[Dispatch=Reporter Lee Ah-jin] "I think Jeon Do-yeon's acting should always be well-received." (Jeon Do-yeon)

It was a statement closer to responsibility than confidence. Whether it's any director's work or any role, it's the same. The moment the name Jeon Do-yeon appears on screen, there is a weight she must bear.

She has never lowered that standard even once. The beginning of that standard is director Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine" (2007). In this work, Jeon Do-yeon learned not just to express emotions but to fully feel a character's life.

That realization made her acting deeper afterward. Jeon Do-yeon entered into the life of a new character with each work. The time accumulated that way became inner depth that no one could easily imitate.

And 19 years later, she reunited with director Lee Chang-dong through the film "Possible Love." She poured everything she had accumulated into Mio-k. She lived Mio-k's life, forgetting even the fact that she was acting.

Dispatch met with Jeon Do-yeon. We heard about her reunion with director Lee Chang-dong, the process of completing Mio-k, and the acting philosophy she has upheld as an actress.

◆ The Fruit of Long Waiting

Jeon Do-yeon worked briefly with director Lee Chang-dong through the short film "Heartbeat" in 2022. It was a work that viewed the lives of a couple of laid-off workers through the eyes of their son. At the time, she believed this story would not continue.

"So I thought this work would be a new story. But the director said he was continuing the story of the laid-off worker couple. I was curious about how he would unfold that story within the title 'Possible Love.'"

"Possible Love" expanded the same story as "Heartbeat" from the perspective of adults. It centers on Ho-seok (played by Seol Kyung-gu), a laid-off worker, and his wife Mio-k (played by Jeon Do-yeon). It also deals with the different life stories of documentary director Yeji (played by Jo Yeo-jung) and her husband Sang-woo (played by Jo In-sung), who capture their lives on camera.

After reading the screenplay, Jeon Do-yeon could not get up from her seat for a while. She was finally able to understand why the director had not completed the work for such a long time.

She recalled, "I thought, 'This is indeed director Lee Chang-dong,'" and "I think I understood why such a long time was necessary. All the thoughts and worries he had during that time were contained in the screenplay."

"What I especially liked was that it's a story of finding what is possible in a reality filled with the impossible. It's not the kind of love story people typically think of, but ultimately it tells a story about love, which resonated with me.

◆ First Meeting with Mio-k

Mio-k, played by Jeon Do-yeon, is the brightest and most positive character in the film. Even as she supports her husband Ho-seok, who has collapsed since being laid off, she tries not to miss the small joys of daily life. Jeon Do-yeon saw the longing to protect her own life hidden beneath that brightness.

She said, "At first, I thought Mio-k was a strong person," and "But after reading the entire script, I wondered if Mio-k was a person who chose brightness. If Ho-seok reveals his wounds through silence, then Mio-k expresses herself through laughter," she pointed out.

The most effort she put into completing Mio-k was in costumes and hairstyle. She had to look like an ordinary person, but meeting director Lee Chang-dong's standard of "ordinary" was not easy.

Jeon Do-yeon said, "The director has an incredible eye for recognizing expensive brands and refined clothes, which made it difficult," and "I would photograph clothes and accessories I found around me and show them to the director. The bag Mio-k carried was also something my manager used to carry," she confessed.

The biggest challenge was the vast amount of dialogue. Jeon Do-yeon even deleted mobile phone games and focused on memorizing the script. In particular, she separately collected the lines from interview scenes that required long breath control and read them every day.

"I was overwhelmed because I had more dialogue than in any previous work I've done. So I focused on perfectly learning the lines more than any other preparation. So that Mio-k's words would come out naturally, as if they were my own, anytime and anywhere. For the rest, I decided to empty my mind and accept what came on set."

◆ Into Mio-k's Life

After mastering the dialogue, she focused on fully immersing herself into the character of Mio-k. Director Lee Chang-dong pursues acting that feels situations as they are. She had already worked with him in "Secret Sunshine" and had inner depth accumulated over a long time. Thanks to that, delicate expressions came naturally.

The scenes that audiences marveled at as details were the same. From the way she drank iced Americano through a straw without touching the cup to the act of receiving a wine glass with both hands. For Jeon Do-yeon, these were all gestures that came unconsciously as she lived as Mio-k.

"When I was drinking iced Americano, it was really cold outside. So I think I just drank it with a straw. For the wine glass, I didn't know how I received it. After filming ended, In-sung said, 'As expected, noona,' so I asked back, 'What did I do well?'"

The scene she immersed herself in most deeply was the moment Ho-seok vents his anguish in the forest. Mio-k watches her husband from a distance. Jeon Do-yeon revealed a complex mixture of surprise, regret, and sadness as she watched Ho-seok crumble.

She said, "I wasn't trying to express a specific emotion. But just watching Ho-seok crumble was painful," and "It felt like the moment the world that Mio-k tried so hard to protect crumbled together," she recalled.

The scene that caused her the most burden during filming was when Mio-k enters the sea with Sang-woo after witnessing Ho-seok's outcry. It's an important moment in the latter half of the film where Mio-k's suppressed desires and resistance are revealed, but it had to be filmed early due to the season and weather.

"The director didn't explain what emotion it was. We couldn't know either. If we miss an emotion, that's a problem, but not knowing what emotion it is means we don't even know what we might be missing. I was very worried, but fortunately the first take was selected as the final version."

◆ "I Want to Show Emotion"

Jeon Do-yeon fully immersed herself in the character's emotion, and as a result, she received praise for her acting domestically and internationally. It was a reaction she had not anticipated. It wasn't a work that revealed intense emotion like "Secret Sunshine."

"At the Venice awards ceremony, I asked the director, 'Did I act that well?' Then he held my hand tightly and said, 'Yes, you did well. Watch the movie later.' He's someone who doesn't usually give compliments."

But Jeon Do-yeon did not rest on the praise. The beach scene mentioned earlier is a prime example. During filming, she focused on revenge, but after watching the completed film, she grasped an even deeper meaning contained within it.

She said, "When I was filming, I simply thought of it as revenge," and "When I watched the movie, it seemed like Mio-k, as the world she had protected crumbled, resisted with her whole body and tried to make her own choice. I realized that revenge and resistance to protect what is yours are different," she conveyed.

Jeon Do-yeon still asks questions about her acting life. She said, "What can I do going forward, what kind of work can I do, what must I give up. I've been acting for a long time, but I continue to think about such things."

However, the value she wants to protect on that path was clear. To convey a character's emotions truthfully rather than external beauty.

"When you close in on the face, it seems like you're in a defenseless state. That's how honest you have to be. But as a female actress, rather than how my face looks, I want to take responsibility as an actress for that face. I think it's more important to fully feel and show the character's emotion."

<Photo courtesy=Netflix>