Song Ha Yoon Issue Daily Interview for Fight for My Way (2017)

An Interview with Song Hayoon for Fight for My Way

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“I want my character to be better known than my name”

"It’s not the name Song Hayoon that is important but the character."

“I was happy living as Seolhee.” Tears filled up her big eyes. Song Hayoon was still Seolhee. Song Hayoon gave stunning acting performance as Seolhee, Kim Joomahn's girlfriend in FFMY (script by Im Sangchoon, produced by Yi Najeong and Kim Donghwee) in the recently ended drama, FFMY that aired on KBS Channel 2. Seolhee has supported Joomahn since he was in military service, university, and while preparing for recruitment. She voluntarily became stingy, never asking Joomahn to buy her presents as she thought it would be a waste of money he earns.

. Viewers sympathized with Seolhee because the couple's story was very close to reality. They have been a couple for a long time, having been in relationship for six years, but she is looked down by Joomahn's family members while Joomahn hesitate to marry her. We recently met Song Hayoon at Slowpark in Seoul's Samcheongdong. Song Hayoon reflected on her experience saying, "I was very happy living as Seolhee. Only joyful and happy memories remain with me."

. "This is my first time I felt that I wasn't separated (from my character). In the past, I used to feel that we were separate identities while acting. On the days I was not shooting, I would feel empty and lonely, but I have never had such feelings this time. There was neither any stress. There were difficulties as I had to use many emotions while shooting, but I think I was nevertheless happy."

. Many people tell Song Hayoon that she has met another life-time character. Wouldn't that mean that Seolhee's character and Song Hayoon had so much in common? While she claims that the similarities between Seolhee and herself made acting easy, she says that she found Seolhee's character different from any other role from the beginning.

. "There is a charming aspect of Seolhee's character that cannot be put into a single word. She is like a child and yet she has a heart broader than anyone else. She does not seem smart but is very capable. Reading the script, she seemed to lack 2% of her potential that made me want to protect and look after her affectionately.

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Throughout the time I was reading the synopsis, I was given hope and courage. It felt like a different world after encountering Seolhee."

Prior to this role, Song Hayoon earned the name of "Ohwohlyi" by playing the character Joo Ohwohl in the MBC drama, My Daughter, Geum Sawohl. The public remembered her not by her name Song Hayoon but as her character, Ohwohl. When asked if she has achieved for herself a new life-time character, she became shy and smiled. "People around me would tell or send me screenshots. I don't think I paid any attention to them when I was acting. I was living as the character I was acting, and hearing what others were saying from outside would make me lose balance. When I come across a negative comment, tension or stiffness builds up within me forcing myself to do better. How can I put it. I can feel my muscles tighten so I end up acting with tension when I need to relax as I act. On the other hand, there is another danger of me becoming overly comfortable and relaxed. What's important is for me to immerse myself in the role as much as I can and to discuss with my acting counterpart. I don't care much (about life-time character)."

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In midst of the drama, Seolhee and Joomahn broke up and went through a time of pain because of misunderstanding between them. Joomahn asked Seolhee for forgiveness but Seolhee became a different person. She was changing herself from the smallest part of herself. She was no longer the Seolhee who endured every kind of humiliation because of her love for Joomahn. Because this could have been a real situation for someone around us, viewers' hearts resonated with and ached at the story of the two, though in the end, Seolhee accepted Joomahn's heart and the story made a happy ending.

. "I think, from Seolhee's point of view, it would have never been possible for them to part. Though she was hurt, Seolhee, out of her love would have given more efforts, wouldn't she? Many may not understand her, but I did not think so. What Seolhee did not mention was the considerate and caring side of Joomahn she loves. There was a belief in her that the two could lead a slightly different path when his and her care for each other came together. Seolhee is a person who cares deeply for others. In some ways, you may find her difficult to understand, but in my heart, I longed to let viewers see that she is wholeheartedly committed to her love."

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Song Hayoon has immersed herself and become the person of her work when she acts. It therefore takes time for her to get over that character. That was her experience when she played Owohl and Younghee (KBS Channel 2 TV drama In Still Green Days). When asked about her experience with Seolhee of FFMW, she said, “It feels different”.

. She went on and said, “It took me time when I played Owohl or Younghee. Probably because I poured too much emotion, I had much to fill in and homework to do. Seolhee feels different. She seems to be a part of this 32 year-old Song Hayoon. When time goes by, I think I can manage to easily look back and speak of Seolhee’s time as if it was my own. It’s the feeling that I have lived my own time. It is my first ever experience that ‘I can act this way. I can live out this way’ after the work is over. I think my attitude towards my next project will also slightly change.”

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She felt like a piece of ‘homework’ for her. And she got it resolved through her acting. “I struggled with every scene. At first, I would blame myself saying ‘how come I can act this much only?’ and kept on reading the script. I also talked a lot with Jaehong, and halfway through the shooting, I realized that that was not the answer. The important thing was to look at each other in the eye and to mutually sense and share the emotions. That I already knew but I felt it much more strongly by heart. The flow of emotions could end up differently by the slightest things. The scenes were so delicate that if one small bit of it was incorrectly acted out, the whole scene could end up with a different picture. We intentionally tried to look at each other more and frequently.

What I felt during this 60 minutes of interviewing Song Hayoon was that she was Seolhee in her entirety. When asked about the touching moment while spending about four months as Seolhee, her eyes turned red.

. “The scene in the drama where Seolhee goes to attend the first birthday of Joomahn’s nephew. There is a moment where her mom writes a text message to Joomahn out of anger. I could read no more, and had to close the script. I remember crying so very hard. The line where her mom tells Seolhee, ‘Now go and live for your own self’ also remains on my mind. Tears kept filling up that day too whenever we saw each other in the eye.”

. Song Hayoon who turns 32 this year says that FFMW has been like reading through 16 volumes of one good book. It became her comfort and strength as she was reading it. Courage and energy built up from within, and she developed a sense of responsibility to extend them to others. It is not that ‘one project has come to an end’. Rather ‘the time of the 32 year-old Song Hayoon’ was expressed through Seolhee

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The word “gyeongcheong (경청, 傾聽)” means to hear attentively with openness. Song Hayoon had the ‘strength’ to draw people to listen to her speak with such attitude. Making the thoughts fully her own through repeated reflections. And the strength to deliver that energy to the counterpart. The message Song Hayoon conveyed through her interview rang down deep inside those who were listening to her. Isn’t it why we are looking forward to her next steps? The life this 32 year old Song Hayoon will bring into blossom as an acting professional has only just begun. “If you are only happy all the time, you don’t really know what happiness is. Happiness can be earned when you know what it is to be hurt and to be in pain. I don’t want to let my name be known, but rather through the roles I play. It’s not the name Song Hayoon that is important but the character. After all, acting professionals get known for their work. Encountering a character whose life is full of turmoil is not a matter of ‘why I should take up this role’ but rather a heavenly providence. Because I was in pain then, I was able to bring Seolhee to life as a slightly more steadfast person.”

. Interview by Jeon Yeseul (jeonys0226@naver.com) Original Korean article available at Issue Daily

Translated by Coreeen.Kay