"I am grateful to Director Kim Hee-won for thoughtfully considering my performance."
On the 19th, an interview with Kim Seol-hyun (29), the lead of Disney+ original 'The Lighting Store' (written by Kang Pool, directed by Kim Hee-won), took place at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
'The Lighting Store' tells the story of mysterious guests who visit the only place that brightens the dark alley, 'The Lighting Store'. The script was written by Kang Pool, based on the original webtoon of the same name.
On the 18th, all eight episodes of 'The Lighting Store' were released. Kim Seol-hyun stated, "I am happy that we could finish without any issues. Seeing that people around me who watched it reached out to say they enjoyed it makes me feel satisfied and fulfilled."
In the drama, Kim Seol-hyun plays Lee Ji-young, a woman who sits alone at a bus stop every night, waiting for someone with a large suitcase. She is a tragic character who believes her boyfriend Kim Hyun-min (played by Eom Tae-goo) died in an accident and makes an extreme choice to end her life.
Through this work, Kim Seol-hyun received praise for her dense performance. She said, "I tend to look for reactions a lot. After 'The Lighting Store' was released, I checked in real-time and the responses were good. There were many positive comments about my acting, which made me proud. I prepared differently from my previous performances, so I had both expectations and fears about the reactions, but many people viewed it positively, which was rewarding."
She continued, "Some people said they didn't recognize me, and others mentioned that my tone was something they hadn't heard in my previous works, which left a strong impression on me."
Not only the viewers' evaluations but also the feedback from those around her was positive. Kim Seol-hyun shared, "My family said it was 'too sad,' and my parents said they couldn't watch it because it was 'too sad.' Usually, I ask my friends to watch my works, but this time, they watched it without me saying anything and told me they enjoyed it." She added, "Jo Ji-hoon, Park Bo-young, and Jo In-sung also reached out to me, saying, 'It looks great on screen.' The positive reactions from those around me made this a meaningful project for me."
She expressed her gratitude, saying, "Receiving evaluations from my seniors made me feel loved. Director Kim Hee-won also said, 'There are many people saying you act well, right? I feel better when I hear that you are good rather than when they say I am good.' It made me realize how grateful I am that others wish for my success."
How does Kim Seol-hyun rate her own performance as Lee Ji-young? She said, "I would give myself a 60 out of 100," giving herself a surprisingly low score. She explained, "I realized that my standards for myself are higher than how others see me. While I am happy to receive good reviews, I am not satisfied." She added, "Compared to my previous works, this is a higher score. It is the highest score among the works I have done. I always approach it with the mindset of 'let's do better than the last work.'
This work had many ambiguous parts that sparked diverse opinions among viewers after the ending was revealed. It seems that it was not easy from an acting perspective. Did she gain any hints from the original work? Kim Seol-hyun said, "After deciding to participate in this project, I read the original work. In fact, I usually don't bring something from elsewhere when acting. I tend to draw from within myself." She continued, "In the first episode, there are parts that need to appear as horror mystery, so there are limits to expressing emotions, which made me pay a lot of attention to tone and acting design for the first time. Since the story does not unfold in order, I was worried whether the viewers would be able to follow my emotional line well."
The person who helped her the most with her acting was Director Kim Hee-won. Kim Seol-hyun expressed her gratitude, saying, "The director explained in many ways, starting from the necessary skills to act well, saying things like, 'For this scene, it's better to lower your head a bit, about 15 degrees,' 'It's better to turn your head after 3 seconds,' and 'For sad acting, take two breaths and exhale once,' giving very detailed instructions."
She added, "The most important thing he told me was that 'acting is a value system.' Everyone has different perspectives, and we tend to view things through our own values or fixed ideas, and acting is the same. As a senior actor, he has experienced all kinds of acting and would say, 'I found it better to do it this way here. What do you think?' or 'You can take about five steps here. What do you think?' He thoughtfully considered the acting with me. I don't think there has been a director who directs like this, so I was grateful and happy."
Lee Ji-young was a deaf person in her lifetime. Given her handicap, it must have been challenging to approach the character. Kim Seol-hyun said, "I thought a lot about how realistically to portray her, but since it is a mystery genre and based on a webtoon, I focused more on the emotions rather than realistic expression." She added, "In the scene where she calls 119 to report the accident (of Kim Hyun-min), I concentrated on the frustrating emotions of not being able to speak."
She continued, "In the afterlife, Ji-young suddenly becomes able to speak, right? Since the afterlife is something no one has experienced, I felt there was more freedom to act. I think it depends on how to interpret it, and I thought about how much sound to make as someone who is speaking for the first time and how much to stutter, working with the director to find the right balance."
Kim Seol-hyun also mentioned, "It was quite burdensome. I tend to get nervous, so I found it difficult, but the director reassured me, saying, 'This role is originally difficult. It's a role that is hard for anyone.' In fact, none of the characters I played in previous works were easy. I think the burden I feel is not because the role is difficult, but rather a pressure that comes with taking on a role, and I tried not to think of it as more difficult. I simulated a lot in my head and tried to overcome it."
There were many challenging scenes where Lee Ji-young drags a heavy suitcase and gets rained on at the bus stop. This scene was filmed in sub-zero temperatures.
"The director was very worried, saying, 'It's cold, and you have to get rained on' even before filming. We did all the rehearsals the day before and prepared thoroughly to minimize the times I would get rained on and finish filming as quickly as possible. It was cold during filming, but I was so focused that I didn't think about it. However, it was frustrating when the acting didn't go well. Since it was sub-zero weather, the rain immediately froze, and the suitcase froze too. When the rain was poured, the ground became icy, and we had to break the ice on the ground to continue filming. It was more difficult because the rain hitting my face made my mouth freeze and not move, and the raindrops got into my eyes, making me squint, which was distracting." (Continued in Interview ②)
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
