[Edaily Starin Gim Ga Yeong Reporter] “How do I handle public attention? I’m still not quite sure. I’m still figuring it out. But in a way, I’m actually glad about that.”

Actress Kim Hye-soo, who is marking her 41st year in the industry this year, made these remarks while discussing “public attention”—a common thread between the popular influencer she portrayed in the Coupang Play series *It’s Not About the Affair* and celebrities in general. In an interview held on the 13th at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Kim Hye-soo confided, “As the public has experienced and been exposed to various eras and actively engages with content, their awareness and level of understanding have risen. It’s intimidating—to the point where we can’t keep up,” adding, “As I struggle with this, I find myself thinking I need to focus on doing my own part well first.”
She confessed, “I’m constantly trembling with the pressure to do well, and I can’t seem to break free from that mindset,” adding, “Given my career experience, I still haven’t been able to fully bridge the gap between what I know and feel, and what I actually express, which leaves me feeling a sense of self-doubt.”
Although he leads each project with his own unique style and charisma, he admitted that he still feels some regret. “It’s not supposed to be that way, but even if a project is a success and I hear people say, ‘You seem to be the best actor in the world,’ I’ll still think to myself, ‘I missed that part again,’” he said. “In our line of work, we prepare very hard in advance, but we have to deliver everything in a single moment. It’s a difficult task for a human being,” he explained.
Although she has been acting for 41 years, she also confessed that she still finds the set intimidating. “I worry about whether there are parts I still can’t pull off well, or if I’ll fail to deliver on a crucial scene,” she said. “Every actor goes to the set with this fear.”
Because she understands this well, she lavishes praise on her junior colleagues. Kim Hye-soo said, “We come to the set feeling anxious, and the actors interact and concentrate on their performances. I think the best feedback on set is giving the ‘you did great’ sign. It’s not easy for a junior to say that to a senior,” adding, “I suppose it’s because I’m older that they say those things to me during tough moments.”

“It’s Not About the Affair Right Now” is a runaway, chain-reaction black comedy in which a popular influencer couple—who have built their reputation on portraying a happy family—and a neighboring doctor couple—currently embroiled in a messy divorce battle—become entangled in an unmanageable secret that makes even an affair seem trivial. In this drama, Kim Hye-soo stars as Kyung-hee, a successful influencer.
When asked why she decided to take the role, she said, “It was particularly entertaining among the scripts I’ve read recently. It’s a black comedy and a suspense drama, but the events depicted in our show aren’t particularly unusual. They’re themes commonly explored in many dramas, but the way they’re handled here is unique,” adding, “Works like this are rare.”
Kim Hye-soo, who played a glamorous influencer in the series, explained, “It’s been a while since I’ve played such a glamorous role. While this character actively projects a glamorous exterior, she’s also driven by a desire to protect her family and achieve success. I felt that this inner layer was just as important.” She added, “I researched successful influencers and identified common traits to develop the character.”
Kim Hye-soo also praised her co-star, Kim Ji-hoon. Responding to Kim Ji-hoon’s remark that his goal was to earn her recognition, she said, “I take that comment to heart. Ji-hoon is an actor who has possessed potential for a long time and has persevered to this day. In a way, it seems that despite having favorable conditions, he wasn’t offered a wide range of opportunities,” she said, adding, “When the script arrived, I can only imagine how much he must have expected of himself as an actor and how eager he was to deliver a solid performance. I was the one who got to witness that up close.”
He continued, “Through this project, the specific image associated with Kim Ji-hoon as an actor has expanded, and I’m both grateful and pleased about that.” He added, “It seems actors have external turning points. They grow a bit more, and what they once knew only to themselves is recognized by the public as they connect with them. As a fellow actor, I’m grateful and pleased about that, and an actor who intensely contemplated and pulled off that role deserves praise.”
He also expressed admiration while recalling another junior actor he holds in high regard, Kim Moo-yeol. As Kim Mu-yeol has recently garnered global attention following the worldwide success of *True Education*, he said, “I’ve been eagerly waiting for the day when viewers would recognize just how outstanding an actor he is, and watching *True Education* brought tears to my eyes.” He continued, “There’s a cathartic quality to the show—it portrays the things everyone yearns for in their hearts to such an extent that you stop questioning the plausibility. The way Mu-yeol expresses this is completely unadorned and so straightforward. Yet, it conveys everything perfectly. It was just so wonderful,” she said, her eyes welling up with tears.
She said, “I was so grateful that viewers recognized him—even though I’m not his mother or older sister,” adding, “That’s the kind of actor Moo-yeol is.” She continued, “Moo-yeol is that way as a person, too. She’s truly lovely, humble, and down-to-earth,” she said. “Even while filming *Boy Judge*, there was only one time the shooting schedule changed, and she asked for our understanding—it happened to be her wedding anniversary. She filmed until dawn, drove six hours to celebrate with her wife (Yoon Seung-ah), and then came back. If she were my younger sister, I would have hugged her and told her, ‘You’re really beautiful.’”
Kim Hye-soo, who debuted in the 1986 film *Kambo* and has been dedicated solely to acting for 41 years, was asked if she felt any sense of responsibility for being a role model for female actresses. She replied, “People have been asking me about the status of female actresses since I was in my 20s,” adding, “They say male actors earn higher salaries and that many productions are male-centric. I think that’s the case worldwide. “It’s probably because there are many active female viewers,” she explained.
However, she noted, “While I feel this is a natural state of affairs, there are areas that need to change and where we must make an effort,” adding, “Regardless of whether we’re female or male actors, we must break through to the essence of what it means to be an actor.”
She displayed humility, saying, “I never thought I had to be a role model. I’m an actress who lacks skill. I feel anxious, but I’m a swan that’s perfectly specialized in hiding it,” and added, “I feel like a swan that always appears flawless on the surface, but underneath, I’m just paddling frantically, anxious about where my feet might get caught or which direction to go.”