Seo Woo: Taking on the Big and Small Screen

Seo Woo’s star is rising, and it’s not hard to see why. Currently, she’s taking on the thankless role of Hyo-sun, aka Cinderella, in KBS2’s Wednesday-Thursday drama Cinderella’s Sister, the foil to Moon Geun-young’s lauded evil stepsister. In the midst of both criticism and praise for her portrayal, she’s set to overthrow her detractors with her skill as a chameleon.

In The Housemaid, starring Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Jung-jae, Seo Woo is the young ingenue who will have to battle it out with one of Korea’s top actresses for Lee Jung-jae’s heart. And from what we’ve seen of her chops as Cinderella, this young woman can put up a fight.

Seo Woo in “Tamra, the Island” and “Paju”

Seo Woo debuted in 2007’s Son, where she showed her face for all of one minute as the main character’s girlfriend. It was a short debut but the impression was strong enough for directors Park Chan-ok and Lee Kyung-mi to notice her and cast her in the film Crush and Blush. That season Seo Woo swept the newcomer awards and expectations rose. She said modestly: “I don’t know if it’s okay for me to be accepting such an award.”

She followed that success with the film Paju and the drama Tamra, The Island, receiving critical praise for her broad range, and earning yet another award. But being on the fast track means you don’t always come up smelling like roses.

Since the start of Cinderella’s Sister, Seo Woo has tread the very treacherous line between scalding criticism and lofty acclaim. Viewers felt no love for the overly sweet Hyo-sun at the start of the series, which the producers defended as necessary for her later character development. They said, “Seo Woo has delivered 100% the character that we asked for.” But they add that the character will go through major changes, a little of which we’ve seen in the latest episodes to date.

In “Cinderella’s Sister”

Seo Woo began to show a little bit of that change at the end of Episode 3, when she turned on her beloved unni and cried out, “Get out, you beggar!” gluing all viewers’ eyes on her. The character eight years hence is now transformed into a chic young woman ready to give Moon’s character a run for her money. Seo Woo’s portrayal of that transformation is earning viewers’ trust that the earlier characterizations were a necessary evil.

With one battle already underway, Seo Woo steadies herself for the next. In The Housemaid, she has to stand toe to toe with Jeon Do-yeon, known famously in Korea as the Queen of Cannes. With the attitude that sharing a screen with the best can only raise the level of her game, Seo Woo worked tirelessly on the role. Producers said of her: “She came with the acting skills of a veteran, not a newcomer, and held her own with Jeon Do-yeon.”

The Housemaid, set to release May 13, is already holding everyone’s expectations high as they await the call of Cannes with bated breath. Meanwhile, Seo Woo is busy filming Cinderella’s Sister, and will unlikely be able to attend. But as an actress merely four years from her very short debut, that’s a dilemma she’d love to have.

In the upcoming remake of “The Housemaid”

Via Hankook Ilbo

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