Actress Lee Se Young looked back on last year and revealed her goals for this year.
Lee Se Young recently conducted a video interview with Wikitree to share various stories about MBC’s drama “The Red Sleeve“.
“The Red Sleeve” is a historical romance drama about a determined court lady who wants to choose her own path in life and a king who puts his country first. It is based on the novel of the same name by Kang Mi Kang.
In this work, Lee Se Young played the role of Seong Deok Im, a court lady who wanted to protect the life she had chosen and later became Royal Noble Consort Seong Uibin.
Lee Se Young, who received the modifier “Historical Drama Queen” through “The Red Sleeve“, waved her hand saying that it was an excessive compliment. “I’m happy that I received so much love. I had a lot of regrets, but it was good that the viewers felt sorry for me as well. Historical Drama Queen is too exaggerated. If I continue to do historical dramas in the future, I’ll do my best in order to live up to that modifier.”
“The Red Sleeve” started with 5.7% and ended with 17.4%. Lee Se Young, who won the Best Couple Award and Female Top Excellent Award at the “2021 MBC Drama Awards” through this work, told the behind story, “I didn’t expect it at all.” “I just thought this drama would get a big award. It would be great if I received an acting award as an actress, but that opportunity doesn’t come often. However, I wanted to take home the Best Couple Award. (Laugh)”
The reason why she was greedy for the Best Couple Award was because she was loved for her couple chemistry with Lee Jun-ho, who played the role of Jeongjo Lee San. Lee Se Young also picked “Sandeok Couple”, a couple nickname for Lee San and Deok Im, as the most memorable viewer reaction.
Lee Se Young said, “Deok Im is a court lady, right? I think there were some parts in which Deok Im was quite rude and arrogant that made me wonder if she could be like this. Nevertheless, I tried to act aggressively. It’s not an exaggeration to say that she might die immediately because of her appearance in the middle of the fight. (laughs) I remembered that detail a lot”.
She continued, “The message of ‘The king loved the court lady, but did the court lady love the King’ was appealing to me. From time to time, Deok Im has moments when she shines, but there are not many things she can do of her own accord. I wanted to show that there were many constraints. Because she is a little woman, I could feel how lonely and bitter her story is.”
From a court lady to entering the royal palace and becoming an official concubine. What is the most important part for Lee Se Young, who portrayed the life story of such a character? Lee Se Young had many concerns while taking on the role.
Lee Se Young said, “Come to think of it, she is more lively, playful, and free-spirited than I thought. She enjoys as much happiness as she could and always feels proud of her work. She tried her best to do everything and saved her pride as much as she could. After that, she set the goal to protect San with all her life until he becomes the King. I think there’s nothing more she can do after finishing that goal but San asked her to become his concubine. Therefore, I tried to express her emptiness, loneliness and longing for the free days in the past.”
Lee Se Young, who turns 31 years old this year, started her acting career in 1997 with the SBS drama ‘The Brothers’ River‘. In her 26th year of debut, she has spent more than half of her life acting. But she still has a long way to go with a promising future ahead of her.
The actress shared, “Of course, I’m really happy and excited right now, but I try not to be like that. Even when I’m happy, I’m not going to show it. I think I have a longer and more difficult way to go. I want to walk little by little and for a long time like Deok Im, but I also want to go on a special acting path. I want to do this job for a long time.”
Lee Se Young received much love in 2021 thanks to her portrayal of Deok Im. Her goal this year is to spend it without regret. “Last year, there were many happy moments, but I didn’t realize that time went by so quickly. I don’t know if I’ve fully used the time I got with my loved ones. This year, I’m going to live my life to the fullest so that I don’t feel any regret.”
Source[1]
