Girls’ Generation member
Yuri has earned herself another title- Actress. Yuri has in the blink of an eye become a mature 24 year old woman, and it was extremely apparent in her interview with ‘
CéCi‘ magazine. She sounded much more adult in conversation, and she could not seem to hide the many concerns that were swimming in her mind.
CeCi: You recently completed your drama ‘Fashion King‘ this past May. It was your first attempt at acting, so the project probably felt somewhat similar to a first love.
Yuri: I actually really like that expression. It really was like my first love, I was nervous and there was a lot I was looking forward to. It also hurt as I was a bit awkward. I felt a mix of emotions, but I don’t know if there are any words that could accurately describe the way I felt. I don’t know if it was because I was so into my character ‘Anna’, but I started to question what kind of person I really was. It was a time where I felt a lot of pain, but also learned a lot. It’s only been two, three months since the drama has come to an end, but it’s extremely embarrassing to watch. I saw ‘Fashion King’ come on television when I was overseas, and I turned the channel without even realizing it (laughs). I got myself together and saw it later, and it was actually really nice.
CeCi: You keep saying that there was a lot of pain involved. Was it the pain that your character Anna had, or was it the result of your acting or the project?
Yuri: I have no regrets, not even 1% when it comes to the end result. It was more related to my acting and the character. The more the series went on with each episode, my concerns and pain only grew. When I first saw the script for ‘Fashion King’, I wanted to do it so bad that I just agreed without even thinking it over, but I had to enunciate English perfectly from the first scene. At that time I thought ‘okay, maybe I made a mistake’, and began to regret my decision. The more I got to know the character, the more I began to worry and the more difficult it became. But maybe that’s why I wanted to finish this project that much more. If ‘Anna’ was meant to be for me, I thought finishing this project would perhaps resolve a lot of the questions and doubts I had about myself. The time I spent being concerned while acting, was the process of resolving doubts I had about myself.
CeCi: The role was extremely complicated and difficult. Did Anna’s depression ever get to you?
Yuri: I want to very nonchalantly tell you that no it didn’t, but to be honest, I was very depressed. Maybe that was just my way of trying to better connect with my character, but, to hide that, I purposely tried to be brighter and happier on set. The staff members probably have no idea, but the people close to me asked me about my long face.
CeCi: Having tried acting for the first time, did you develop your own personal way of surviving on set?
Yuri: My personal method of getting along with everyone is to ask a lot of questions. Not being afraid of things you don’t know, and until I found confidence in myself, I strove to communicate with everyone as much as I could.
CeCi: That takes a lot of courage, did things pan out the way you thought they would?
Yuri: To be honest, I’m actually not an extremely outgoing person so I don’t normally do that, but because I am the youngest on set and the most inexperienced, I felt that in order to avoid inconveniencing my seniors, the only thing to do was to ask questions and learn quickly.
CeCi: Different from promoting with Girls’ Generation, you worked alone. Were you ever lonely?
Yuri: I had a lot of thoughts that ran through my mind. First I thought, ‘there sure were a lot of things I enjoyed despite my very few and shallow talents,’ while I also learned to appreciate my members that much more. While we were filming the drama, TaeTiSeo was promoting as a unit, and I watched the music programs and followed along with the song and dance. My staff members who saw this told me that I am a born singer, and I definitely agree. I realized that being able to sing within Girls’ Generation is a huge joy.
CeCi: Hearing such a powerful expression such as ’Few and shallow talents’ from Girls’ Generation’s Yuri is a bit surprising. Is that true?
Yuri: It just means that I’m receiving such an abundant amount of love and understanding, compared to the few talents I have now. The love I have is infinitely small compared to the love I am receiving, and I think a lot about how I will ever be able to repay this.
CeCi: Your first step as an actress was quite a big one. What would you like your next step to be like?
Yuri: I don’t necessarily want to try anything that’s lighthearted or easy. As long as it’s not a consuming role that’s going to overtake my image, I would like to try a variety of different things.
CeCi: In the drama credits, your full name Kwon Yuri was used instead of just ‘Yuri’.
Yuri: Looking at it from a larger perspective, it kind of feels like ‘the second act’ of Yuri. I just very simply used my real name, that’s all. I always dreamed of seeing my name on the small-screen, and actually seeing the three characters was really strange and different.
CeCi: ‘Fashion King’ was a drama that paired well with the word, ‘Youth’.
Yuri: I think you’re right… it was ‘Youth’. It made your heart want to explode, and it also looked so pitiful at times. There were a lot of people who were frustrated and were uncomfortable watching it, and there were others who said they were in a bad mood after watching it. Rather an an exciting fantasy, it was a drama that continued to show you the inner truth, and therefore there is bound to be a variety of reactions.
CeCi: When it comes to your 20′s, how would you like your youthful days to unfold?
Yuri: I hope to have a lot of struggles in life. I hope to very naturally accept the challenges that come my way, and overcome them wisely. I will grow that much more during that time, and learn twice as much. I am the type who worries and becomes concerned easily and so this could wear me out, but I just hope it becomes that way.
CeCi: What kind of image and what kind of role, if any, do you hope to take on within Girls’ Generation?
Yuri: I had that in the beginning when we first debuted, but the more I build experience, I realize that I don’t want to ever get stuck fitting in a mold created by an image, a phrase, or a role. I want to try a lot of different things, and I want to become someone who is always challenging herself. I guess if I had to select something, I would like to have a more energetic image. Someone who is lifelike and animated. I guess that’s the same thing as being charismatic. I think charisma is displayed when you believe in yourself.
CeCi: Do you have a lot of confidence and reassurance when it comes to yourself?
Yuri: Not usually. Its to the point where our fans make fun of me for being sort of silly, but I don’t want to become perfect when it comes to my everyday life. The more I try to change myself, the more worn out I will become. But, I do have confidence when I stand on stage. When it comes to professional Kwon Yuri, I do have confidence.
CeCi: Girls’ Generation fits that new slang term ‘Perfect Genius’ extremely well. Are you girls drawing our your next image?
Yuri: I think about that a lot. I hope that Girls’ Generation becomes a group that overcomes the challenges they need to overcome, so that we can meet the expectations set for us, and to be satisfied with our own efforts. Even when it comes to records that Girls’ Generation has set, I hope that we will be the ones to break those records. I want to continue to challenge myself. Until where or when, I’m not sure yet.
CeCi: Do you talk about this a lot with the other members?
Yuri: Pretty often. We talk about how long we will be able to promote as Girls’ Generation, which direction we need to take from here on out, what we need to eat right this minute, our ideal types, who we think is hot, our next concept, what kinds of dances we should create, etc.
CeCi: What is one thing the members and the 24-year-old Kwon Yuri want more than anything?
Yuri: We want to mingle amongst average people. I am taking yoga these days, and I really like that I can be with my sister, my mom, and others. Spending a regular day with my school friends gives me an extreme boost of energy. I don’t want to lose this valuable time. I’m afraid that I’ll get lost in the idea that I’m special and superior. I’m afraid that I will become accustomed to the special treatment, and won’t know what to do once the spotlight isn’t on me anymore.
CeCi: It sounds like there was already a time when you got used to the attention.
Yuri: Yes, there was. I even got mad. It was a wall that I myself had built. I get scared, thinking of the lonely time I spent within that wall. I thought about how I could stop building that wall, and I realized the answer was quite simple. To get along with average people and go through the same things and challenges that they go through. That’s was it.
