Good triumphs over evil. And don’t be bad.”
The Glory also stars Lee Do-hyun, Park Sung-hoon, Lim Ji-yeon, Yeom Hye-ran, Jung Sung-ill, among others.