Cover Story: Kim Hye Yoon on overcoming career challenges and happiness

After shooting to fame in the last four years, the South Korean actress Kim Hye Yoon remains as humble and passionate about her craft as she was when she first began dreaming of a life in front of the camera. The 27-year-old speaks to Zaneta Cheng about balancing acting with earning a degree in film studies, overcoming an early career slump and learning how to breathe life into every character she plays 

Affectionately referred to as “My Melody Princess” and “Nation’s Little Sister” by media outlets and online commenters, 27-year-old South Korean actress Kim Hye Yoon has seen her star rise and rise since 2018 – when she played Kang Ye Seo, a young woman whose ruthless upper-class tiger mother is hell- bent on sending her South Korea’s best university to study medicine. The series, called Sky Castle, became the highest-rated series in Korean cable television history at the time and won multiple awards for capturing the avarice and ambition of South Korean parents of a certain social class, while catapulting its cast members into the limelight. 

On set in Hong Kong, Kim is humble and soft-spoken, characteristics rarely found in celebrities who have seen her kind of success. “When I found out that ‘My Melody Princess’ was the nickname given to me, I found it very fascinating and I was very grateful. I think that for as long as I can be called ‘My Melody Princess’, I would like to be known as such,” she says with a smile. The gratitude is a result, we learn, of years of hard work. 

Prior to Sky Castle, Kim was going through a trough in her career. “Yes, that period was a bit of a slump for me,” she admits, still smiling serenely. “It felt like my dreams were very far away and the future was very bleak. If I were to provide a comparison, it was similar to when I went to acting school – the start of my acting journey – it was like running a marathon with other students. And during this slump, it was as though I had tripped and fallen down while other students
were continuing to run forward. 

“It felt like I was falling behind and because success in this industry is not measured by how many qualifications you have or how much you study, I felt very lost and hopeless. So I started setting daily goals so I could feel like I was making improvements no matter how small. When I look back at that time now, I think I would tell myself not to bother about what others are doing and to focus on myself and continue pursuing my dreams of being an actress.” 

But like they say, it’s always darkest before dawn. Kim’s route was a little
less full-throttle than perhaps other younger aspiring actors. For example, her ambitions began a little later, in her third year of middle school. Prior to that “my dreams used to change very often,” she says with a laugh. “Because of this, when I was young, my parents told me I could only continue acting while focusing on my studies.” 

A surprise to her parents, Kim’s dreams of stardom continued as she grew. The actress began balancing her acting training with schooling, on top of auditioning, and taking on smaller roles in order to accommodate a heavier academic workload, ultimately graduating from Konkuk University in 2019 with a degree in film studies on a merit-based full-ride scholarship. 

And what a dawn it was for Kim, who upon graduation began auditioning
for more prominent roles and eventually secured Sky Castle. She went on to rake in accolades such as Best New Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, the Rising Star Asia Award at the New York Asian Film Festival and Best New Actress in film at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards for her performance as Goo Hye Young in the 2022 Korean film The Girl on a Bulldozer. Kim was also listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Asia alongside K-pop girl groups Le Sserafim and NewJeans for her influence in arts and media. 

Kim’s stratospheric popularity continues to grow with several small-screen hits – including this year’s Lovely Runner. She’s also slated for the female lead in an upcoming fantasy drama, I’m Human From Today. Having played a gamut of genres from mystery films to fantasy television and teenage drama, Kim finds fulfillment in the range of lives she can opt into. 

“I can experience the lives of many people,” she says. “Through acting, I can try various jobs, experience various emotions. I think as I get the opportunity to go through different experiences, I get to broaden my horizons. To be honest, I don’t think that I’ve tried a lot of genres yet so I would love to explore more. I don’t want to restrict myself and would like to try everything.” 

When it comes to the success of each character, Kim first tries to find elements of herself. Using her most recent television hit Lovely Runner as an example, she explains, “There are moments when the character shows her bubbly and positive side. I think her optimism and brightness of personality didn’t feel so much as if I was acting but almost how I would act on a normal basis. 

“I think this will change as I grow and I can imagine that the criteria I consider for each role will be different in the future. But at this moment, when I read a script, I choose my character if I can imagine myself in that role. I also find that the chemistry with the character is better if I can imagine myself ad-libbing as her from the script.”

As fun as it is for Kim, and as easy as she makes things look in front of the camera, the actress continues to put in the work for each role. “Although I’ve acted for 10 years, I still feel that I’m lacking in various ways. In the beginning, I tend to try and read the script as much as possible to memorise it. It’s not something you can memorise right away but in order to understand and find the character, I would read the script repeatedly. On top of that, I tend to focus more on the small habits and tones of the character to add more life to the character but the main thing is to read the script a lot,” Kim says. 

Because ultimately it’s a very personal endeavour for the actress. “Doing these film projects, each one feels like a diary entry. I want to keep filling this diary of mine as I continue on my journey,” Kim says. “As for how I wish others to perceive my work, I think I’d like them to experience various emotions while watching my acting and to hopefully think that I am an actress who is good at conveying meaning and emotions through my script.” 

When asked about her #legend, Kim eschews the typical answers of her mother or father. Instead, perhaps as a result of her years slowly toiling away at auditions and building her career, she has this to say, “Recently, I said that I wanted to find what happiness is to me – this is a goal of mine. The name of my fanbase is ‘Happy Ending’, so after hosting a fan meeting and being able to meet my fans in a closer setting, I realised they gave me a lot of energy and motivation, so I think my fans from ‘Happy Ending’ are my legends.” 

CREDITS
Creative concept: #legend
Photography / Mario Chui
Videographer / Alex and Yu 
Gaffers / Ting Hei and Chung
Make-up / Bitna Kim
Hair / Eunji Park
Styling / Anthony Tong
Styling Assistants / KC Cheung and Kelly Janice
Jewellery / Chow Tai Fook 
Wardrobe / The Wedding Gown, Elysian Bridal Couture, Issey Miyake, Ponder.er 

Also see: Cover Story: Shin Eun Soo on her entertainment journey and where she wants to take it next