Shin Hye Sun Comments She Finds Attention from People Burdensome

On May 7, Shin Hye Sun conducted an interview with local reporters at a café in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to talk about her experience acting in Following.

Following tells the story of a realtor, Gu Jung Tae (Byun Yo Han), who has a bizarre hobby of sneaking into strangers' homes and peeping into their lives. When he begins to do the same with Instagram star Han So Ra (Shin Hye Sun), on one unfortunate day, he finds her dead in her house. The evidence points to him as the murderer. Now he has to find the real killer and clear his name.

Having previously portrayed kind and lovely characters, Shin Hye Sun found it quite challenging to play Han So Ra, an Instagram star who fakes her life on social media for attention and admiration. 

Shin Hye Sun said Han So Ra is "a detestable character, one you don't want to empathize with." 

When asked about her impressions after watching the movie, Shin Hye Sun said, "I enjoyed it. I was worried about how it would turn out, but I enjoyed the movie itself." She also confessed, "Perhaps because I played the role, I felt so disgusted with myself that I cringed a little while watching it." 

Revealing why she chose to play such a character, she said, "It was a character I had never played before," adding, "I wouldn't say she's a villain, but she's a bad woman, and I wanted to play such a role." 

However, even to Han So Ra authentically, Shin admitted that she didn't understand every aspect of the character. She said, "Looking at the character alone, I didn't understand everything from start to finish. [The reason] I gave it [the character] a lot of thought and empathized [with her] a little is because I [know] that people want to be admired and liked by others, just like the people they like." "It's a natural desire. She [Han So Ra] is a character who is just too radical in such aspects." 

When asked if she feels pressured about receiving attention like her character Han So Ra, Shin Hye Sun replied, "It's burdensome to get attention, but I'm also upset when I don't get it (laughs). Of course, it's good to receive a lot of attention considering my profession, but in other aspects, it's a bit burdensome." Despite that, the actress said she feels like she is blending in well. "At first, showing myself [to people] was the most difficult thing." She continued, "While appearing on variety shows for promotional purposes, I've definitely gotten used to it a lot more than before, and I'm not as nervous as I used to be." 

Regarding whether she actively engages on social media to gain good attention as an actress, she said, "I do try hard, but I don't enjoy it. I don't see it as my duty to show [people] this [or that], but rather, I post with gratitude because there are fans who like it when I do."

Shin Hye Sun, who is known to be a homebody, commented on this aspect of her personality: "Sometimes I feel embarrassed by this side of myself. I'm not young anymore, but I still feel like I'm living life without much enthusiasm. It seems like I'm just living a simple life without doing much, so nowadays, I'm trying to live more energetically by exercising more."

Following will premiere sometime on May 15.

Sources (1)(2)