Interview with MASK GIRL lead

글 임수연 사진 백종헌 

Following the Korean remakes of foreign titles The Good Wife and Confession, Nana has worked on another derivative work, namely the series adaptation of a webtoon, Mask Girl. This time, however, she tried not to read the source material as much as she could, because she was afraid this would unknowingly limit her range of interpretation. When the serialized webtoon was still running, the second personification of Kim Mo-mi, played on screen by Nana, was the most memorable character. After living a double identity as an office worker and a masked live streamer due to her appearance-related inferiority complex, the main character undergoes plastic surgery after committing a murder and reappears with a completely different face along with a new identity. Nana's methodical approach to depicting an average office worker who suddenly has to live under a completely different name in a way that feels credible and true was no mistake, and it did not happen overnight. Today, we sit down with Nana to discuss how she was able to appropriate her role so that it would seem like a direct transposition from the webtoon, as well as the rigorous training she has undergone to become an actress.

 (Image: Baek Jong-heon for Cine21)

We frequently see performers in dual or triple roles, but in this case, three actors share a single part. As a result, you probably didn't get to meet Ko Hyun-jung and Lee Han-byul very often.

We quickly met at the read-through, and we briefly crossed paths on set. Today (the day of the press conference) is perhaps the longest day we were able to see one other. (Laughs) I did call Go Hyun-jung on occasion to arrange a dinner when our schedules coincided. We usually chatted about personal matters rather than business.

For a young actress like you, playing a younger version of Go Hyun-jung must have been an unforgettable experience.

That had a huge impact on my decision to accept the role. Even if we weren't performing together, I hoped that the experience of playing the same role as Goh would be a significant milestone in my career. It was an honor, but I also felt pressure because I knew I had to have a strong understanding of where Momi was emotionally speaking when I would take over the part in the middle of the narrative. However, the pressure converted into a good energy both during the preparation and during the shooting.

The second Kim Mo-mi was also widely considered throughout the webtoon's serialized release as the most dazzling and controversial phase of the character’s life. This was clearly a character that needed to be portrayed by an experienced actor.

It was a first for me to not only arrive in the middle of the plot as a character I wasn't alone in charge of and have to articulate her feelings, but also to play a role portrayed by three actors. There were numerous emotional or temporal leaps, so I had to figure out what the main feeling was in each scene and where I needed to pay more attention. Because this work needed a lot of focus in the moment, I feared that if I performed a scene without fully comprehending it, it would result in an inaccurate performance.

When we watch a show like Mask Girl, we are put in a quandary. We follow a story that criticizes looks-based superficiality and appearance discrimination (known as 'lookism') but at the same time the show makes us enjoy the attractiveness of the actors, in this case you. Even as an actor, you probably couldn't help but be aware of this in order to avoid appreciating the role of the second Kim Momi merely for her external beauty.

I never imagined that the scenes I played would be loved only for their aesthetics. Instead of moments in which she has to seem radiant, the series spends more time showing her applying makeup, which might expose her darker and deeper emotions that were previously suppressed. So I thought this new Kim Mo-mi was far from beautiful. However, when we switched from the first to the second iteration of Kim Mo-mi, we worked hard to make her look beautiful because we wanted to visibly accentuate the shift.

Watching Mask Girl can elicit complicated emotions, especially for women who are frequently criticized based on their looks. What were your thoughts on Mask Girl as someone in the entertainment business who is held to high standards in that regard?

In this respect, it does a decent job confronting reality. However, there are some aspects that cannot be ignored. So, rather of feeling guilty and sad, I attempted to approach this with empathy and compassion while keeping a level head. More than that, it made me reflect on my life choices and their meaning.

The relationship with Kim Chun-ae (Han Jai) is the most notable departure from the original work. Chun-ae and Mo-mi deceive each other and never let go of their guard the webtoon, but there is a bigger focus on women's unity in the series.

