Lee Young Ae 이영애

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October 25, 2019

 

Watch: Lee Young Ae Desperately Searches For Missing Son In Thrilling Trailer For 1st Film In 14 Years

Source: Soompi by J. K

 

 

A riveting trailer has been released for Lee Young Ae’s first film in 14 years!

 

Lee Young Ae stars in the crime thriller “Bring Me Home,” which is her first film role since she played the now iconic lead character in “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” in 2005.

 

The story follows a woman named Jung Yeon who is contacted by someone that claims to have seen a boy who looks just like her son, who went missing six years before.

 

The thrilling trailer shows how she heads to find her son in a fishing village among unfamiliar people who seem on guard around her for an unknown reason. She tells a table of people at dinner that she’s come to find her son and asks where he is, but she’s largely ignored.

 

A police officer bends down to look at something and says to himself, “Everyone says they don’t know him. Why does he only seem familiar to me?” A tense montage of scenes then highlights her desperate search and the film’s dark and dramatic twists.

 

The film is directed by newcomer Kim Seung Woo, and it also stars Yoo Jae Myung, Lee Won Geun, Park Hae Jun, and more.

 

The trailer and poster for the film feature the tagline, “Everyone is hiding the truth.”

 

 

“Bring Me Home” hits Korean theaters on November 27 after making its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

 

Source (1)

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November 4, 2019

 

Actress Lee Young-ae unveils her first film in 14 years

By Kim Boram

 

SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korean star actress Lee Young-ae said Monday that she expects her new film "Bring Me Home" to be a turning point in her acting career and her life as the mother of two children.

 

Rising to global stardom for her role in the smash-hit historical drama "Daejanggeum" (2003), Lee chose the mystery thriller as her first silver screen project in 14 years.

 

Her last appearance on the big screen was in Park Chan-wook's crime thriller film "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" (2005), in which she played a revenge seeking single mother.

 

In "Bring Me Home," directed by Kim Seung-woo, she again took a role as a mother in search of her lost child who faces strong rejection from people in a small fishing village, including a police officer played by Yoo Jae-myung.

 

Actress Lee Young-ae speaks at a press conference in Seoul on Nov. 4, 2019. (Yonhap)

"Both in 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance' and 'Bring Me Home,' I act in the role of a mother with a child," the 48-year old actress said in a press conference in Seoul. "But the difference between the two is that I've become a real mother."

 

In 2009, Lee married a Korean-American businessman and gave birth to twins, one boy and one girl, two years later.

 

She said as a real mother, she could feel and express more emotions multilaterally and painfully when playing her character in the movie.

 

"I've lived eight years as a mother. So I'm very curious to see how my feelings and emotions are presented in the movie," she said. "I expect that this film will be my turning point."

 

Moreover, her sense of motherhood has helped the veteran actress change her taste in films and dramas.

 

"Before marriage, (when selecting a film) I had focused on my roles and colors of the genre in a movie," she recalled. "But after becoming a mother, I want my films to exert a favorable influence upon people."

 

"Bring Me Home," which was invited to this year's Toronto International Film Festival, fits these criteria, she noted.

 

"It's a thriller, but it's warm. I like this piece as it's heart-moving," she said. "When I first saw the screenplay, I felt that this was a tightly knitted script. I was confident that this would be a film worth waiting a long time for."

 

Director Kim Seung-woo said his debut film will remind people of the depths of a mother's love that we easily overlook in daily life.

 

"Some 12 years ago, I saw a placard to look for a missing child. It hurt me a lot, and I started to write down this story," he said. "This movie is about an exploration of a mother in a place where everybody tries to cover up the truth. It also talks about the precious value that we forget."

 

"Bring Me Home" will hit local screens on Nov. 27.

 

brk@yna.co.kr

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November 4, 2019

 

Actress Lee Young-ae returns to silver screen with thriller 'Bring Me Home'

 

Director Kim Seung-woo, left, actress Lee Young-ae, and actor Yoo Jea-myung pose for pictures during a press conference for new thriller film "Bring Me Home," held in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

 

By Lee Gyu-lee The Korea Times

 

Top actress Lee Young-ae is returning to the silver screen with the new thriller "Bring Me Home" this month, nearly 14 years after her last film, "Lady Vengeance."

