Kim Yoo Jung is expressing gratitude as Dear X continues to earn strong reviews.
Dear X follows Baek A Jin, a woman who hides behind a mask in order to escape hell and claw her way to the top—along with the story of the “Xs” whose lives she crushes along the way. Kim Yoo Jung plays Baek A Jin, a woman who dons a mask in order to survive.
“For every scene, I tried not to blink on purpose, and I aimed my gaze into empty space,” she said, describing her approach. “I wanted her image to hit instantly, even from the outside alone.”
Kim Yoo Jung explained that she crafted the sociopathic character down to the movement of her eyes. “My eyes are naturally big, so if I open them just a bit wider, a lot of the whites show—so I used that,” she said. “And I often made a half-lidded, sleepy gaze but with a look that suggested her mind was still calculating.”
She added that viewers reacting strongly to A Jin—even hating her—was exactly what she hoped for. “I wanted people to curse A Jin and say, ‘What’s wrong with her?'” she laughed. “But unexpectedly, some viewers actually rooted for her. I hoped she’d come across as someone who inspires mixed feelings, and I think I achieved that.”
How did those around her react to her dramatic transformation? “Some people joked that they were scared of me after watching it,” she said. “My family and friends told me they were enjoying it a lot.”
Dear X has topped the TV show category on Viki U.S. and on Disney+ Japan. On HBO Max, it also reached No. 1 in the TV show category across seven regions including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Kim Yoo Jung said the global response has been both surprising and meaningful. “When I heard this was TVING’s first project to launch overseas, I was shocked and excited—but also felt a lot of pressure,” she admitted. “I’m relieved the overseas reactions have been good. Since I was trying to show a completely different side of myself, I feel like I grew as an actor, too. This project will be the one I’m especially attached to.”
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