Seo Ye Ji on working with Kim Soo Hyun in new drama It’s Okay To Not Be Okay

Soo Hyun: My character is somebody who is stronger than anyone else in front of other people. However, when he’s left alone to himself, he’s weaker than anyone else. So I hope that you can enjoy the ride of seeing Gang Tae heal his inner wounds.

Ye Ji: I play the role of Ko Mun Yeong, an anti-social children’s book writer who has a personality disorder because she lacks the ability to feel empathy towards other people. She’s a very cold character and as she becomes acquainted with, and meets and develops a relationship with Gang Tae, she begins to heal her inner wounds and therefore, goes through significant change.

Soo Hyun: In Korean, simply put, I think the three words are sangtae, myungtae and mangtae. The first one, sangtae, refers to the name of my brother in the drama. I feel like just by saying the name of the brother, it really equals my character’s being. The second one, mangtae, has to do with something that will be revealed later on in the drama. The third one, myungtae, refers to dried pollock. (Translator: I’m thinking that has homeopathic thing for some dangerous nightmares that the characters have.)

Ye Ji: Red heels, butterfly, love.

Soo Hyun: At the beginning, obviously as one tends to be around people you meet for the first time, there was a sense of awkwardness and difficulties between both of us. But as we began to really transform ourselves into Gang Tae and Mun Yeong, we had to spend a lot of time together. I feel like we have quite a comfortable chemistry between us now.

Ye Ji: From my very first day, he has been very considerate of me. So I feel like our chemistry started off and continues to be quite good and I think I would even go as far as to say that he’s probably the best partner that I’ve had.

Soo Hyun: When I first saw the script and read it, my heart ached. I think you may be able to agree once you see the show, but there are a variety of characters and all of them have different stories and there’s also a lot of love. So I think that whatever angle you see our show from, I think there is something in it for everybody. So I really hope that you all can enjoy it.

Ye Ji: When I first read the script, the first thing that came to mind was that it was really intriguing. I think that it I can almost say that I’ve never seen a character like the character I play in any Korean drama before. My heart also ached about the fact that my character was unable to feel empathy towards other people, therefore, she was very selfish. She only knew of herself. And the sense of obsession that she has is like a two-edged sword, where it hurts both herself and other people around her. I was really drawn to the character. I felt like she had a lot to offer and I also believed that if I were able to truly express all of the things that were really hidden inside her and harboured in her internally, then it could create a truly wonderful story.

Soo Hyun: As I just mentioned, after reading the script with that heartache that I had after reading the script, I really felt like it was something that I wanted to challenge myself to do. I wanted to be able to express that heartache into this form of art. And in that process, I think I also wanted to see how I would change as just a human being outside of the story—as just me Kim Soo Hyun as a person—so it was something that I think I wanted to really challenge myself to do.

Ye Ji: I think first of all, it’s because of director Park Shin Woo, who is extremely talented and the talent is irresistible. And so I couldn’t help but to join the project. I think that also goes for the writer as well. It was truly an intriguing story so well written but of course last but not least the partner. I think any actress would be extremely happy to have Kim Soo Hyun as her partner, so I had no reason not to do the show.

Soo Hyun: If I were to talk about some of the things that I lacked or I didn’t have prior to a few years ago… I would say that first of all, after my military service, I have become physically stronger and I think I’ve become more relaxed … in my attitude shown through acting. I think that for anyone who has seen my acting prior to that, I think you’ll be able to notice that once you watch the drama.

Ye Ji: The character that I play, Ko Mun Yeong, if you go in depth and really look at her, I have to channel my this image of a witch to express her the character in the most adequate way. I would say that my low voice and also what I can call a witch-like aura really helped me channel my inner Ko Mun Yeong. And I personally think that through acting as this particular character, I have gone through experiences of truly healing some of the things that I had inside me, and also I was able to learn some new things about myself through the eyes of other people.

Soo Hyun: This is my first piece of work after finishing the military service and because of that, I have been extremely nervous. I think I still am. While serving in the military, I really had this thirst to be on screen again and to act. And I’m really grateful that It’s Okay To Not Be Okay has been has become my first one after finishing my military service. And as thirsty as I have been for acting, I will do my very best to make sure that this is worth all of that.

Ye Ji: I think through my character Ko Mun Yeong, you can feel you’re hurt with her and also feel like you have been healed with her, being able to feel empathy for other people. I think that’s the power that she has as a character. Seeing her character through our drama series, I believe that you will be able to look back at your own hardships, your past, your actions, things you have said or even your future .So I feel like when you really join the journey with her, I think you’ll be able to truly have an opportunity to think about empathy for other people.

Soo Hyun: I really wanted to be able to express all of the hurt that my character Gang Tae has and throughout the process and through that process, what I would want most is for people to resonate with that.

Ye Ji: I did a lot of research. I tried to look into some antisocial characters and the actual personality disorder that my character probably has and I referred to a lot of different characters. However, I came to the conclusion that Ko Mun Yeong is extremely unique and really has a color of her very own. I tried to express a lot of that characteristic with what is seen from the outside, so hair makeup costume and all of that. I think there’s going to be some things that my character wears that might even come across as a little odd to other people or difficult to understand. But I really tried to focus not on the character to be fashionable, but someone who is extremely expressive through what she wears. So I think it’s important to understand that what she wears is not something to show off, but is actually something she puts on to defend herself.

Soo Hyun: Without any spoilers (laughs)? Even though Sang Tae is the older brother, Gang Tae has to become the older brother or an adult when he’s with Sang Tae. He would have to swallow his pride and would have to just give in to things. However, when he meets Mun Yeong, that is when he begins to sort of let his guard down. He is able to complain about things and he becomes like a child in front of this character. So I think that meeting Mun Yeong is like a transitional point in Gang Tae’s life.

Ye Ji: I think personally my fashion choice would be something that’s casual—something that you can lounge around in the house and then just step out immediately. I think, for me, comfort comes first.

Soo Hyun: I would say that from my childhood, Anne of Green Gables. I was also able to see the recent version of the drama series and I was really touched by that so I would pick that one.

Ye Ji: I would say the traditional Korean moral story for children titled “Golden Axe And Silver Axe”. I think this story really resonates with Ko Mun Yeong’s story as well in the sense that the moral of this story is when adults get too greedy, that can make them lose everything that they had in the first place. And I think that is something that my character Ko Mun Yeong also goes through things that happened to her because of her own greed. So the by playing this character, I am constantly reminded of that children’s story.

Ye Ji: Everyone has their own wounds and they’re hurting different ways, and of course the depth is also different. However, what I do hope is that all of the viewers through our drama series will experience some sort of healing. One of the keywords for our drama series is healing of the hurt. So I hope that as you watch our story, you will be angry together, you’ll be healed together, and you’ll laugh and feel happiness together.

Soo Hyun: I think that despite all of the differences culturally or physically, what’s universal would be the way we are worried or concerned about our loved ones, the way we think of the people that are important in our lives and the way we feel love towards other people. I think all of that is universal. So despite the cultural differences, I hope that that would be a point that all of us will be able to relate to and that’s what I expect our viewers to be able to see through our drama.

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay premieres on Netflix on June 20.

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This article was first published in Cleo.