'Squid Game' star Jung Ho Yeon gives advice for Blackpink Jennie, friends at Manila visit

MANILA, Philippines — If you’re friends with Blackpink member Jennie Kim, what would you advise her?

Think no more because Jennie’s best friend, “Squid Game” star Jung Ho Yeon, shared what she would give as advice to her friends during last Friday’s media conference for her first ever Manila solo fan meet.

As Jennie’s best friend, Vogue’s first ever East Asian cover model, the most followed Korean actress on Instagram, an international model who walked for global brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel, and of course, as among the first Asians to win best drama acting Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, Ho Yeon has been expectedly named by K-Ci Williams of Vulture as "World's Current It Girl" in 2021. The Manila fan meet's host, Sam Oh, thinks Ho Yeon is still the world's "it" girl even this year.

For this, the 28-year-old said at her Manila fan meet that she felt pressured but grateful to be called an “it” girl.

“I brought my mom to Emmy Awards. So that was one of the biggest things that happened to my life and also, I remember the SAG Awards. Because the feeling, I’ve never been into that kind of rollercoaster (of emotions) in just a few hours. It kind of stays with me still until now. And also, I had a chance to work with Alfonso Cuaron and also Cate Blanchett. (It) was one of the most magical, most surreal experiences in my life,” the 2022 Emmy Awards nominee for Best Supporting Drama Actress said of her 2022 life and career highlights at the press con prior to the fan meet.

When asked how she stays humble in spite of her success and stellar friends, she said: “It’s something that I put a lot of thought into and it’s a lot of effort to keep myself grounded… It’s really about taking some time for myself, getting alone time for myself because these help me understand what are happening to me, the experience that I’m having, the feelings that I’m having. So I need some time out by myself to process all of that and to kind of arrange my thoughts a little bit.”

Related: Jung Ho-yeon looks ‘within’ to stay grounded after Squid Game success

When quizzed as to what she would give her friends as advice, she explained: “This is quite of a difficult question because the way I view the world is changing all the time and even today. But something that I like talking to my friends and sharing with my friends is this feeling of empathizing with each other.”

“Because I feel like we’re all getting busier every day and everyone’s losing touch of each other’s lives and the ability to empathize with each other and so I would like to be more interested in the things that are happening around the world, around me, and in the lives of the people that I care about. So empathy is something that I’d like to share more with the people I care about,” she said further.

Recently, in Korea, Ho Yeon moved from one house to another, and from this, she realized another thing she wanted to share with friends: Be organized!

“Always arrange your stuff. I realized that this is a good, meditative activity. This is very therapeutic! And so, if I have a friend who is going through an emotionally difficult time right now, and she asks for my advice on what to do, I would probably tell her to ‘Arrange your stuff. Go to house chores or something. That’s gonna help you’.”

She joked that she can also volunteer to clean anyone’s house. For this, Sam had a question for the audience: "Who wants to go first?"

RELATED: ‘Squid Game’ star Jung Ho Yeon shares impression of the Philippines, places to visit