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Singer-actor Im Yoona says ‘The K2′ helps change her image on small screen

November 16, 2016

SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) — Actress Im Yoona, better known as Yoona of girl group Girls’ Generation, is one of a few K-pop idols with a successful acting career.

She has just finished her latest TV series “The K2″ on the cable channel tvN in which she played the role of a recluse, marking a departure from her previous characters.

“I took the role mainly because I wanted to do something different. In that sense, I can say I achieved my goal,” she said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday at S.M. Communication Center in southern Seoul. The center is run by her agency S.M. Entertainment.

Im Yoona talks during a press conference of “The K2″ in Seoul on Sept. 20, 2016.

But she had her share of regrets about her performance.

“There are many scenes that I think I could have done better. While I was acting, I thought I gave it my all. But when I reviewed it, I was not really satisfied.”

She wanted to push the boundary of her acting by taking on a role that people don’t usually associated with her, she said.

“I mostly played candy-like characters who are bright, optimistic and never give up. I was attracted to An-na because she was very different from my previous roles.”

Her character Ko An-na is the secret daughter of a strong presidential candidate. A loner who blames herself for her mother’s death, she lives an isolated life in Spain for 10 years but slowly opens up to her bodyguard Kim Je-ha (Ji Chang-wook) and falls in love with him.

As one of her best scenes, she cited reuniting with her father (Cho Sung-ha) whom she had missed dearly in a hospital ward.

“When we shot the scene, I cried my eyes out so much so that my swollen eyes were so obvious on TV,” she said.

A still from “The K2″ shows Im Yoona and Ji Chang-wook.

On the romantic side of the drama, it would have been better if there had been more sweet, romantic scenes between An-na and Je-ha, the actress said.

The last kiss scene between the two turned out to be much better than she had expected.

“At the time of the shoot (of the kiss scene), it had been barely a week since we met each other. I was so worried if the awkwardness between us was visually palpable. So I was relieved that people told me it looked natural,” she said.

For the scene, the producer encouraged her to get to know Ji better through small talk about anything from hobbies to careers.

“He gave me a lot of supportive messages and tried to humor me,” she said, expressing her gratitude also for his role which she thought was very important for the drama’s success.

Thanks to “The K2,” Im believes she has taken a leap forward and opened a new chapter in her acting career.

“Compared to the past, now I’ve got more passion about acting. Working with more experienced actors, I received a lot of positive energy from them, which I think helped broaden my horizons,” she said.