Faith and My Fair Lady K-drama star Kim Hee-sun’s career spans almost 30 years, but how has marriage and motherhood inspired her latest roles in Alice? – interview

Nearly three decades have passed since Kim Hee-sun – who was still in high school at the time – first set foot in the entertainment industry in 1993.

Starting out as a young commercial star, Kim has since become one of the most beloved and prolific actresses in South Korea, appearing in more than 30 films and TV series including My Fair Lady (2003), Faith (2012) and Jackie Chan’s 2005 film The Myth.

Kim, 43, now the mother of an 11-year-old daughter, believes her career is far from over and, with her roles as a parent and a wife, it can expand to other areas she would not have taken on many years ago.

That mindset brought her to a main role in the sci-fi series Alice, which recently ended with a 9.1 per cent viewership rating. The time travel-themed show tells the story of reserved detective Park Jin-gyeom (Joo Won) who uncovers the truth of a time traveller group as he tries to find his mother’s killer.

The LED mask that our favourite Korean stars swear by – does it work?

Kim plays a double role as genius physicist Yoon Tae-yi, who helps Jin-gyeom solve the mystery of the time travelling machine and his mum’s case, and as Jin-gyeom’s mum Sun-young.

“Playing a double role was difficult,” Kim said during an online interview. “For a few of the scenes, I had to switch into another character in such a short time. And if I only had little more time in between, it would’ve been better to focus. If I failed to perform both roles well, I was worried that it could put a blot on my career … My high expectations for the series and myself made it even more challenging.”

Kim, who married in 2007, said she used her experience as a mother to play Sun-young.

“I imagined what it would be like to leave my daughter after I die, and how I would feel,” she said. “So I would tear up just looking at Joo Won, and would get really emotional.”

To play both Jin-gyeom’s mother and his partner Yoon – who eventually develops a romantic relationship with him – on the same day, Kim said she tried hard to immerse herself in each character.

“When I dressed up like Sun-young, the way I looked at Joo was different,” she said. “Joo’s character gives up his mother‘s possessions to save Tae-yi. So, as Tae-yi, it was more of feeling appreciative to see him sacrifice for her.”

What was K-drama’s Start-up star Bae Suzy like before the fame?

For some action scenes, the series required her to kick, jump and fight with swords – which she had never done – and she pulled it all off. Kim said she was happy with the final result.

“I think it’s the perks of fantasy genre works … They are so hard to act, but are so interesting and pay off,” she said. “And I was surprised to see how the action scenes came out so nicely with sound effects and graphics.”

Kim also commented that she discovered the fun of performing action scenes and expressed her hopes for more roles in action films and TV series.

When she finishes a big project, Kim says she tries to find something new to do, something she can enjoy until her next movie or TV show. And this time, she turned to YouTube.

“It’s a wild idea [to open my own channel],” she said. “But I know a lot of hidden restaurants, like the ones that are not on the map and don’t even have signs. I think it would be interesting to share videos of me introducing these spots.”

Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .

This article originally appeared on Korea Times.