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The Korea Times

By KTimes
Actress Moon So-ri has disclosed the reason behind her special appearance in K-drama Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born, revealing that memories of her late pansori teacher drove her decision to appear in the series set in a traditional Korean musical storytelling troupe.
Moon, who portrays Seo Yong-rye, a brilliant vocalist in a drama about traditional Korean all-female theatre, revealed she could not refuse the role. She imagined her late teacher playfully scolding her from above for not putting the skills they had imparted to her to good use.
“That teacher adored me so much,” Moon recalled in a recent interview. “Even though the teacher knew I wasn’t going to pursue pansori professionally, she always encouraged me.
“I could just picture the teacher saying, ‘I taught you this, and you’re not even using it?’ That thought stayed with me.”


Moon’s performance of the pansori piece “Chuwolmanjeong” in the drama enthralled audiences. Despite her limited screen time, she trained rigorously for nearly a year.
“I started around March or April last year, and the final recording was in April this year,” she said. “If I sang it three times a day, that’s easily over a thousand times of practice. I’ve never worked on anything like this before.”
Moon has a history of going above and beyond for her roles. For her special appearance in the 2016 film The Handmaiden, she spent over four months mastering Japanese to portray an aristocrat.
“I started with the Japanese alphabet and kept building from there,” she said.
Her role in Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born required similar dedication, including a “dialect immersion course”.

“I spent four days going to markets, pretending to shop, and chatting with elderly women to record their accents. I even worked with a dialect coach while rehearsing my lines,” she said. “Kim Tae-ri and Oh Kyung-hwa joined me. We had a blast, and it helped bring authenticity to our characters.”
Moon praised her co-stars Kim Tae-ri and Ra Mi-ran for their chemistry on set.
Having worked with Kim in previous projects, she noted that their on-screen mother-daughter bond came naturally. “Tae-ri and I just click. There’s a comfort in working with someone who truly understands you,” she said.
She also expressed warmth for Ra Mi-ran, joking about their long-standing friendship.
“We’ve known each other forever. I always say we’re friends, but Mi-ran is quick to remind me, ‘You’re not my friend, you’re my eonni [meaning older sister]!’” Moon laughed. “Because of that familiarity, there wasn’t much need for rehearsals. Everything just felt natural.”

2023 marked her 25th year in acting, but Moon shrugged off the milestone.
“I don’t really think about it. I’ll be acting forever, so let’s not count the years,” she said with a laugh.
What keeps her going? “I’m just grateful,” she said. “Every time I have a project, I feel lucky to be part of it. Having a supportive team and a fun environment to work in – that’s what makes me happiest.”
With her passion and dedication undiminished, Moon is set to deliver many more performances in the years ahead.
“As long as there are stories to tell, I’ll keep going,” she said.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
Read the full story at The Korea Times.


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Korean actress was driven to appear in drama by thought of her late musical drama teacher, and practised a year to play lead character’s mum


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