K-drama ‘queen of melodrama’ Son Ye-jin reigns over cinema and TV
Son Ye-jin, 36, one of few Korean actresses to enjoy enduring box-office appeal among men and women on both the small and big screens
For years, blockbuster films full of actors have dominated the Korean film industry.
Melodramatic films focusing on women’s roles were few and far between and actresses in their late 30s and 40s had a hard time finding roles befitting their status.
Yet, Son Ye-jin, a 36-year-old actress dubbed the “queen of melodrama” is defying the odds and enjoying exceptional success on both the big and small screens.
Son’s new film Be With You, in which she plays the mother of a little boy, has had strong ticket sales at cinemas since its March 14 release.
More than 2.5 million tickets had been sold for the romance up to Monday, surpassing the break-even point of two million.
It still ranks as the fifth most-viewed film at the box office, signalling that its ticketing power may last longer.
On the small screen, Son’s drama, Something in the Rain, her comeback after five years, is seeing a continuing rise in the ratings.
She plays the role of a woman who falls in love with her best friend’s younger brother.
SonYe-jin’s fandom started with the explosive support of male fans, but it moved toward women with more stable ticketing power