 

"When I read the script I felt like I was reading a tightly knit, perfect script for a play…. I was convinced this would be the film that could reward me for the time I waited," she said,referencing her long hiatus, during a press conference in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, Monday.

 

Lee plays a dedicated mother, Jung-yeon, who has spent six years looking for her missing son. She receives an anonymous call about him which leads her to a small fishing village where she fights to solve a mystery that the village people seem to be hiding.

 

The return of Lee has been highly anticipated as this is the first film role she has taken on since her iconic performance as protagonist Lee Geum-ja in director Park Chan-wook's 2005 film.

 

Although in both "Lady Vengeance" and the new film Lee plays a mother looking for her child, she said this time was different because she had become a mother in real life.

 

"I was able to express the character in multiple dimensions and feel it more intensely," said Lee, adding that she was excited to see how her motherly side is expressed through the role after her experience raising two children over the past eight years. "I think this film will be a turning point, as Lady Vengeance was."

 

The film is newcomer Kim Seung-woo's directorial debut, which he started writing after a missing child report banner caught his eye 12 years ago. "When I thought about what the parents would have gone through looking for their child, it really hit me and devastated me. After getting that feeling, I started writing the film," he said.

 

"The film is about Jung-yeon relentlessly chasing after the truth to find her son in a place where everyone is hiding it. I hope the film reminds us of precious values that we should not forget about."

 

Lee also emphasized that the film has more value than being just another mystery thriller. "The story doesn't just focus on a good person, but also on a scrappy group of people. And this, I feel, is reality," she said. "I chose this film because I felt this is a story that would lead us to look back on ourselves."

 

As she has gone through a few changes in her life over the past few years, such as having a family, Lee said she started to have a different mindset when looking for roles, aiming for a wider spectrum and range of acting. "The story is about a mother's love, but that's not all for this film. I tried to look at the bigger picture when playing my character."

 

Actor Yoo Jea-myung, who plays the corrupt cop from the village, expressed that Lee "killed it" with her presence through the scenes. "I could feel (what she was expressing) just by her glances and breathing," he said. "I was unimaginably happy when I acted in scenes with her."

 

The mystery thriller "Bring Me Home" is set to hit theaters Nov. 27

gyulee@koreatimes.co.kr 

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November 5, 2019

 

Lee Young-ae breaks 14-year hiatus: Actress draws on her own maternal experience in new movie ‘Bring Me Home’

 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

 

Top, from left, actors Lee Young-ae and Yoo Jae-myung and director Kim Seung-woo speak at the press conference of the upcoming film “Bring Me Home.” Above, behind-the-scenes footage of the film. Left, a disheveled Lee as Jung-yeon is looking for her missing son. At right, Yoo is sergeant Hong, who keeps his small seaside town in order. [YONHAP, WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES]

The star of “Sympathy For Lady Vengeance” (2005) is back on screens after a 14-year-hiatus, but this time Lee Young-ae isn’t striving for vengeance, she’s striving to find her child who has been missing for six years.

 

In her return, Lee plays a desperate mother with steely determination in the upcoming film “Bring Me Home.”

 

The film already generated quite a buzz when it was invited in the Discovery section of the 44th Toronto International Film Festival, but it was moreover due to the fact that it stars Lee, after her over-a-decade-long break.

 

The public has caught glimpses of her face now and then at a few celebrity events, variety shows and most recently in the SBS drama series “The Herstory” in 2017.

 

The fact that her last film, “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance,” before she took her 14-year break was one of the most resonating films from director Park Chan-wook’s and became Lee’s most iconic role has also added to the anticipation for “Bring Me Home.”

 

Although Lee’s character is also a mother with fierce love for her child, the similarities end there, the actor said at a press conference for the film at southern Seoul on Monday.

 

“In [‘Sympathy for Lady Vengeance’], the director’s color and the genre of the film were very distinct,” Lee said. “But in ‘Bring Me Home,’ the more realistic side of maternal love brims from the character Jung-yeon. I feel like that love was amplified [compared to the last film] because I have been a mother to two children myself for the last seven to eight years.”

 

While Lee emphasized the importance of following the journey of her character Jung-yeon, she assured that the audience would find it equally entertaining to watch the various aspects and personalities of the villagers, where Jung-yeon hears that her child was reported to have been seen.

