Actress Ha Ji-won made her second appearance on the YouTube channel Sung Si-kyung’s We’ll Meet, where she shared behind-the-scenes stories from Portrait of a Family, her first film comeback in six years.
The August 31 episode of Sung Si-kyung’s We’ll Meet featured Ha Ji-won and Kim Sun-young enjoying a meal and lively conversation at Sung Si-kyung’s home. With aged Korean beef and a favorite “hard liquor” prepared especially for Kim Sun-young, Ha Ji-won talked about her role in Portrait of a Family. “I play Nam-mi, who goes from being a top star to an actress struggling to make ends meet,” she explained. “It was a character that made me want to take on a new challenge because I got to express emotions and sides of myself that I hadn’t shown before as an actress.”
Ha Ji-won also revealed that she bleached her hair and learned how to smoke for the first time in her life for the role. “I bleached my hair for the first time and also learned how to smoke,” she said. “The director gave me a large shopping bag filled with different types of cigarettes and let me choose the one I felt most comfortable with.” Her revelation quickly caught attention.
She continued to shower Kim Sun-young with praise. Ha Ji-won said, “She’s such an incredible actress that I already had a lot of trust in her as a performer, and she acted in this project with exactly the kind of energy I had hoped for.” She added, “Watching her perform so flexibly in those situations made me think, ‘So this is how an actress can respond in such a flexible way.’ I was envious and wanted to learn from her. I was so happy whenever we acted together,” revealing her deep respect and trust for her co-star.
When Sung Si-kyung brought up Ha Ji-won’s YouTube variety show Jiwon of Class of ’26, the conversation turned to communication between different generations. Ha Ji-won said, “I had wanted to communicate with people from different generations for a long time, and then the perfect proposal came along, so I thought, ‘This is it.’”
She went on to express her gratitude toward the students, saying, “The students played along with me really well.” Ha Ji-won then revealed with a laugh, “Kim Si-a, who plays my daughter in Portrait of a Family, is actually a member of the Class of ’26, and ever since I started Jiwon of Class of ’26, she’s the only person I can actually have a conversation with.”
The cheerful meal was briefly interrupted by an unexpected battle over who was telling the truth. When Kim Sun-young claimed, “I didn’t have your phone number, so I contacted you through your KakaoTalk profile,” Ha Ji-won countered, “We exchanged contact information, and we actually kept in touch.” The two immediately turned it into a drinking bet.
After checking the facts, Ha Ji-won was proven to be telling the truth and won the bet. Kim Sun-young accepted the result by downing a shot of 51-proof soju. But that wasn’t the end of it. A second round of the truth battle began when Ha Ji-won claimed, “I received a text message from Kim Sun-young promoting her performance,” while Kim Sun-young insisted, “I didn’t send a promotional text.” The exchange once again filled the room with laughter.
After their warm and entertaining meal, Ha Ji-won also expressed her affection for Portrait of a Family. “It’s a deeply moving family story that brings to mind the words love, wounds and forgiveness,” she said. “I think it will be a film that feels compelling to audiences and leaves a lasting impression.” She also encouraged viewers to look forward to the movie.
Sources: Daum | OSEN