Son Na-eun discusses her hit SBS drama, praise for her action role, gratitude to cast and crew, and hopes for future challenges.

Former Apink member Son Na-eun, with a gun in hand, shot through viewers’ hearts. In the SBS drama “Agent Kim: Reactivated,” which recorded a highest viewership rating of 23.1 percent and drew an enthusiastic response, the character she played was Jeong Sang-a, an agent of the Special Missions Bureau and acting representative of Sangseng Savings Bank. Behind the face of a trendy “MZ office worker,” she was hiding as an undercover agent monitoring Department Head Kim (So Ji-sub). From hand-to-hand combat to gunfights, she did not feel intimidated even among distinguished senior actors. Son Na-eun said, “It feels like a new page has begun.” — First, I’d like to hear your thoughts on the end of the broadcast. Son Na-eun: It’s a little... become a big deal (laughs). I never thought I would receive so much love. I’m truly happy. Even though it has ended, it is strange that people are sending such passionate reactions. So many staff members, production people, and senior actors worked so hard. I want to express my gratitude. — It set a record with 23 percent in the final episode and 27.1 percent at its peak. Was this the result you expected? Son Na-eun: I could not have expected such record-breaking ratings. What I thought to myself was only, “Because the senior actors are here, many people will like it.” I’m truly grateful. — Since it was a hit, you might also want a trophy. Is there an award you want to receive at the year-end awards ceremony? Son Na-eun: I don’t have a desire for awards. I did not approach the work thinking I had to win an award. But since this work received so much love, I would be happy if it could win a work award (laughs). Then I think all the actors, the director, and all the staff would receive it. It would be nice if there were something like a best teamwork award. — There must also be talk of a season 2. Son Na-eun: Nothing has been decided yet about season 2, but everyone, including me, is hoping for it. If season 2 happens and they call me, I would gladly join with gratitude. — I hear you are going on a reward vacation. Son Na-eun: We were busy filming, and time passed by in a flash. After the drama ended, I thought I wanted to talk more with each other, but there wasn’t much time for that. So when I heard we were going on a reward vacation, I thought it sounded really good. It’s something you go on feeling happy, so I’m looking forward to it. — I’m curious what the director saw in you when casting you. Did you hear anything about that? Son Na-eun: Actually, the director did not know Son Na-eun as a person very well, but I heard I was recommended. After receiving the recommendation, he watched the works I had appeared in before, and said they were impressive. In particular, I had a small appearance in “The Tale of Lady Ok,” and while watching that, he thought, “How could she express such a noble and elegant woman of that era so well?” and said he really wanted to meet me. I was very grateful that he thought that way, and my sense of responsibility and pressure to work harder became very large. — Did the director say anything to Son Na-eun? Son Na-eun: The director said, “Sang-a will become an amazing action actress.” That word spread around the set. People said Sang-a must really be good at action (laughs). Everyone I met kept saying, “You’re good at action?” so I thought I absolutely could not be bad at it and had to work really hard. I think the director chose me because he wanted to show people a different side of Son Na-eun from the roles I had played before. — It is based on a webtoon, but Sang-a is not a character in the original. Was it easier or harder? Son Na-eun: There were easy parts and difficult parts. If it were a character from the original, fans of the original would have expectations, so I think the pressure to meet them would have been great. But since she is not in the original, I could build her myself, and that was good. — There must also be things you regretted, parts you wanted to make up for more. Son Na-eun: I really wanted to do action. I’m glad I met this work, but I still wasn’t skilled enough. Even though I practiced, there were still lacking parts, so I used a stunt double at times, and that was very frustrating. If I get another chance, I want to train much more and do everything myself. — It seems your hunger for acting was strong. Son Na-eun: I really like trying new things. I want to try this and that, and this work felt like it perfectly satisfied what I had been thinking, so there was no reason not to do it. I’m truly grateful. — The set was full of older men, wasn’t it? How did you become close? Son Na-eun: We actually became close very quickly. They say if you go through hardship together, you become closer and develop a sense of comradeship. It was exactly like that. The senior actors also talked to me a lot so I could relax on set. I learned so much, and that is why it is such a memorable set. — So Ji-sub’s mere presence is overwhelming. Since it was your first time working together, you must have been nervous. Did you ever ask So Ji-sub for acting advice? Son Na-eun: Just having him