In August 2021, newcomer Kim Min-ha was signed by one of the top talent agencies in the United States, UTA.
It’s quite a feat for a South Korean actress, considering none of her work was released at that time. (In comparison, actors like Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon were only signed on by US talent agencies after the global success of Squid Game.)
Kim, however, was already cast for her first drama role in the Hollywood-backed Apple TV+ show Pachinko, which is available on the streaming service from March 25.
It's reported that she nabbed the part after a competitive worldwide search, which included the “best Korean actors”.
Pachinko is based on Min Jin Lee’s acclaimed 2017 novel of the same name that takes place from the early 1900s to the 1980s.
Kim plays the leading role of Sunja (between the ages of 16 and 22) in the eight-part series, while Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung (Minari) plays the same character at a later age, and another newcomer, Jeon Yu-na plays her younger counterpart.
In the production notes, Pachinko director Kogonada recalled Kim’s final audition: “It was in the worst conditions for people to act. We had Plexiglass between people, we had face shields. It was not an environment to make a connection.
“Even in those conditions, she had such an intensity, such genuineness, that she had the other actors across from her in tears. I really think that hers is a stunning debut.”
Pachinko chronicles the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family, which unfolds from Sunja’s perspective. Throughout her journey, Sunja overcomes every challenge that comes her way with a show of strength, loyalty and an instinctive ability to survive.
During an online interview with StarLifestyle and a group of international journalists, Kim shared that besides the source material, she relied on her grandmother for her portrayal of Sunja.
“My grandmother lived in that era, so we had a lot of conversations about it,” Kim said in English.
“She told me a lot about her feelings and her thoughts when she lived during that time. Hearing my grandmother’s stories really helped me in my portrayal of Sunja.”
At the same time, Kim also looked into herself to find similarities between her and the character.
Although it was a challenge to play a mother and act in the scene where Sunja gives birth – as the actress hasn’t experienced them – Kim said she studied the character’s vulnerability and resilience as these are key to understanding Sunja.
“After I figured out the similarities between Sunja and me, I tried to focus on the situations and how she deals with the problems and how she solves these problems.
“I was trying to think of all her feelings and thoughts, and apply them in the different situations and obstacles that she was facing. I focused on those moments and just tried to be present.”
Her portrayal is nothing short of remarkable in the series with the US media praising her performance.
Rolling Stone wrote: “This is essentially the first screen role for both Jeon Yu-na and Kim Min-ha, but they hold the screen just as effortlessly as their revered septuagenarian counterpart.”
The Hollywood Reporter stated: “Building off of what the other two Sunjas accomplish in their scenes, Kim embodies the series’ ideas about the power of resilience in two cultures dominated by men, and it’s astonishing how she takes a character weighed down into solemnity by a difficult youth and turns dourness into determination.”
The actress herself is truly grateful to have gotten a chance to play a complex female character like Sunja.
Kim said: “I really have a lot of admiration for her. She is fragile, but also has a strong mind inside of her and she has an innate wisdom.
“She stands firm on some things, and yet she’s fairly flexible when she needs to be. She knows how to survive and she knows how to protect herself and her family. She is warm-hearted and she knows how to give and take love.
“I am really happy to have played Sunja, who has a variety of characteristics and emotions.”
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