[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] “Don’t you think I’m kind of cute?”
When asked why she is so frequently cast in “mom” roles, actress Lee Jung-eun replied with a smile. She even joked, “Maybe it’s because of my figure.” Although she is unmarried, she has become one of the “national moms” most familiar to the public. This time, however, she has taken that familiar face in a completely different direction. A warm and gentle-looking mother sets out on a personal quest for revenge for her daughter.

◇“What if our gentle, meek ‘mom’ sought revenge?”
In the movie *Gyeongju Journey*, opening on the 26th, Lee Jung-eun plays Ok-sil, a mother who has lost her youngest daughter. The film tells the story of four mothers and daughters who, after waiting eight years for their youngest daughter Gyeong-ju—who never returned from a school field trip—embark on a journey of revenge. Directed by Kim Mi-jo, known for *The Seagull*, this is her first commercial film, featuring Gong Hyo-jin, Park So-dam, Lee Yeon, and Byun Yo-han.
In a recent interview conducted in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Lee Jung-eun discussed why Director Kim chose her for the role of Ok-sil. “I think the director envisioned someone with a gentle, innocent face gradually transforming for the sake of ‘revenge,’” she said. “If someone who seems like ‘my mom’—someone who doesn’t fit the word ‘crime’—sets out on a path of revenge, it must mean she’s been pushed to the brink. That’s why I think he thought of me.”
Although it was a familiar “mother” role, Ok-sil was an unfamiliar character even to Lee Jung-eun. Reflecting on how she had made relatively safe choices up until then, Lee Jung-eun described *Gyeongju Journey* as “a project that required deep exploration.” “It was uncharted territory, so I was afraid as an actress, but that’s precisely why I chose it,” she explained, noting that she was so committed to the project that she kept checking the *Gyeongju Journey* schedule even while working on other projects during filming delays.
Ok-sil is not a mother who merely wallows in the grief of losing her daughter. She takes the anger she has harbored for eight years and turns it into action. Rather than judging whether Ok-sil’s actions were right or wrong, Lee Jung-eun focused on embodying the character’s determination. “If I had harbored any doubts, I wouldn’t have been able to go through with it,” she said. “I believed it was my mother’s fervent wish to hold on until the very end, so I concentrated on bringing that to life.”

The process was no easy feat for Lee Jung-eun either. During a scene where she had to climb a mountain alone after filming a heartwarming conversation with her daughters, she felt genuine fear. Recalling the night shoot, Lee Jung-eun said, “I was afraid even before we started filming. There was a strange sense of dread.”

Action scenes were also a new challenge. Lee Jung-eun, who hadn’t had many opportunities to perform action scenes before, handled stunts such as the greenhouse action sequence herself in this film. This was because Ok-sil’s determination had to be clearly visible on her face. “I wasn’t confident because I hadn’t done much action before,” she admitted, but added with a laugh, “The facial expressions that were hidden were important, so I did it myself. I did it with the single-minded determination to survive.”
After pushing herself to the very end, Lee Jung-eun encountered a side of herself she hadn’t known existed. Watching the finished scene, she said, “I was surprised to see a strange expression—not the face I was used to seeing.” In particular, seeing Ok-sil standing at the pinnacle of her determination helped her discover new possibilities as an actress.
Lee Jung-eun confessed that, while watching the performances of senior actors like Kim Hye-ja, she had often wondered, “How can they go all the way like that?” She explained, “I used to have a part of me that wanted to compromise somewhere and avoid too much hardship, but watching those tenacious actors made me wonder how they could push themselves to the very end,” adding, “I think I approached this role with that same tenacity.” “Gyeongju Journey” was also Lee Jung-eun’s first attempt to break through what she herself described as her “rough edges.”

◇“It’s rewarding to have raised the daughter from ‘When the Camellia Blooms’”… Reuniting with Gong Hyo-jin
The support of her three daughters played a major role in her ability to see this project through to the end. In particular, she reunited with Gong Hyo-jin as mother and daughter, following their collaboration in the drama “When the Camellia Blooms.” When Gong Hyo-jin called Lee Jung-eun while weighing whether to accept the role, Lee advised her, “If you’re doing this just for my sake, don’t do it. I can’t take responsibility for you. But if you’re doing it because you like the script, then I think you should go for it.” Gong Hyo-jin joined the project, saying, “I really want to give my mom a big boost.”
Regarding her second time playing mother and daughter with Gong Hyo-jin, Lee Jung-eun laughed, “It’s been rewarding to raise my daughter since *When the Camellia Blooms*—even though I abandoned her in that drama.” She went on to praise Gong Hyo-jin as “an actress who really knows how to read a script,” noting that she also highly values Gong’s ability to avoid wasting energy unnecessarily on set. Regarding Park So-dam and Lee Yeon, she praised their passion and drive, noting that they are actors who have already moved beyond their rookie years.
Byun Yo-han’s performance also left a strong impression on Lee Jung-eun. Watching Byun Yo-han freely reinterpret a character who could be morally uncomfortable, Lee Jung-eun described him as an actor capable of creating high dramatic intensity. She explained that she was particularly impressed by his tenacious approach—he would even insist on reshooting scenes to craft different emotions in each take.
Ultimately, *A Trip to Gyeongju* became the project that allowed Lee Jung-eun to discover her most unfamiliar side through the role of “mother,” a part she is most familiar with. Having confirmed her potential through the character Ok-sil, Lee Jung-eun has no intention of staying on the familiar and safe path from now on.
“While mainstream dramas are fine, I think it’s time to break out of that stable framework and take on meaningful films—even if they aren’t profitable. As I get older, I want to take on roles that explore morally complex stories and push beyond my own limits.”