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Actor Kim Hye-jun, queen of Netflix's Kingdom, speaks on her role, drama

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Actor Kim Hye-jun poses in this undated photo. Courtesy of Netflix
Actor Kim Hye-jun poses in this undated photo. Courtesy of Netflix

By Park Ji-won

About one month since its release, the second season of "Kingdom," Netflix's first original series in Korea, continues to enjoy undeniable success among fans worldwide thanks to its unique story and setting of a zombie-apocalypse in the ancient Joseon Kingdom. It has entered the streaming services' top 10 lists in many countries.

The comic-based action thriller series tells how Crown Prince Lee Chang and his court try to save the zombie-hit kingdom while tracing the secret behind Lee's dynasty and the creation of the flesh-eating creatures.

The series ignited people's curiosity as it introduced the zombie character which is not common in Asian films. Korea's traditional culture and clothes also became popular among fans after the drama's release; sales of "gat," a hat which was commonly worn by aristocrats in the Joseon Kingdom, have increased at online shopping malls such as Amazon.

In a recent group online interview with The Korea Times, Kim Hye-jun, who plays Queen Consort Cho in the drama, shared her thoughts and experiences about playing one of the most important roles.

Spoiler alert. This story includes spoilers for the series, so those who don't want to learn about the story, please stop reading.

The 25-year-old actress plays a villain in the second season who decided to spread the zombie virus in the palace and the country in order to not to give up her position as de facto queen. She served as the queen of the nation after marrying the king, who was some 30 year older than her and was made a zombie under a scheme hatched by her father, the chief state councilor and leader of the Haewon Cho clan, to take over the country through her. She is tasked with giving birth to a boy to succeed the crown. She fails to give birth by herself and steals a baby boy from another mother. She is also turned into a zombie later.

She said playing a zombie was not an easy task as they run quickly while at the same time making unhuman movements with their bodies.

"Most of the time, I was playing a role sitting in a chair as queen. However, it was not an easy job to become a zombie because I had to run fast like somebody who was about to collapse, even though I was wearing proper running shoes, while showing some zombie movements from top to toe. I came to understand how hard the zombie actors, who made up half of the drama, worked and I truly appreciated their performances from heart," Kim said.

When asked about her queen costume, she said the full-costume was too heavy for her, making it difficult for wear.

"It was summer and the weather was really hot when we were filming. And my queen hat and costumes were so heavy, which made me physically very tired."

She put effort into on portraying a queen who is smart and ambitious but who goes insane under the extremely oppressive and patriarchal society. The queen appears to be immature in the first season as a puppet of her father who wants to amass power as the ruler of the country, but ends up becoming a villain by ordering her servants to spread the zombie virus to remain as a queen in the historical record even though she will be killed.

"When I read the script, I thought the queen was a very smart and ambitious figure to be able to play fool and control her father … but it is hard to describe her having a self-led personality because she uses cruelty to resolve problems surrounding her. People may have loved my character not because of her independence but the way she expresses her ambition despite her position and regardless of others' perspectives under the oppressive norms of Joseon society."

"I felt sorry for her, as well. When I was thinking about her: an extremely ambitious person, she was put in a certain situation in society. But at the same time, I couldn't understand how an individual could be so cruel under an oppressive situation."

She added that, at the same time, the fact that her character is loved by many made her sad because it reflects the reality where there is still discrimination and oppression (against people) and she hopes the situation will improve in the near future.

Despite criticism about her "bad" acting in the first season, she overcame this by focusing more on her character with the support of colleagues, silencing the negative comments in the second season.

"I lost my confidence at the time. It was me, the actor, anyway, and it was my responsibility. I was embarrassed and became self-reflective … But I thought it was the time to show better acting in the second season by understanding the genre more…. My colleagues also gave me positive comments and said they believed in me, which made me easily overcome the situation."

Stressing that playing the queen in the Netflix's series was a huge opportunity and a stepping stone in her career, she pledged to become better as an actor.

"I was just happy at the beginning as a new actor and was surprised and worried by the fact that I was able to act with these great writers and actors. At first, I thought the job was for a film role; I didn't know much about how Netflix works. As an actor and an individual, I learned how to be myself and take responsibility in playing a role while being harmonious with others…. I want to become an actor who can give faith to people so that they can expect something from me and I can respond to them."


Park Ji-won jwpark@koreatimes.co.kr


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