Ex-Secret singer and actress Han Sun-hwa on her first movie role, in Cinema Street, putting K-pop and anxiety behind her and learning to care for herself

When Han Sun-hwa left K-pop girl group Secret to pursue acting in 2016, she was physically and mentally exhausted – ‘I was too hard on myself’

As an actress she feels more relaxed. After roles in 15 K-drama series, she’s just landed her first movie role as the lead in romance drama Cinema Street

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Han Sun-hwa (right), once a part of K-pop girl group Secret, in a scene from Cinema Street, her first movie role, in which she plays a location scout from Busan, South Korea, called Sun-hwa.

Published: 5:45pm, 19 Sep 2021

By Kwak Yeon-soo

As a K-pop singer, Han Sun-hwa lived with anxiety and struggled with a life of fame and the demands of her career. She couldn’t even enjoy a cup of coffee with her friends because she felt guilty about taking time off work.

Leaving music for acting was a reset for her, and now she has finally landed her first lead movie role in the romance drama Cinema Street, about ex-lovers who meet again and become emotionally attached to one another.

Working ceaselessly in K-pop for seven years – from the time she shot to stardom in girl group Secret in 2009 until she left the group to pursue acting in 2016 – she was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Han (left) and Jun Hyo-seong of Secret perform in Seoul in 2012. Photo: Getty Images

“As a member of the girl group, I was always so busy,” the 30-year-old says. “I didn’t have any time for relationships. There was no time to step back and ask myself, ‘How do I actually feel?’. I was too hard on myself, believing that my skills would deteriorate if I were to take a break. My biggest fear, at that time, was falling behind my competitors.”

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