‘Citizen Deok-hee’ Yeom Hye-ran “Even Vietnamese people recognize me, I feel popular” [Interview]

Actors Ra Mi-ran (48) and Yeom Hye-ran (47) have teamed up for the movie ‘Citizen Deok-hee’ (directed by Park Young-joo, produced by C-JeS Studio), which will be released on the 24th. The two, who say, “I want to dominate the film industry as the ‘Ssanglan Sisters,’” named after their names, are aiming for box office success by showing off their brilliant chemistry through this film. They play Deok-hee, who loses all his money through voice phishing and sets out to catch the head of the voice phishing organization, and Bong-rim, her colleague who steps up for Deok-hee. Just like the characters in the play, the two were colleagues and friends who trusted and relied on each other the most on set. “I was so happy just to see Miran’s acting on set. When Yeom Hye-ran said, “I want to become an actress like the next Ra Mi-ran,” Ra Mi-ran said, “(Yeom Hye-ran) is a good actress who cannot be compared to me. “She is not the second Rami Ran, but the first Yeom Hye-ran,” he responded.

●Yeom Hye-ran, a Korean-Chinese character who helps Deok-hee

“I became even more immersed because I had been a victim of fraud. “I’m happy just watching Miran’s acting.”

As soon as Yeom Hye-ran was confirmed to appear as a Korean-Chinese character, she began studying Chinese. She didn’t know the meaning and she didn’t want to act by just memorizing the lines, so with the help of her Chinese teacher, she studied the meaning of each word and the changes in tone.

“I thought I shouldn’t look the slightest bit awkward because I was playing a character whose native language was Chinese, not a Korean who was good at Chinese. So I studied from the basics. As a result, it took too long. However, when I looked at the actors who played Ming Dynasty characters in ‘Noryang’ that I recently watched, I could clearly hear that acting in Chinese was difficult. haha!”

I became even more immersed in this movie as I recalled the stories of people around me who suffered as victims of voice phishing. He expressed his hope that the film would provide comfort to those who have suffered from voice phishing and other scams.

“I recently fell victim to a similar scam. Since it was Black Friday, I found a shopping mall that was selling several products at extremely cheap prices, so I ordered a lot of items, but no matter how long I waited, they never arrived. It turned out that it was a scam through a fake shopping mall site. I have currently reported it, but they say there will be no way to get my money back. So I understand Deokhee’s feelings even more as she suffered similar damage.”

It is also true that the burden of releasing a new film has increased due to the successive success of Netflix’s ‘The Glory’ and ‘Mask Girl’ prior to the film’s release. However, I gained confidence after receiving praise from colleagues who saw the movie first through the preview, including Song Hye-kyo, who worked with me on ‘The Glory.’

“I tend to invite more non-actor acquaintances to VIP screenings. I really want to give gifts to friends who don’t have a chance to see movies at screenings or other places. That’s why I couldn’t even invite Hye-kyo. Still, she made a surprise visit to the premiere to support me. She even holds a huge bouquet of flowers. I was really, really grateful. Perhaps because it was a bouquet given by Hye-kyo, it hasn’t withered yet! haha!”

With the continued success of the films he appears in, he is gradually feeling the growing public interest in him. She said she still finds it amazing and surprising to meet people who recognize her.

“I recently went on a trip to Vietnam, and the locals recognized me. The hotel welcomed my visit and even upgraded my room for free. I was so surprised that I asked, ‘Do you know me?’ and he said he had watched the drama ‘Wonderful Rumors.’ ‘Amazing Rumors’ even ranked first in viewership ratings in Vietnam. “I was shocked, but I was so happy to hear about the international success of Korean content!”

Seungmi Lee, Sports Donga Reporter smlee@donga.com