 

Actor Yoo Jae-myung agreed with Lee as he introduced his character. “Sergeant Hong is [in many ways] a mundane head of the police department in the small seaside village,” Yoo said. “But he has his own rules, order of ways and power which he upholds more than anything [in his life]. The village is like his own playground that he roams, and he instantly throws up his guard when a stranger [Jung-yeon] intrudes on it. Hong will do everything within his power to resolve the crisis [and return to the orderly ways of life that he is determined to keep].”

 

“Maternal love is of course an important factor in the film,” Yoo continued. “But the completion of the film itself ultimately lies in the various characters who clash while struggling to find the truth. I’ve tried my best to portray that message.”

 

The film is director Kim Seung-woo’s debut feature film, and he defines himself as the luckiest director of the year to have such a perfect cast and staff to work with.

 

“For me, Lee herself was a fantasy,” Kim said. “She hasn’t been on a feature film for a long time, and I didn’t dare to hope for the best, but she courageously put faith in me.”

 

The director elaborated on his experience working with the actor.

 

“All the scenes I worked with Lee on were impressive,” he said. “But the turning point for me was when we did our first test scene together. I was of course pressured to do well as a rookie director, but as soon as I put Lee in the camera frame, I realized that [all I had to do] was to follow Lee and the film would turn out well. She actually changes the air inside the frame with her mere presence.”

 

But things were not all smooth sailing. Kim explained that the film setting, a seaside village, caused some issues.

 

“The main setting of the film is the sea and the marsh which led to many variables and setbacks,” he said. “But the actors and staff were unanimously in one mindset to do the best they could to film the scenes, which was why the film could be completed perfectly.”

 

Lee also said that because many of the staff, including special effects makeup artists and the art director, were the same as that of “Sympathy For Lady Vengeance,” she felt even more devoted to complete the film.

 

“It is a thriller but it’s also heart-warming,” Lee added. “I was drawn to the plot because of that. It’s also one of the main reasons why I chose to return to the screen with this film… Before marriage I focused on the role and the genre itself, but after I had my own children, I hope to positively influence the public with my dramas and films. ‘Bring Me Home’ correlated with my standards which I hope will affect the audience to look at the society that we’re living in.”

 

The film is slated to hit local theaters on Nov. 27.

 

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]

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November 9, 2019

 

Lee Young-ae's Return to Silver Screen 'Worth the Wait'

 

Source: The ChosunIlbo

 

Lee Young-ae is returning to the silver screen after a 14-year hiatus and says she cannot believe it has been such a long time.

 

Speaking at an press junket for her new movie, "Bring Me Home," in Seoul early this week, Lee said she was surprised by "how fast time goes by" and added that she is happy to return.

 

The last film she starred in was Park Chan-wook's highly acclaimed psychological thriller "Lady Vengeance" in 2005.

 

Asked why she chose "Bring Me Home," Lee said she was drawn by the script. "I was confident that it would be worthy of the long wait," she said.

 

"Bring Me Home" is a mystery thriller about a mother obsessed with finding her son, who disappeared six years ago. "I became a real mother during the break and was able to feel the character in all her dimensions and express it better," she said.

 

Lee got married in 2009 and had twins in 2011.

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A long and good article to read on LYA

 

Source: Soompi

 

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November 14, 2019

 

Lee Young Ae Picks Gong Hyo Jin As The Actor She Wants To Work With

Source: Soompi by C. Hong

 

On November 13, Lee Young Ae appeared on the V Live broadcast “Actor & Chatter” (literal title) to promote her upcoming film, which is her first return to the big screen in 14 years.

 

The MC on the show, Park Kyung Rim, mentioned Yoo Ji Tae, Lee Young Ae’s co-star in the films “One Fine Spring Day” and “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.”

 

Park Kyung Rim said, “The line, ‘Do you want to eat ramyun before you go?’ from ‘One Fine Spring Day’ is still a famous line. Did you know that that line would become so famous?”

 

Lee Young Ae said, “I was really surprised. Many years ago, a comedy program parodied it, and I was surprised.”

 

 

She added that she’d recently run into Yoo Ji Tae at an awards ceremony and said, “I saw him for the first time in a while and he looked good. He looks exactly as he did when we first met. After I saw him, I thought that I should manage my own condition better. Ji Tae, how can someone not change like that? You looked good.”

 

Part of the V Live show “Actor & Chatter” involves the previous guest leaving a message for the next guest on the show. The previous guest in this case was Gong Hyo Jin, who said in her message, “What do you dance to when you’re at karaoke? And don’t say you don’t go to karaoke.”

