Actress Kim You-jung recently spoke about portraying Baek A-jin in the TVING Original series ‘Dear X’, addressing the psychological depth, extreme scenes, and viewers’ reactions to her intense character.
During a media interview held (in Jongno-gu, Seoul), Kim shared that she initially struggled with the emotional weight of the role.
“At first, I had my own fears, and there were scary aspects to it. Because Baek A-jin uses many strong expressions, I was worried. I pondered how I could act out this character without wavering,” she admitted. She recalled moments of total immersion: “There were times when the situation became so extreme that I was deeply immersed and couldn’t snap out of it even after the director called ‘Cut’.”
Kim revealed that some scenes were so intense that she doesn’t fully remember filming them.
“While monitoring my performance, I felt that I had focused too intensely. There are scenes that would be shocking for a human being to witness. Because of that, there are some scenes I don’t remember clearly. Watching them now, even I am surprised.”
Creating Baek A-jin — Subtlety and Restraint
Kim explained that she wanted to portray Baek A-jin as someone whose inner thoughts couldn’t easily be read.
“Even before filming began, I set the baseline for the character of Baek A-jin as someone with subtle expressions and, consequently, unreadable inner thoughts.”
She emphasized focusing on natural behavior rather than exaggeration, especially in expressing Antisocial Personality Disorder.
“To portray Baek A-jin, I focused on naturalness… I wanted to express her as someone who looks like a normal person at a glance—someone who seems harmless—yet engages in gaslighting. I think the fact that I tried not to ‘over-express’ and practiced restraint made those parts come across more dramatically.”
Key Scenes: Rooftop Murder & Interrogation Room
Kim selected two moments as the most memorable to shoot — the rooftop room scene with her father (Bae Soo-bin) and the interrogation room sequence.
She described the latter:
“I was a little surprised by the interrogation room scene. When acting as Baek A-jin, I wanted to make it so that no one could know what she was thinking through subtle changes in expression.”
Regarding the rooftop murder scene, she said:
“The scene that took the longest to shoot was the one where I kill my father in the rooftop room… The more I was hit, the more devastated and drained I became; the appearance of actual accumulated fatigue came through on screen.”
Kim said she was relieved to hear feedback praising her alignment with the original Naver Webtoon character.
“When it was first released, I felt good seeing comments saying that the character came out exactly as it was in the original webtoon, reflecting it well.”
Laughing, she added:
“Some people have even jokingly told me they are scared of me when we meet. The character I play is a completely different person from me, so I hope people don’t misunderstand.”
Ending and Webtoon Comparison
Asked whether the ending matches the webtoon, she responded cautiously.
“Even the story released so far has parts that are different from the original. Dramatic elements will also be added in the second half.”
On where the drama is heading, she commented:
“Episodes 7 and 8 are where Baek A-jin painfully realizes through situations and experiences that things are not going according to her plan… Baek A-jin cannot stand it when her unforeseen plans go awry, but she is not a character who crumbles easily.”
Kim added briefly on the conclusion:
“Whether it’s a happy ending or a sad ending, new characters appear, and it goes beyond imagination. Personally, I am satisfied.”
‘Dear X’, a melodrama thriller dealing with revenge, desire, and destruction, stars Kim You-jung, Kim Young-dae, and Kim Do-hoon.
The 12-episode series will conclude with episodes 11–12 releasing on December 4 on TVING, HBO Max, and Viki.
Source: daum
