Actress Um Ji-won (48) expressed her feelings about successfully wrapping up 'Eagle Brothers'.
The KBS2 weekend drama 'Please Take Care of Eagle Brothers!' (written by Kwon Hyun-sook, directed by Choi Sang-yeol and Lee Jin-ah), which ended on the 3rd, tells the story of the five unique brothers from the long-established brewery, Eagle Soju, and the eldest sister-in-law who unexpectedly becomes the head of the family after her husband's sudden death just ten days after their marriage.
The final episode recorded a nationwide average rating of 21.3% and a peak rating of 23.4% (based on Nielsen Korea), achieving a successful conclusion.
Um Ji-won played the role of Ma Gwang-sook, a cheerful and positive post office clerk. Gwang-sook falls in love with the representative of Eagle Soju, Oh Jang-soo (played by Lee Pil-mo), and marries him, but faces tragedy due to an unexpected accident, leading her to join the Eagle Soju family. She later experiences romance with Han Dong-seok (played by Ahn Jae-wook), the chairman of LX Hotel, while living with her brothers-in-law.
Um Ji-won stated, "I usually work on projects aimed at people in their 20s to 40s, but this time I did a project that even older people liked, and the response was different. It was the first time that older people recognized me in a project. Previously, when I went to restaurants, people didn't recognize me, but now everyone does. I felt the power of weekend dramas."
The reason she took on a weekend drama was not only because the lovable character Gwang-sook was appealing, but also because it was a project that her parents would enjoy.
Um Ji-won shared, "When I first received the script, I found it interesting and envisioned that I could portray Gwang-sook well. I've been acting for a long time, but I hadn't encountered a bright and cheerful character. That's why I was drawn to it. In my over 20 years of acting, I haven't done a project that my parents would like. So, I wanted to do a project that my parents would enjoy, and I hoped it would be a gift for them."
She continued, "Honestly, this is the project I liked the most among all the works I've done. They would say, 'Our Ma representative~ Aren't you tired?' and watched it multiple times. As the end approached, I started feeling a bit depressed. I wondered what I would do once it was over. I think my parents' friends all liked it, and I received a lot of messages. They seemed to enjoy the project itself. They didn't say a word during 'Little Women', but they really liked this one, saying it was so fun and that I did so well."
Since it was a long-running drama, there must have been physical challenges as well. Um Ji-won remarked, "Is it really over? I feel like I have to go shoot tomorrow," and added, "This is my first time doing such a long project. Recently, I had been working on projects with 8 to 12 episodes, and this was my first long one. Before starting, I asked a friend who had done a weekend drama, 'Can I do this?' They said it would be fine since the workload would be divided, but it wasn't the case for us. There were moments when I thought I might die, but then it ended."
She added, "We started with 8 scripts initially, and since I had many scenes, there were challenges in managing my stamina. However, thankfully, I have good stamina, so I managed well. We completed 144 episodes, and I was present in almost all of them. The 4-episode extension was agreed upon by everyone. The drama was extended because it was doing well, right? For an actor, it's like a medal, so I felt grateful."
Um Ji-won also mentioned, "I started at 54kg and lost weight down to 50kg." She explained, "When I first started 'Eagle Brothers', I was in a state of gaining weight. In the early setup, there's a scene where my mom scolds Gwang-sook for not taking care of herself. I thought Gwang-sook should be a bit chubby to be lovable. I've played many urban and professional women in my previous works, so I wanted to look a bit different."
Regarding Ma Gwang-sook, Um Ji-won said, "When I create a character, I catch them through the script. When I first read the 8 scripts, I discovered Gwang-sook's quirkiness, cheerfulness, and lovability. I wanted to convey the emotions I felt so that the viewers could feel them too. Among the characters I've played, this one has a high degree of synchronization with my actual personality," expressing her affection.
She added, "What I liked about this project was that it was a warm, bright, and stress-free work that I could enjoy after a long time. I thought if I felt this way, the viewers would also like it with the same feelings. The aspect I focused on the most was expressing Gwang-sook's brightness and her ability to warm and comfort people's hearts."
[Yang So-young, Star Today Reporter]