 

 

Lee Young Ae was taken aback by the question and said, “I haven’t been to karaoke recently. I have kids now, so it’s hard. I went briefly with some other parents from school many months ago.”

 

Park Kyung Rim asked if she’d ever acted with Gong Hyo Jin and said that a production with the two of them would be good to see. Lee Young Ae replied, “She’s an actress that everyone has a lot of affection for. She’s someone that I’d like to have as a younger sister. If we did a drama together, I think it would look very realistic.”

 

In another question about a junior that she’d like to work with, Lee Young Ae mentioned Gong Hyo Jin again and joked, “Isn’t she trendy now, too?”

 

Lee Young Ae’s new film, “Bring Me Home,” hits Korean theaters on November 27.

 

Source (1) (2)

Top Left Photo Credit: Xportsnews

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Source: CINE21

 

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Photos: 쉼표 @rmflrhdhsmf

 

 

 

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November 21, 2019

 

(Movie Review) Missing child thriller contrasts motherhood, nonchalance

By Kim Boram

 

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- Looking for missing kids might be the most pressing and desperate thing for parents. It's very common to see missing child posters and placards around us, but they don't appeal to people hurriedly walking down the street.

 

 

Director Kim Seung-woo's thriller, "Bring Me Home," tells the story of a mother in search of her lost child who she believes is asking her to find him.

Jung-yeon (Lee Young-ae) and her husband Myeong-guk (Park Hae-joon) are doing everything to look for their son Yoon-su, who disappeared six years ago. They stick up missing boy posters and tracks down tenuous leads across the country.

 

Spoiler

 

One day, Jung-yeon receives a telephone call from a man claiming that he has seen a boy who looks just like Yoon-su at a fishing village on the coast. She arrives there in the hope that she finally can meet her son, but she faces total indifference, inhospitality and weariness from the cryptic village people.

 

She visits a small fishing spot for tourists there that is run by a family co-op of criminals and ex-cons. Corrupt police officer Hong (Yoo Jae-myung), who rules the village, tries to drive out Jung-yeon as she may threaten his authority and disclose the secret of two boys whose origins are unclear and who are exploited by the villagers.

 

They give the cold shoulder to Jung-yeon, who soon develops an inkling of the existence of the kidnapped kids and bravely confronts the villagers' refusal and violence.

 

The movie shows that maternal love for the lost son is behind the groundless sacrifice and even brutality presented by the desperate mother. She devotes herself to looking for her son and doesn't give up hope even after her husband dies in a car accident due to a prank call.

 

On the other hand, those around her are indifferent and half-hearted about her tragedy. Her brother-in-law is only concerned with Jung-yeon's insurance money from Myung-guk's death, while anglers in the fishing village pay no attention to Jung-yeon and her story.

 

It also touches on child abuse committed without guilt by the adults in the fishing village, who pretend to be kind and nice in front of Jung-yeon.

 

"It's very hard to express child abuse in the movie, but it happens around us," director Kim said after the film's press screening Tuesday. "I hope many people will look around those posters and listen to the stories of families of missing children, and the child abuse issue as well."

 

The clear contrast between the urgency and nonchalance stands out in the tightly knitted plot, with a mixture of horror, suspense and thrills. Actress Lee Young-ae did not lose her touch in her first silver screen choice in 14 years since "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance."

 

But all of these emotional factors in the movie -- motherhood, frustration, indifference and even selfishness -- are excessive. The superfluity of emotions makes the audience feel that the story is unbelievable and implausible. And people may feel uncomfortable with some cruelly sickening scenes of child abuse and exploitation.

 

"Bring Me Home" will be released on Nov. 27.

 

 

brk@yna.co.kr

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November 25, 2019

 

Actress Lee Young-ae of Dae Jang Geum reveals personal life

 

Korean actress Lee Young-ae. Korea Times file

 

By Cho Hae-min The Korea Times

 

Actress Lee Young-ae appeared on the SBS reality show "Master in the House," also known as "All the Butlers," on Nov. 24.

 

Members of the show, actors Lee Seung-gi and Lee Sang-yoon, comedian Yang Se-hyung and singer Yook Sung-jae from BtoB visited her house in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province.

