A high school girl who secretly dated her tutor is now a high school girl with a short haircut, who curses those who killed her mother. This is the story of actor Jung Ji So, who presented opposite charms in the film Parasite and tvN’s The Cursed.
“I still can’t believe it. It’s just unrealistic for me to meet both ‘Parasite’ and ‘The Cursed.’”
Jung Ji So confessed that she still can’t believe everything that happened to her. The actor, who seems familiar and yet also unfamiliar, is facing ninth anniversary since her debut. She started off in the entertainment industry with MBC’s May Queen, which aired in 2012 and began to see the light with Parasite.
Jung Ji So also commented that she decided to drop out of the university to star in the movie. “It was difficult to study and film at the same time. My desire for the film was much greater and because such opportunity has finally arrived, I decided to leave the school. I can go back to college any time, but I couldn’t miss the work.”
She then confessed that she still can’t believe that she appeared in Parasite. “When I first auditioned, I didn’t think I would actually get the role. I just wanted to put the meaning in trying out for the audition.” She added, “I didn’t have many chances to audition then, but luckily I got another call and soon after, I was in front of director Bong Joon Ho.”
Right after Parasite, Jung Ji So starred in the drama, The Cursed, for the first time. “It was a really cold, hard and difficult role, but because I knew what a chance this was, I decided to bite the bullet.” In the drama, the actor played Baek So Jin, who can curse someone to death by using names, belongings and photos. “The character like So Jin is difficult to find in Korean dramas, but when you look at Hollywood, there are some characters like her. Like Christine Stewart in Panic Room and Chloe Moretz in Let Me In.”
The person who is cursed with “Bangbup,” he dies as the invisible force twist the entire body. Jung Ji So confessed that she was actually embarrassed at first to act the scene where she ”Bangbup“ someone. “It’s not like I‘m performing a Gut scene like Cho Min Soo. I was holding a pen and shaking my body as the staff rocked the car I was in,” she said. “Others were doing so much more so I felt awkward acting like I was doing something incredible. It was amazing to see it with visual effects. I actually somewhat worried that I might not look strong enough since So Jin uses poised method of cursing someone. But the scenes with the victims were so dynamic that my character naturally looked strong enough.”
Does Baek So Jin in the play in any way resemble Jung Ji So herself? “Actually there’s quite a lot of similarities. We both have only one goal in mind and we live to accomplish it. Even in work, I resemble So Jin a lot. When I’m hooked on something, I will see the end of it.”
The final episode of The Cursed (episode 12), the drama recorded the fifth highest ratings in the history of tvN drama.
