‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ concluded by Kang Mal-Geum “I was happy to be part of that world” - 스포츠경향
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‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ Kang Mal-Geum. Courtesy of Studio Phoenix·SLL·Studio Flow
It was compelling from start to finish.
Kang Mal-Geum once again proved her irreplaceable ability to embody a character, cementing the status of ‘reliably watchable Kang Mal-Geum’.
At the center of the JTBC drama ‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ (directed by Cha Young-hoon, written by Park Hae-young, produced by Studio Phoenix·SLL·Studio Flow, hereafter ‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’), which concluded with Episode 12 on the 24th, was Kang Mal-Geum. To the very end, she portrayed with density Go Hye-jin’s depth and breadth of thought and her adult poise, leaving viewers with a lingering resonance that will last. The Go Hye-jin completed by Kang Mal-Geum looked reality squarely in the eye more than anyone else, yet never let go of her affection for work and people. Her piercing one-liners, delivered with firm projection and precise diction, cleared the viewers’ choked hearts, and the steadfast conviction shining through her calm gaze and measured breath elicited both empathy and trust.
Kang Mal-Geum also added depth to the relationships with characters such as Park Kyung-se (played by Oh Jung-se) and Hwang Dong-man (played by Koo Kyo-hwan). With Kyung-se, she delicately unfolded, through lived-in rhythms, the familiarity and tenderness only a long-married couple can have, heightening immersion in the story. In particular, the complex emotions Hye-jin feels in her relationship with Kyung-sewho is at once spouse, colleague, and longtime friendsparked deep emotional waves, allowing viewers to read resolve and forgiveness in the ever-shifting glint of her eyes and expressions.
At the same time, Go Hye-jin’s qualities as a leader who put Hwang Dong-man in the ring shone through to the end. With unflinching real-world counsel, she set Dong-man upright, and with cool judgment, decisiveness, and a sense of responsibility, she led his film production all the way. Until the movie finally made it safely to its preview screening. Kang Mal-Geum rendered Go Hye-jin’s leadership with solid energy and charisma. Amid such heated responses each episode, we asked Kang Mal-Geum, who completed the ‘face of Go Hye-jin’ that no one else could replace, how she feels now that ‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ has wrapped.
‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ Kang Mal-Geum. Courtesy of Studio Phoenix·SLL·Studio Flow
‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ Kang Mal-Geum. Courtesy of Studio Phoenix·SLL·Studio Flow
‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ Kang Mal-Geum. Courtesy of Studio Phoenix·SLL·Studio Flow
‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ Kang Mal-Geum. Courtesy of Studio Phoenix·SLL·Studio Flow
‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ Kang Mal-Geum. Courtesy of Studio Phoenix·SLL·Studio Flow
‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ Kang Mal-Geum. Courtesy of Studio Phoenix·SLL·Studio Flow
‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ Kang Mal-Geum. Ace Factory
‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ Kang Mal-Geum (left) and Oh Jung-se. Ace Factory
Q. How do you feel now that the drama has ended?
A. “At the final shoot, I felt a big sense of regret. That I could no longer meet this good project, this good team. It felt like when I finished my last performance as a child. As it began to air and I watched each episode along with viewers, felt our <Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness> had finally arrived in the world it needed to reach, and I also felt that this work is only beginning. From now on, not only on TV but through various media, it will meet people around the world and leave joy, emotion, and a lingering afterglow. So as the finale approached, my heart felt bright.”
Q. Each episode delivered thrilling catharsis with razor-sharp lines. What scene did you like most, or which line resonated with you the most?
A. “I like the ending of Episode 8. <Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness> is a drama where you watch the build, wondering, will Hwang Dong-man become human? Will he be able to make a movie? Only upon reaching Episode 8 is it finally decided that Hwang Dong-man’s film will go into full production, and that process was dramatic and so much fun. When I read the script, I thought I had been given a wonderful mission. The action of flinging both doors wide open was something the director and I decided on at the set, and after doing it, I felt very good, as if I had thrown open the path ahead for Dong-man. There are so many lines I love. But if I had to choose one, it would be Dong-man’s last line in Episode 9, ‘There is no evil in me. There is a river!’ As I closed the script, I shouted ‘bright’ inside. It felt as if my path had opened brightly.”
Q. With an uncompromising stance and firm convictions, Go Hye-jin sent viewers into ‘Go Hye-jin fever’ and drew a hot response. What was most important to you in preparing the character, and what was difficult?
A. “I tried not to forget by writing ‘A producer is love. I am love’ in my notebook. From Park Kyung-se to Hwang Dong-man, to the Group of Eight, even to Ma Jae-yeong at the beginning (played by Kim Jong-hoon), this person’s identity seemed to be loving the shining fools who sparkle because they have something they want to do. At the same time, I wanted to portray someone solid. While standing amid many conflicts, rather than fretting, I tried to maintain an attitude of watching and deciding. The hardest part was the latter half. It was not the first time that work went awry and there could be another chance, but the crisis of divorce for Go Hye-jin was her life’s premise collapsing. I think Kang Mal-Geum, swept along, also had a hard time bearing that weight.”
Q. In the story, Go Hye-jin always appears confident and solid, but she must also have had inner loneliness and anguish. How did you imagine and act out Hye-jin’s ‘backstory’ or the way she is when alone, which the camera could not capture?