 

Lee introduced her twins and with their children, the members spent time pulling out cabbages and radishes from Lee's vegetable garden.

 

Lee will be back on the screen in the thriller "Bring Me Home," scheduled to be released on Nov. 27.

Lee debuted as an actress in the SBS drama "How's your Husband?" in 1993. She gained enormous popularity at home and abroad through MBC's period drama "Dae Jang Geum" which aired from Sept. 15, 2003 to March 23, 2004.

Emailhaemincho@naver.com 

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November 30, 2019

 

November Movie Star Brand Reputation Rankings Announced

 

Source: Soompi by E. Cha

 

 

The Korean Business Research Institute has revealed this month’s brand reputation rankings for film actors!

 

The rankings were determined through an analysis of the consumer participation, media coverage, interaction, and community awareness indexes of 50 popular movie stars, using big data collected from October 29 to November 30.

 

Lee Young Ae, the star of the new crime thriller “Bring Me Home,” topped this month’s list with a brand reputation index of 8,046,382. High-ranking phrases in the actress’s keyword analysis included “Bring Me Home,” “age,” and “mom,” while her highest-ranking related terms included “return” and “appear.”

 

Gong Yoo took second place in the rankings with a brand reputation index of 5,276,458, while Kim Eung Soo followed in third place with a total index of 4,502,991.

 

Actress Gong Hyo Jin came in at a close fourth with a brand reputation index of 4,309,452, while Lee Jung Jae rounded out the top five with a score of 4,302,448 for November.

 

Check out this month’s top 30 below!

 

1. Lee Young Ae
2. Gong Yoo
3. Kim Eung Soo
4. Gong Hyo Jin
5. Lee Jung Jae
6. Jo Yeo Jeong
7. Honey Lee
8. Kwon Sang Woo
9. Lee Byung Hun
10. Ma Dong Seok
11. Jo Jin Woong
12. Moon So Ri
13. Ha Jung Woo
14. Kim Hye Soo
15. Yoo Jae Myung
16. Heo Sung Tae
17. Oh Jung Se
18. Park Seo Joon
19. Moon Geun Young
20. Hyun Bin
21. Yoon Kye Sang
22. Jeon Hye Jin
23. Kim Hee Ae
24. Lee Sun Gyun
25. Jang Hyuk
26. Son Ye Jin
27. Ryu Jun Yeol
28. Jang Dong Gun
29. Kim Hee Won
30. Kim Nam Gil

Source (1)

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November 30, 2019

 

HanCinema's Film Review: BRING ME HOME
 

By William Schwartz on HanCinema.net

 

 

As "Bring Me Home" opens up there's surprisingly little trace of the dramatic thriller that was promised in the film's promotional material. For the first act of "Bring Me Home" we mostly just watch Jeong-yeon (played by Lee Young-ae) and Myeong-gook (played by Park Hae-joon) grieve over the loss of their son, while still encouraging one another to be positive and not give up hope. Their willingness to put on a strong face, after all, is motivation for others to endure and not give up.

 

There's a stark realism at play in "Bring Me Home" not commonly seen in movies dealing with dark, edgy crimes. Take the various suspicious characters who inhabit the cheap seaside fishing village where most of the action takes place. None of these people are really career criminals. They all just managed to edge their way into crime via rationalization. Corporal Hong (played by Yoo Jae-myung) is one of the creepier corrupt cops in recent memory because he's not really evil so much as aggressively lazy, and used to solving problems by bullying people with his badge.

 

The crimes depicting in "Bring Me Home" are frightening because they're so frustratingly petty, and in large part propagated by an obviously mentally challenged man with little distinction between right and wrong. All the problems depicted in this movie are so frustratingly, easily solvable. Indeed, the main reason there's any conflict at all is because a pointless middleman interrupts Jeong-yeon's search, forcing her to proceed without the necessary backup.

 

On one end this works as a condemnation of society, that all too often expects people to rely on one another's good intentions with no real follow-up. But more metaphorically, the physical lonesomeness with which Jeong-yeon approaches the fishing village matches her mental despair. Through subtle pressures and even explicit gaslighting, Jeong-yeon is encouraged to give up. All that she has to force herself through to the end are the strong words of encouragement she received from friends and loved ones in the first act.

