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| ▲ This photo, provided by Challan Film, shows Korean actress Oh Min-ae. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- This summer, audiences who watched the hit film Pilot will likely remember the vibrant mother of the protagonist, Jung-woo, portrayed by Jo Jung-suk. The role, which brought both laughter and tears, was played by veteran actress Oh Min-ae (59). Despite her age, she portrayed a passionate character who follows her favorite singer's concerts, leaving a lasting impression.
Now, Oh Min-ae takes on a new challenge, portraying a middle-aged woman struggling to communicate with her daughter in the upcoming film "Concerning My Daughter," directed by Lee Mi-rang and set to be released on September 4th.
In an interview held on the 27th at a café in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Oh Min-ae confessed that the comedic role in Pilot was much more comfortable for her. "I'm 180 degrees different from the mother in 'Concerning My Daughter.' I'm honest with my emotions and clear in my reactions. But this mother isn't like that at all. It was stressful and frustrating during filming."
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| ▲ This still photo, provided by Challan Film, shows Korean actress Oh Min-ae in film "Concerning My Daughter." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Concerning My Daughter tells the story of a middle-aged woman, played by Oh Min-ae, who is a caregiver struggling to make ends meet. Her world is shaken when her daughter, a university lecturer (played by Lim Se-mi), brings home her same-sex partner (played by Ha Yoon-kyung), revealing that she intends to live as a sexual minority. The story unfolds as these three women navigate an uncomfortable cohabitation.
When complimented on how natural her portrayal of a caregiver seemed, Oh Min-ae revealed, "There was a time when I had to take care of my mother-in-law. I felt I knew very little about elderly care, so I attended a caregiving school run by my uncle and even obtained a license." Her graduate studies in social welfare also helped her in preparing for the role.
The mother-daughter conflict in the film highlights generational differences in family values. While the mother believes that a family can only be formed through a traditional male-female marriage, the daughter argues that same-sex couples can also create familial bonds.
Oh Min-ae reflected on the character's journey, saying, "The mother experiences a moment of reconsidering what it means to live happily and what it means to live well. Perhaps that's when she begins to change." She also shared that the process of portraying this character paralleled her own experience of resolving long-standing conflicts with her own mother. "I faced the emotional walls between us head-on, and now we get along very well. I think the film helped me."
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| ▲ This still photo, provided by Challan Film, shows Korean actress Oh Min-ae (R) in film "Concerning My Daughter." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Concerning My Daughter does more than advocate for LGBTQ+ rights; it also explores how to resolve generational conflicts that can arise within any family or society. On addressing generational conflicts, Oh Min-ae suggested, "First, we need to acknowledge that we are different from each other. Then, we should try to understand why the other person thinks the way they do." She added, "Instead of avoiding encounters with people who think differently, it might be helpful to face the conflict directly."
For her performance in Concerning My Daughter, Oh Min-ae won the Actor of the Year award at the 28th Busan International Film Festival. Her acting career began unexpectedly when she was 27 and planning a backpacking trip to India. A travel agent noted she had the aura of an actor and introduced her to a theater troupe. She made her film debut in Kim Tae-yong's Whispering Corridors 2 (1999) as a school nurse.
Oh Min-ae continues to have an active career, having recently won Best Actress at the 23rd Jeonju International Film Festival for Missing Yoon (2022) and portraying the First Lady in the Netflix series Strong Winds, released in June.
"Acting is a wonderful profession that helps you understand yourself and others," she said. "I want to create each character with the utmost effort, no matter what the role."
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