A. “In Episode 8, after <Nak Nak Nak> falls through and after a bout of dancing, Go Hye-jin says, ‘Where did the man who used to write like that go?’ In her most candid moment, she is not talking about unjust external matters, but now about her relationship with a husband whose love has grown cold. It is the worry at the very deepest place in her heart. Twenty years ago, with <The Bottle Opener of Lust>, love, film, and a full-fledged life began, and since then she has made five of Director Park Kyung-se’s films during their marriage, but did they never think about having a child in that process? If they had such a plan, perhaps once the films truly began she gave it upsurely their twenty years together had many ups and downs. Even so, it seems certain that through each of Park Kyung-se’s works she received a kind of love letter and lived within an unshakable love. On the other hand, I thought that even when alone she would be working. From the moment she opens her eyes until she closes them, she works. Work is at the center of this person’s life, of this human being. Film, work, life, and love have long since mixed together and cannot be separated. I thought she is not complicated and does not easily fall into sentimental emotions. Of course, that is before the crisis of divorce, when the premise of life was still firm.”
Q. Your powerful projection and chewy diction drew praise. Was there anything you paid particular attention to in performing?
A. “The lines were so good that I wanted to memorize them well and deliver them well. That feeling was the biggest. Big projection is something I had trained into my body through theater, and I was happy I could apply it to the stage direction (lion’s roar).”
Q. The story is set in the very industry where you actually work, with Go Hye-jin as the head of a film company. As an actor, what parts did you find relatable?
A. “I have friends nearby who make independent films, so the stories of writing scripts, submitting them to contests, and going to interviews resonated. How hard it is to write a single script. Kang Mal-Geum had set it aside from the start, saying, ‘I have no wellspring of creation’. To that extent, I have respect for those who write good work, new writing different from their previous work. I also love the scene in Episode 9 where Hwang Dong-man converts ‘evil’ to ‘river’ and finds the key to completing his script, and the scene where Young-su finally writes the ending on the beach. I also relate to the scene where Park Kyung-se is under extreme stress at the question of when the script will be ready.”
Q. While playing the unbending ‘Go Hye-jin’, was there anything you, as Kang Mal-Geum the person, wanted to learn from her or become more like?
A. “If you put Hwang Dong-man&Park Kyung-se and Go Hye-jin side by side as two types, I think Kang Mal-Geum is the former. In that what I want to do is most important. In that at decisive moments I make selfish choices. There are many things I would like to learn from Go Hye-jinloyalty to love, altruism, a sense of justice, rationalitybut fundamentally I feel we are different kinds of human beings. Rather than wanting to learn from or resemble her, I want to like her.”
Q. How was the chemistry with your fellow actors?
A. “There was a warm, delicate, quietly fun atmosphere on set. It was a vibe created by people like that gathering together. Director Cha Young-hoon, Jeon Bae-soo, Oh Jung-se, Choi Won-young, Park Hae-joon, Kyo-hwan, Hee-seop, Myung-jin, Min-kook, Ye-ni (Koo Kyo-hwan, Sim Hee-seop, Bae Myung-jin, Jo Min-kook, Park Ye-ni), Senior Bae Jong-ok who occasionally visited the hideout, Yoon-jung, Sun-hwa (Go Youn-jung, Han Sun-hwa). They were all people I wanted to get closer to, to work and act with for much longer. Above all, I think we had something in common. That we loved the <Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness> script. Sharing this premise without words, we laughed a lot, were careful out of consideration for one another, and at times acted boldly to lift each other up. I felt everyone had something more important than themselves.”
Q. Your chemistry with actor Oh Jung-se also stood out. Hye-jin even says she respects Park Kyung-se. As the story ends, what kind of presence do you think Kyung-se is to Hye-jin?
A. “I respect Senior Oh Jung-s. His wit and ideas in the moment are outstanding, and his interpretations are deep. While his plan for the prepared performance is clear, he senses and considers his partner. I felt he always focuses on completing a scene in a full and entertaining way. And when the camera is off, he makes people laugh and eases tension with all-ages jokes. It was mysterious that qualities hard to coexist in one person were all in him. I liked every moment of being on set together. Because he is that kind of Oh Jung-sePark Kyung-se, I think I could move closer to Go Hye-jin. To Hye-jin, Kyung-se seems to be a pure and faithful love. May he take the energy he received from Dong-man’s film and write vigorously to the final episode of <National Stress Management Committee>, film well and complete it as a good work, and may I be able to see again Kyung-se’s proud face.”
Q. Like the title of the drama, have you, Kang Mal-Geum, had moments in your acting life of ‘fighting your own worthlessness’? If so, what comfort or answers did you gain through this work?
A. “In my thirties, I was Hwang Dong-man and Park Jeong-min (played by Jung Min-a). The nasty things Dong-man does among friends, the times when he is alone, the innocent defensive postures Park Jeong-min shows to cover up her incompetencethose were me. Back then, every day was a war with myself. For that war to slowly subside, both forces from inside and outside were necessary. That process is my own most precious story. I knew that, but meeting in the public square with audiences through such a fun and beautiful story, I realize it anew, and my heart feels bright and glad.”
Q. How will ‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’ be remembered by Kang Mal-Geum?
A. “When I vaguely thought I wanted to be an actor, was it not just this kind of time I imagined? I was happy to be a member of the <Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness> world.”
Q. Lastly, please share a parting message for the viewers who loved ‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness’.
A. “Thank you for loving <Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness>. Watching the drama with you made me love <Everyone Is Fighting Their Worthlessness> even more. And my heart grew bright. Now I feel like going, tap, tap, tap. Without fear, opening a thousand doors, tap, tap, tap. I hope we can all live like that, together.”
Meanwhile, Kang Mal-Geum has confirmed her next project as ENA’s new drama ‘A Tempting Romance’. As a ‘cheek-reddening adult rom-com’ that will make even withered love cells tingle, the new romantic comedy from the ever-reliable Kang Mal-Geum is drawing keen interest and high expectations.
