Kim Hyun-joo, Yeon Sang-ho work together again in 'The Bequeathed'

Kim Hyun-joo plays a character in "The Bequeathed" who inherits a burial ground and learns to express her emotions. The show was in the top 10 on Netflix in over 10 countries and explores themes of family and self-expression.

Actor Kim Hyun-joo plays Seo-ha in the Netflix original series ″The Bequeathed,″ a woman who inherits a burial ground from a long-lost uncle and gets embroiled in mysterious events [NETFLIX]

In “The Bequeathed,” actor Kim Hyun-joo’s third collaboration with director-screenwriter Yeon Sang-ho, Kim plays a woman named Seo-ha whose life has only taught her to hold back her emotions. When Seo-ha inherits a burial ground from a long-lost uncle, things begin to change and she finds herself in the midst of many mysterious circumstances, and ultimately learns to express herself.

"The Bequeathed" reached No. 4 on Netflix's chart for non-English language shows globally upon its release on Jan. 19, and also made it into the top 10 in more than 10 countries including Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore.

“Seo-ha is the first character I've played who lets out her emotions almost in an explosion as the show goes on,” Kim said during an interview with reporters at a cafe in Jung District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. “She maintains a calm and collected image on the outside but has a deeper, more primal side of her that she keeps hidden. I wanted to show that duality of Seo-ha while playing her.”

Seo-ha is a lecturer at a university vying for tenure as a full-time professor, and her finding out that she has inherited an entire burial ground coincides with the revelation of her husband’s affair, among other troubles. Kim interpreted her character as someone who has surpressed her true feelings all her life.

Actor Kim Hyun-joo [NETFLIX]

“Seo-ha believes that her unsatisfactory life is due to her parents, who gave her an unhappy childhood, and she represses herself to try and rise above that,” Kim said. “Her marriage is one example. She didn’t really love her husband, but she wanted to have a family like everyone else, and in the process had a lot of bent up emotions inside her.”

Practicing swear words and verbal violence was not easy for Kim because the actor rarely uses profanity in real life — but she gave it her all and ended up using swearing so much that a lot of those scenes were cut.

“Maybe they cut it because my swearing didn't look very natural,” Kim said with a laugh. “But I thought those bits were very important because it shows how frustrated Seo-ha is as a character, and swearing is a way for her to vent.”

A scene from ″The Bequeathed″ [NETFLIX]

During the press conference for “The Bequeathed” on Jan. 12, Yeon, who served as creator and writer for the show, said that the central theme of the series was family. Kim agreed with this and said that the chain of responsibility in families leads to discomfort among members.

“I think society pushes the idea of responsibility for your family too much,” Kim said. “In my case, to begin with, I am the eldest daughter and I harbor a lot of guilt for not doing enough for my parents, and my parents are also always apologizing for whatever was lacking when I was growing up. I think we all need to let go of familial responsibility to a degree.”

The ending of “The Bequeathed” also leaves a lot of food for thought on the theme of family, and Seo-ha’s last line of dialogue carries multiple meanings because of what is revealed in a plot twist at the end. Kim found it hard to execute that last line in particular.

“I practiced the last line with a lot of different tones and also shot many takes on set,” Kim said. “I hope viewers are not met with spoilers, because it is a very shocking twist.”

As the series’ six episodes come to a close, Seo-ha ends up losing sight of why she wanted to inherit the burial grounds in the first place, and becomes obsessed with winning the inheritance over her half-brother Yeong-ho, played by Ryu Kyung-soo.

“I think Seo-ha becomes gripped by the notion of never losing again to someone else,” Kim said. “Once she learns to express her emotions and lets go of repressing herself as she’d done for so long, her real personality shows as the conflict of the story unfolds.”

Although Yeon served as writer and was not a director for “The Bequeathed,” he directed Kim previously in “Hellbound” (2021-) and “Jung_E” (2023). Frequently collaborating with Yeon has allowed Kim to develop a deep understanding of the director’s vision and has made her grateful for the opportunities Yeon has provided to her.

“We are also around the same age, and have now seen each other for a long time in the professional setting, so we root for each other and it is a productive relationship,” Kim said. “Sometimes an actor wants to try something new, but it is not in their power to do it alone. In such cases, it is so fortunate to have someone like Yeon helping you out.”

Kim is nearing the 30th anniversary of her debut, and the actor has relaxed more than before and looks forward to any new roles that she will come across in the future.

“In the past, I was always alert to what other people may think of the roles I played and my acting, but now I have let go of that,” Kim said. “I want to try different genres like in ‘The Bequeathed’ and try my best with the environment that I am in.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]