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Title Choi Jin-sil Plays the Lead in the New Drama, Bad Woman, Good Woman
Upate 2008-02-14 17:02
Once again, Choi Jin-sil plays the victim of marital infidelity. She plays a woman devoted to her husband and her housework, whose greatest joy in life is to raise her daughter. A firm believer in the old adage, "Men act according to the way their women treat them," she is in for a nasty surprise.
Choi Jin-sil plays the lead role in MBC-TV's upcoming daily drama, Bad Woman, Good Woman, which is set to be aired beginning on January 1st. She plays Se-yeong, a devoted wife and mother who loves her daughter and husband (Played by Lee Jae-ryong) very deeply. She takes care of her old mother-in-law who is inflicted with dementia with affection, as well as her daughter who she did not give birth to herself. Despite maintaining his married life, her husband also maintains a 6-year-long affair with his first love, Seo-gyeong (Seong Hyeon-ah) unbeknownst to his unsuspecting wife. This poses the main question of the drama -- why would a husband cheat on such a "Good Woman?"
In many ways, the character of Se-yeong overlaps with Choi Jin-sil's comeback role in the KBS-2TV drama, My Rosy Life. This may be due to the squeaky clean image she acquired early in her career. In the drama, she plays a tough and able housewife who isn't loved by her husband.
Saying that although she has acted in countless miniseries, this is her first time acting in a daily drama, she stated that "the roles of Maeng-sun and Se-yeong are definitely different." She said that in order to play the role of Maeng-sun, a tough as nails housewife who is struggling through a difficult life, she had to put on 6 kilograms, but as Sae-yeong, she plays a woman who receives her husband's respect despite being unable to receive his love, as well the love of her mother and grandmother-in-law. She said that the two roles were contrasting in the fact that compared with Maeng-sun, whose main difficulty in life were her mean-spirited in-laws, Se-yeong receives the love and support of her in-laws and is unwilling to leave her husband despite becoming aware of his marital infidelity.
She said, "After deciding to take on the role, I asked myself whether I was a good woman or a bad woman. I thought to myself, what kind of woman would forgive a husband who was having an extended affair with another woman. If I were her, I would have plotted my revenge."
But the actress also showed a softer side when she said, "Her (Se-yeong) husband is suffering because he cannot be with his true love and she is suffering because of her husband's betrayal. Also, her rival Seo-gyeong is suffering because she is married to and living with a husband that she does not love. All of the main characters are understandable."
She also said that her experience as a mother of two children aged 4 and 6, has added a new dimension to her acting. She said, "Before, I was just acting when I played the roles of mothers but now, I draw on my experience and act with true emotion. Even though this is not to say that my acting has improved in any way, really."
Even though she had acted in every genre imaginable including commercials, television dramas and movies, the actress modestly stated that her acting was still lacking in many ways. She said that she thinks, "I should to that too," when she sees the recent successes of actresses similar to her in age such as Ko Hyeon-jeong and Chae Si-ra. And also added that, "It's always scary at the starting line but you forget about your fear once you begin to run." Despite the recent success of her comeback drama, she didn't forget to modestly add that just because she's acting in a drama doesn't guarantee its success.
Choi Jin-sil showcased her flexibility when she cast off her longstanding delicate and feminine image in order to play a tough as nails housewife who would rather wear her husband's underwear than purchase new underwear for herself. And such a tour de force of acting has earned her the respect of audience and critics alike.
Although she quips that she has to treat the lighting director well so he'll help her hide her age, she is still as charming as she was in the prime of her youth. She has maintained her petite features and an attractive figure, toned from hours on the bicycle. But this former fashion icon and teen heartthrob is now a mother who has had her fair share of difficulty. And we could see that in the not to distant future, her newly acquired maturity will once again help her dominate the small screen.