The East Palace gave Roh Yoon Seo plenty to celebrate — and plenty to learn from.
The actress, who took on both her first historical drama and first leading role in a long-form series, addressed criticism of her performance in a July 23 interview.
“Like any actor, there are always things I wish I had done better,” Roh said.
In The East Palace, Roh stars as Saeng Gang, a palace maid with a secret who joins Gu Cheon (Nam Joo Hyuk) in uncovering a curse haunting the eastern palace.
“This was my first time leading a longer drama,” she said. “I talked with the director a lot about how to carry the character through the bigger arc.”
After the series premiered, some viewers criticized her period-drama delivery, diction and emotional expression.
“I’m aware of the critiques too,” Roh said. “There are many areas where I need to work harder and improve. Even looking at it objectively, there are things I know I need to refine.”
Still, she said she was careful not to get too caught up in technique. “I felt that if I focused too much on technical things or how everything looked on the outside, the character itself could fall apart,” she said. “I want to become an actor who studies and thinks more deeply about the character.”
Roh added, “I know I can’t satisfy everyone, but I want to show a performance that can win viewers over again.”
Despite hearing how difficult historical dramas can be, Roh said that only made her more curious to try one. “I’d heard so many people say historical dramas are hard, but because I’d never done one before, it actually made me want to try it more,” she said.
She was especially drawn to Saeng Gang’s willingness to risk her life to save someone else.
Roh also said working with veteran actor Cho Seung Woo became a major learning experience.
“I kept asking him, ‘How do you even think of something like that?'” she recalled. “I wanted to learn how he interpreted scripts and how he thought about acting.”
Off camera, she said Cho was also unexpectedly up to date on internet culture. “He’d say, ‘You don’t know this?'” Roh recalled with a laugh, adding that he seemed to know nearly every meme they talked about on set.
Looking back, Roh said The East Palace will remain a project filled with firsts: “It was my first historical drama, my first occult project and my first fantasy,” she said. “Even though we filmed it two years ago, watching it now brought back the entire process.”
>> Roh Yoon Seo Says Romance With Nam Joo Hyuk in ‘The East Palace’ Stops at Hand-Holding and Hugs
In the meantime, watch trending K-dramas for free on Amasian TV.
Source (1)