When I first read the screenplay, I believed Chun-ae was another Momi. She was Momi's sole friend who could relate to her in terms of external look, attitude, and the parts of herself where Momi got hurt. Chun-ae is a lifeline to Mo-mi, who has been living alone in seclusion, and someone she wants to protect and remain with for the rest of her life. It's not the same as family. I portrayed a character who has affection for Chun-ae, but because the actress who portrays her, Han Jai, is the same age and has a similar appearance and attitude, we quickly became close. In fact, I wished to see Chun-ae more often even while shooting. I truly liked that friend, and every time I saw Chun-ae, it would make me emotional. It enabled me to naturally focus on Momi's feelings in the circumstance at hand. I continue to meet with Jai in private.

Your chemistry with Jeon Do-yeon from The Good Wife and Jeon Yeo-been from Glitch was also a popular subject. Why do you believe filmmakers often think of you when they imagine a scenario with two ladies standing together?

I'm not sure why. (laughs) Perhaps it's because the image I project is never overly skewed toward femininity or masculinity. In fact, throughout the years, I've had more people tell me I'm simply handsome than using praises usually directed to women. They would glance at my face and remark I am good-looking, whether they were male or female.

 (Image: Baek Jong-heon for Cine21)

Since The Good Wife, it seems like you have continuously felt a strong connection to characters that aren't designed to be tools but exist with their own distinct narrative arcs. Why do you believe you've had such good fortune from the beginning of your career?

It's all down to the character of Kim Dan in The Good Wife, which got me off to a terrific start. In truth, I had been studying acting since my debut and had gone to several auditions, but I had been turned down every time. I'm not sure if it was because people noticed the image I was portraying on variety programs, which was a bit eccentric at the time, but I was frequently receiving role offers to play a spoilt youngest daughter of a wealthy family. That's when I found a role in The Good Wife that perfectly reflected my own laid-back disposition. It was a role I could easily prepare for on my own, so I went into the auditions with confidence. And, while Kim Dan's straightforwardness and unwillingness to show her feelings were characteristics of her personality that I could readily handle, I also have a lot more qualities within me. I can express dark and profound feelings, like in Mask Girl, but I also want to convey a lighter side of me. I'd want to experiment with displaying my many attributes through different characters.

Since your debut with the K-pop group After School, you've been continuously practicing acting. What type of training did you get back then?

We began by practicing diction and enunciation with read-throughs. Following that, I studied by carefully examining the emotions described in the screenplay, as if I were at an audition. It wasn't until much later that I understood the most essential thing was to find my authentic voice. For our read-throughs for The Good Wife, I prepared myself so much I had learned the lines of all the actors I was playing against, but I was astounded by Do-yeon's performance. The tone was drastically different from what I had envisioned. So, I asked if we could just the two of us do read-throughs. That’s when she instructed me to record myself and listen to see whether this was my true voice and which tone was more comfortable for me. I was hearing my own voice for the first time.

When you're on stage, a stage monitor system is necessary so that the performers can hear themselves, but examining oneself to better your performance must have been an entirely other experience.

It's not the same as expressing emotions through dance, singing, and facial expressions and gestures. At first, I felt weird and uneasy. That's when I realized I had my own voice, habits, and delivery style. My perspective shifted after that. I recognized that when I perform, I should reveal myself in my most honest form, the way I am capable of conveying things authentically. Instead of forcing anything, I try to express the parts that I have in me that I am comfortable with. If I'm feeling good, for instance, I'll strive to convey that as it is, even if that means naturally raising my voice tone. Since then, when I meet up with my actor friends, I occasionally say, 'Let's see how we chat,' and I shoot videos of us while we're hanging out on my phone.

Did you accept yourself completely, or did you focus on correcting any habits you found embarrassing?

I do notice when something sounds unpleasant or does not satisfy me. The tempo and tone of my speech fluctuate depending on my emotions. I can envision which speech patterns might fit certain characters by attentively listening to these.

However, in Mask Girl, Kim Mo-mi witnesses situations that most people would never encounter in their lives. When tackling such a work, how can you apply this acting style if it must originate from your personal experience?

It begins with my speaking pattern and feelings, rather than with firsthand experience. So, rather of thinking about it in terms of personal experience, I depend heavily on imagination. On the set of Mask Girl, I didn't think these scenarios were outlandish. In fact, it was so realistic that there were several times when it was extremely taxing. I can effortlessly experience many emotions based on second-hand accounts I've heard or observed since I was a child. So far in my acting career, there hasn't been a single feeling that I couldn't grasp.

Interview by Im Soo-yeon