“Mine” Star Kim Seo Hyung Opens Up About Choosing The Lesbian Role
Airing internationally on Netflix, tvN‘s K-Drama Mine drew to a close last week with its finale episode—but fans still can’t stop thinking about the show. Alongside its star cast and strong writing, one key point brought in numerous viewers: the show’s lesbian representation. In a new series of interviews, lead actress Kim Seo Hyung opened up about playing a WLW (woman-loving woman) character and what drew her to the role.
In Mine, Kim Seo Hyung plays Jung Seo Hyun, a gallery director trying to find her true identity; Seo Hyun is also a lesbian. While Kim Jung Hwa (who plays Seo Hyun’s first love Choi Suzy) and her husband recently came under fire for homophobic comments regarding the K-Drama, Kim Seo Hyung has a refreshing perspective on her role.
“The first reason I chose ‘Mine’ was because it told the story of a sexual minority,” said 47-year-old Kim Seo Hyung in an interview. The actress also noted, “Although there are a lot of works about homosexuality with men, there doesn’t seem to be a lot about women.”
Kim Seo Hyung went on to say that she’s also a fan of the 2015 American movie Carol and its lead actress, Cate Blanchett. Based on the 1950s lesbian romance novel The Price of Salt, Carol tells the story of an affair between an older and younger woman. “If you are an actress, [‘Carol’] would be a movie that you would want to try,” said Kim Seo Hyung, adding that she got a “taste” of this through Mine.
Although the narrative was good, I chose ‘Mine’ because of the romance.
— Kim Seo Hyung
On top of this, Kim Seo Hyung even revealed that she “wished there were more stories about Seo Hyun and Suzy in the script.” Kim says another reason she chose to play the role is that Mine is a melodrama, but she also stated that because the story was a melodrama and not specifically an LGBTQ+ drama, she asked the Mine team to “write more [about Seo Hyun and Suzy] to quench my thirst.”
Unfortunately for Kim Seo Hyung and fans who were interested in the lesbian plotline, the actress said, “However, I think the writer felt that this amount was appropriate.” That said, even though tvN could have gone a little deeper with their side of the story, fans have been filled with praise for Kim Seo Hyung’s incredible portrayal and Mine‘s lesbian representation.
Share This Post