 

Through Lee Young-ae's fantastic performance we can see her clinging to these hopes like a talisman, thankfully without the clumsy use of flashbacks. During the latter part of "Bring Me Home" I often thought back to a scene where Jeong-yeon is counseled by a former missing child on the importance of not giving up. That story, about what happened to a family that decided to forsake hope, proves ominously prophetic as the film moves forward, and Jeong-yeon is left wondering how much she should keep pushing.

 

The main moments of terror are startlingly mundane. In a screenplay that probably looks predictable out of context writer/director Kim Seung-woo-I manages to wring out some fairly powerful tension. The moments of foreboding death are some of the worst in this regard, as we see victim and perpetrator alike, equally human, grapple with the feeling that hope is a lie. "Bring Me Home" is sympathetic in a way that's genuinely uncomfortable, where empathy simultaneously proves to be both a savior and a destroyer.

 

Review by William Schwartz

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December 3, 2019

 

INTERVIEW: 'Forever young' actress focuses on role, not looks in new movie

 

Actress Lee Young-ae returns to the silver screen in the thriller 'Bring Me Home.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Korea, Good People

 

By Dong Sun-hwa The Korea Times

 

Getting older is one of the toughest challenges for actresses and only a chosen few are privileged to overcome it, get adjusted and remain in people's hearts.

 

Now at 48, Lee Young-ae, who has been adored as the "beauty who never ages," is taking her chance to be one of them as she returns to the big screen in the thriller "Bring Me Home" after a 14-year hiatus.

 

And the actress from "Dae Jang Geum" (Jewel in the palace) that triggered the hallyu (the Korean culture) craze in the early 2000s, appears cool about her return.

 

"I lose some, but win some as I grow older," Lee told The Korea Times at a hotel in downtown Seoul. "I believe aging is more of a benefit for my career, because my experience is reflected in my acting. If my performance in 'Bring Me Home' garners good reviews, I think age would be a contributing factor."

 

After "Bring Me Home" was screened for the press ― before its official release on Nov. 27 ― many praised Lee for her subtle acting as heartbroken but emotionally restrained mother Jung-yeon.

 

Jung-yeon searches for her son who has been missing for six years. She heads to a strange fishing village after a call from an unknown man, who claims he has seen her son there. Although the village residents seem mysterious, Jung-yeon tries to find the truth and her son.

 

"Nobody can be spared from the passing of time," Lee said. "I also agonized over it."

In fact, she recalled that many people had focused on her first movie in 14 years, with her age topping the list of Naver's rankings of real-time searched words.

 

"But I tried to I concentrate on how best to present my role to the best of my ability," she said. "The looks were less of a concern to me during filming."

Actress Lee Young-ae returns to the silver screen in the thriller 'Bring Me Home.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Korea, Good People

 

"Bring Me Home" had sold more than 460,000 tickets as of Sunday, according to the Korean Film Council. It ranked second in the last week's box office, behind Disney's animated "Frozen 2."

 

Asked why she did not choose a blockbuster, but a small-budget movie made by rookie filmmaker Kim Seung-woo, Lee said her choice she made on her first impression.

 

"The film is a good reflection of our reality fraught with irrationalities," she said, adding that the director was fresh and skillful and that the scenario grabbed her attention.

 

The high-profile actress, who debuted in 1990, has starred in dozens of hits. Among them are the pan-Asian drama "Dae Jang Geum" in 2003-04 and the film "Lady Vengeance" in 2005. She also featured in numerous TV commercials, usually as a mystical and unapproachable woman. This led many people to believe that her public image mirrored the real person.

 

Therefore, Lee's recent appearance on the SBS variety show "Master in the House" and her creation of an Instagram account came as a surprise for many. Asked if she was trying to ditch her existing image, the actress denied this.

 

"I didn't aim to shed a certain image, but I'm just feeling more relaxed and comfortable after my marriage," she said. "I also have become more communicative and try to make the most of my life."

 

Lee married businessman Jung Ho-young in 2009. The couple has a twin son and daughter.

She said marriage had allowed her to feel less pressure about whether a film or show was a success.

 

"I am still engrossed in my work, but now I know there is nothing more I can do about my performance or the success of a film (once it is released,)" Lee said. "It would be a lie if I say I feel zero pressure, but I can handle myself better these days."

 

Lee rounded off the interview by disclosing her hopes.

 

"My goal is to play dual roles ― mother and actress ― in a balanced way," she said.

Emailsunhwadong@koreatimes.co.kr