Edited by Seo Hayne
Translated by Eungee Joh
Son Ye Jin is nourishing her exceptional 20-year friendship with her beloved friends Jeon Mi Do and Kim Ji Hyun in Thirty-Nine. She has already appeared in more than 30 films and dramas over the course of the years that her character Cha Mi Jo spent building her friendship with her friends. Ever since she nabbed her first title role in Delicious Proposal, she is reigning as the most influential actress in the Korean film industry. Let’s take a look at five of her most iconic movies of all time.
The Classic (2003)
The Classic is the movie that turned Son Ye Jin into the icon of our times and as the rising queen of melodrama. The movie follows two storylines of past and present with a 30-year time gap as it tells a romantic story of a mother that weaves in perfectly with her daughter’s blossoming love story. Son Ye Jin played a high schooler named Joo Hee, who Joon Ha (played by Cho Seung Woo) has a crush on and also starred as a college student named Ji Hye, who secretly grows her feelings for her classmate Sang Min (Jo In Sung). She perfectly pulled off the heroine role of two contrasting love stories, and her innocent and pure charm was greatly highlighted in the movie as she ran through the heavy rain with Jo In Sung under his jacket. The heartbreaking love story between Jo In Sung and the female star made many audiences shed tears, and perhaps because of that, The Classic remains to be one of the best South Korean romance movies of all time.
A Moment to Remember (2004)
Based on the Japanese television show named Pure Soul (2001), A Moment to Remember is a film that turned many into emotional wrecks with Son Ye Jin’s brilliant performance. The movie stars Jung Woo Sung opposite the female star and is about the heartbreaking love story of a woman named Su Jin, who later develops Alzheimer’s disease, and a penniless carpenter named Chul Soo, who grows to love her sincerely. Su Jin is a very forgetful woman who often finds herself in various kinds of troubles, but at the same time, she is a very strong figure who can voice out her feelings for her loved ones. Su Jin meets the love of her life, Chul Soo, thanks to her chronic forgetfulness, and she eventually ties the knot with him. However, their happiness doesn’t last long as she finds out about her illness which slowly robs her of her memory. Although the movie is basically filled with all kinds of tragic romance tropes, the perfect chemistry between the two actors and their powerful emotional scenes won many hearts of the audience. The scene where Jung Woo Sung says, “We’re going steady when you drink this,” became one of the best iconic scenes in Korean movie history, which drama Run On cleverly gave a parody of.
The Truth Beneath (2016)
The Truth Beneath is a movie that gave the queen of melodramas a chance to show off her new side as an actress. Helmed by director Lee Kyung Mi who created the Netflix original series The School Nurse Files, the flick follows a politician and his wife navigating a scandal after their daughter goes missing on the eve of the national election. Son Ye Jin played a mother named Yeon Hong and gave a stunning performance as she experiences extreme emotions in search of her missing daughter. She exhibited a complex character who is way beyond a typical motherly figure and left a deep impression on viewers. In an interview, she explained that she tried not to “reference any preexisting work” to make her own vivid motherly role. Although the movie didn’t do well at the box office, it still remains to be one of the must-watch movies in her filmography.
Something in the Rain (2018)
Something in the Rain is a romantic drama that tells a realistic love story of a man and a woman who mutually knew each other through his sister. Son Ye Jin, who made her drama comeback after 5 long years, excellently pulled off her mid-30s office worker character with her exceptional performance that delicately got across the emotions of the character she played. The romance she showed with Jung Hae In, who played Seo Jun Hee, in the drama excited many viewers as it reminded them of a real relationship. Plus, many viewers resonated with her personal story as she struggled through her work, family, and love. Although the latter half failed to live up to its hype due to its slow story and inconsistent characters, the female star carried on her impressive acting as a woman who found her true love until the season’s wrap.
Crash Landing on You (2019)
Crash Landing On You is about the love story of a chaebol heiress who made an emergency landing in North Korea because of a paragliding accident and a North Korean special officer who falls in love with her. Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin received a lot of attention for this new series as they had already starred together in another project called The Negotiation that embroiled them in dating rumors from 2018 to 2019. The two showed perfect chemistry and made the somewhat far-fetched story convincing and compelling. While Hyunbin perfectly played the cold soldier Lee Jung Hyuck who later opens all his heart to his beloved woman Seri, Son Ye Jin nailed the cute and strong super-rich heiress role who proudly made use of her wealth for her loved ones. Thanks to the actors’ brilliant performance that made us laugh, swoon and cry, Crash Landing on You became the most-watched drama in tvN’s history and gained its worldwide popularity through Netflix.