there was reassuring. The first shoot was a scene with Department Head Kim at the bank, and since it was the first shoot, being awkward is natural, right? But in that scene, that feeling and atmosphere fit perfectly instead. Since I had to handle a gun and do action, I asked for advice. He taught me everything: how to hold the gun in such situations, how to make it look cooler, and even how to position the gun in front of the camera. He taught me everything. — I heard So Ji-sub gave money to the actors. Son Na-eun: I received it too. When I got it, I didn’t know what it was. I was wondering what this was, but once I understood, I was truly grateful. I could feel his warm heart in the way he cared not only for the actors but also for the staff. I wanted to thank him directly, but filming had already ended, so I contacted him and expressed my gratitude. — Is there an episode from the set that stands out in your memory? Son Na-eun: It was a scene filmed at a hotel with senior actor Yoon Kyung-ho. Originally, the director said he wanted Sang-a to stand out more beautifully. It was a seduction operation, after all. But my gaze kept being drawn to senior Yoon Kyung-ho. In the end, the director apologized to me. I understood it too (laughs). — There was praise that you resolved your lingering acting regrets through this work and did a really good job. I think it was a valuable achievement as an actress. Son Na-eun: When I appear in a work, I search for and look at all the reactions to me. It stimulates me and makes me work harder. Whatever the reaction is, I am very grateful. This time, as you said, there were many good reactions, and I feel that many people found my attempt at something new refreshing and accepted that, as an actress, “she has this side too.” — A little while ago, you spoke honestly about being an actress who came from singing. Has this work helped ease that part a little? Son Na-eun: Being an idol singer-turned-actress is a fact, right? And I think it is an important memory that made me who I am now, so I do not want to erase it. Rather, it is a grateful modifier. I accept all evaluations. I think my homework is to build trust as an actress through my acting. — This is a careful question, but there had long been talk that you were the only Apink member who did not attend a member’s wedding. What were the circumstances? Son Na-eun: That was probably near the end of filming, and after that I had other schedules too. Also, it is a team I spent many years with, a team that made precious memories in my teens and twenties, so whenever something good happens, I truly want to always support and congratulate them from the bottom of my heart. I always want things to go well for them, and I support them as a fan. — You said a spirit of challenge was born. Did that come after you transitioned into acting? Son Na-eun: The boundaries and limits I had set for myself began to collapse greatly. If I originally liked familiar things and feared change, now I look more broadly and farther ahead, and a spirit of challenge naturally emerged. — So it was not that you had not been offered challenging characters, but that you were somewhat conservative in your view? Son Na-eun: Yes. Fear was inevitably greater. I had many worries too. But now those things have been broken down greatly. There was no special trigger; from the moment I started finding acting interesting, I began thinking, “I want to try this too, and that too.” — Did you feel that strongly in this work as well? Son Na-eun: I always acted while thinking it was fun, but I felt it strongly in this work. While watching the senior actors perform. They are such excellent actors that I kept wondering, “How do they act?” and “What kinds of worries do they have while acting?” I learned a lot by watching them on set. — Since you overcame the hurdle of action, what is the next challenge? Son Na-eun: There are many genres I want to do, and many things I still have not done. That goes for characters too. I have never done a romantic comedy. I have never done romance, and I think I have never done a legal drama either. So there are still many things I want to try. — What do you think is the weapon of actress Son Na-eun? Son Na-eun: I want to become an actress who can handle various genres. If I think about it, all the works I have done so far had completely different characters. I take pride in that, and I want to become an actress who is cast in various genres in the future as well. I would be happy if that became my weapon. — Since this work was a huge hit, there must also be pressure about your next project. Son Na-eun: That’s right. It does become pressure. I thought about my next project, but I don’t know. I think I just need to work hard. My feelings when approaching a project are always the same, so if I meet a new work, I will approach it sincerely, just as I have done until now. — Finally, how will this work be remembered for actress Son Na-eun? Son Na-eun: Since it is a work in which I challenged a new genre, in a sense it feels like a new page has begun in my acting. And as I live my life from here on, I really feel nothing but gratitude, to the point that I wonder whether I will ever meet another work that receives this much love.