Actor Seo Soo-bin is opening up about the fateful way she crossed paths with filmmaker Yoon Ga-eun.
During an Oct. 20 sit-down in Seoul’s Samcheong-dong to mark the release of "The World of Love," Seo shared the unlikely thread that connected them.
Born in Ulsan, Seo recalled, "I loved dancing growing up, and I even trained briefly as a K-pop idol in high school. Because I enjoyed expressing myself, acting came naturally ― but I wasn’t sure I could make a life out of it. This was before I truly fell for acting and film, when I didn’t yet understand the pull of being an actor."
Everything shifted because of a single movie. "I’d already seen everything playing at the multiplex in Ulsan, so a friend and I went to the Busan Cinema Center to catch something new. We ended up at an indie film, and it felt like breathing different air. It made me think, ‘If this is the work, I can commit to it.’ I even remember the date ― Sept. 1, 2019."
That film was Yoon Ga-eun’s second feature, "The House of Us." Re-energized, Seo doubled down on entrance prep and enrolled in a theater and film program.
While studying ― and after signing with an agency ― Seo walked into a life-changing audition: "The World of Love." "My agency sent over a film audition, and it turned out to be Yoon Ga-eun’s new project," she said. "I’ve been a fan for so long that my first reaction was, ‘She’s making a new film?’ More than the idea of me booking it, I was just thrilled a new Yoon Ga-eun movie was coming."
After an initial meeting with Yoon, an acting workshop with the cast, and a second sit-down with the director, Seo landed the lead ― a remarkable leap for a newcomer with no on-camera credits.
Explaining the choice, Yoon said her first impression came from photos: "Her looks seemed unassuming, but her eyes were striking."
"What really surprised me in the improv workshop was how she breathed with her scene partners ― even alongside actors with much more experience, she could read the flow and adjust," Yoon added. "On top of that, she’d practiced taekwondo for years, and my script already had a taekwondo element. It felt like fate."
"The World of Love" follows Ju-in, an inscrutable 18-year-old who teeters between social butterfly and attention seeker. After she refuses to sign a schoolwide petition, mysterious notes begin to appear. The film is Yoon’s first feature in six years, and Seo’s turn in the title role is anything but rookie.
The film opens Oct. 22.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)