Actress Joo Se-bin shared her admiration for writer Im Sung-han’s incredible abilities.
Recently, Joo Se-bin sat down for a wrap-up interview at the OSEN office in Mapo-gu, Seoul, following the conclusion of the TV Chosun weekend drama ‘Doctor Shin’.
‘Doctor Shin’ is a medical thriller about a genius doctor challenging the realm of God and a woman who loses her soul after her brain is damaged overnight. In the series, Joo Se-bin played the role of Geum Ba-ra, the youngest reporter in the culture department of the Seong-woo Daily.
When asked about the directing she received from writer Im Sung-han, Joo Se-bin revealed, “To be honest, there wasn’t much talk about the external styling for Ba-ra. She just wanted my hair to be a medium length without layers. She sent a reference photo and asked for it to be exactly like that, right down to the height and ratio of the parting. Since I had bangs that I was growing out, I had to use hair pieces for the early scenes.” She added, “She repeatedly told me that while I usually have a mid-to-low tone, ‘Ba-ra must always speak elegantly, prettily, calmly, and clearly, like a nightingale.’ Because she wanted a clear and pure voice, I spoke about two keys higher than usual to sound innocent.”
Describing writer Im Sung-han, she said, “The writer is truly charming. She has a magnetic appeal. Her personality is actually very similar to my mother’s. She’s a bit of a ‘tsundere’—shy yet charismatic—but she’s very deep and takes great care of us. She’s very clear with her ‘carrots and sticks.’ Professionally, she’s sharp with her critiques, and in those moments, she’s as scary as a tiger teacher. But when I did well, she praised me, bought me delicious food, and told many funny stories.”
Even during the four months of practice among actors before filming, the feedback was rigorous. Joo Se-bin recalled, “In the beginning, I left it to the director or the senior actors. But toward the end, the writer stepped in directly and trained us like a Spartan. Every single line, ending, tone, action, and gaze was scrutinized. She’d ask, ‘Do you think this is charming here?’ We’d watch the footage together and she’d have us explain our choices one by one. If I couldn’t explain it, she’d ask sharply, ‘How can you not be objective about this?’ ‘Do you really think Ba-ra was charming here?’ or ‘Do you think viewers will find this convincing?'”
Regarding the reaction after watching the footage, Joo Se-bin shared, “Early on, she’d call me into the editing room and ask, ‘Why did you act like this here? We practiced this. And I clearly told you to use a clear and pure voice, so why does it sound so husky here?’ Because of that, there were many scenes I had to re-record. She wanted it to be pretty, pure, and elegant. Even for crying scenes, she didn’t prefer loud wailing. Since Ba-ra has many restrained emotions, she had me re-record the audio to sound like I was sobbing with restraint. Toward the end, I think she touched my acting less.”
Joo Se-bin specifically mentioned the hardest part: “The most difficult thing was that not a single syllable of the dialogue could be wrong.” She explained, “For example, even onomatopoeia while sighing couldn’t be wrong. If the script said ‘Um…’ and I said ‘Ah…’, she’d correct me to say ‘Um.’ I couldn’t even change ‘did so’ to ‘did it’; I had to deliver the lines exactly as written. I thought I was fast at memorizing, but it took me twice as long as usual. After finishing this project, I feel like everything else will seem easy. I believe this work played a huge role in expanding my capabilities as an actress.”
She also touched upon the line “Peeing while looking at me” spoken by Ha Yong-jung (played by Ahn Woo-yeon), which shocked many viewers. The line appeared in the episode 7 preview during a video call between Ha Yong-jung and Geum Ba-ra, who was in the bathroom, causing a stir. However, the line was actually about the pet dog, Jjan-ji, and the misunderstanding was caused by clever editing.
Joo Se-bin commented, “It was a comment about Jjan-ji, and I never imagined it would cause such a fuss. I didn’t know they would edit the preview like that. But I heard the writer was involved in even those editing points.” She added with admiration, “I thought to myself, ‘Isn’t this just devilish star quality?’ I think the writer’s talent in that regard is truly amazing.” (To be continued in Interview ②).
