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Jun Ji-hyun, "I want to act forever"

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Actress Jun Ji-hyun was known as a 'commercial star'. Now, no one has trouble calling her an actress. It's been 18 years since she debuted in 1997 as a magazine model. Her hard work up all those years is finally getting credit. Also, she's a role model, a fashion icon and 'sold out girl' to all women single or married. However, she's still thirsty for more acting.

We met Jun Ji-hyun. It's not an overstatement to say she's the realistic version of Cheon Song-yi from "My Love from the Star" but Jun Ji-hyun is much smarter than her and her determination for acting was clear.

"The Assassination" is the first thing she's out with since "My Love from the Star". It's about a group of assassins who were brought together for the eradication of pro-Japanese movements in the 1930s. Jun Ji-hyun plays Ahn Ok-yoon, the leader of the group and sniper. It's a rare blockbuster in which the female is in the leading role. With the movie coming out on the 22nd, Jun Ji-hyun said, "I had the pressure of having to lead the movie".

"There aren't many movies in Korea which a woman top stars in. It needs courage to do so. It means that the public prefer top actors over top actresses. I was pressured, but I wonder if I could've done better if I was younger. I think this is the right stage of time for me to do it and just decided to accept it".

The movie appealed to her of course but the biggest reason she followed through was because of the director Choi Dong-hoon. She starred in his movie "The Thieves" in 2012. He was able to read her back then and that touched her. "I have always wanted to star in another one of his movies again".

"Usually, it's natural for the cast and the director to agree or disagree on certain things but we think alike in every aspect. I felt so good to know how much he understood about me. There was no reason to refuse as "The Assassination" was perfect".

The part that excited her the most was the action scene in which she's in a wedding dress. "I was excited thinking about it and I thought it was awesome".

"I was nervous about that scene even before I shot it. Isn't it cool to take revenge in a wedding dress with blood everywhere? It's like something out of a Hong Kong movie".

Of course, she worked hard to make the action look good. "I started working out in 2009 for "Blood", too". She's always doing cardio and muscular exercises for an hour and a half every day. She learned how to shoot guns for "The Assassination". She had to carry around a long rifle that weighs 5 kg everyday for the movie but she didn't seem uncomfortable at all.

"I couldn't help the weight of the gun when I ran sometimes. To avoid looking like an amateur, we made a prototype of the rifle but that seemed to fake so we used the real gun. I got used to it but it wore me out a lot".

Thanks to her hard work, "The Assassination" has been getting great reviews so far. Jun Ji-hyun says, "I almost cried because of all the good things they say about the movie. I won't mind if it becomes one of my greatest hits".

About acting out character completely different from one another, she said, "I am more attracted to it and I want to do more of what the people like".

She didn't hide the fact that she wants to be loved by the public but she didn't seem like she was in a hurry. "I want to act forever. I can see an expanded version of my life, so I'm in no rush".

"I didn't feel impatient even when my other works before "The Thieves" didn't do so well. I didn't think it was a risk. I was only in my mid 20s and it wasn't like I was going to retire after that. I still thought I had a lot of time Then, I was lucky and got a few good hits in a row".

The reason she's so crazy about acting is because, "I can concentrate on it like crazy".

"I don't feel hurt when I'm acting and I don't feel hungry, either. It's tough to be crazy about something but it's fun to know that I can do that. Many more characters await me and someday I'll seem much more sincere than I am now. I can't wait".

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