“The Glory” Effect: Why Actress Lim Ji Yeon’s Own Mother Calls Her “Yeon Jin”
Netflix‘s The Glory is taking the world by storm with its well-written script, dramatic plot, and phenomenal acting. Among the outstanding actors is Lim Ji Yeon, who played the main antagonist with a name that still haunts us—Park Yeon Jin.
The Glory is about Moon Dong Eun (played by Song Hye Kyo), a woman whose life was ruined by her high school bullies, devoting her whole life to getting revenge on her perpetrators. Among them is Park Yeon Jin, who burns Moon Dong Eun with a hair curler and abuses her physically and emotionally.
With The Glory‘s surge in popularity, memes, clips, and quotes from the show are circulating the Internet. There is also a trend where people speak like Moon Dong Eun by adding “Yeon Jin” at the end of sentences—something that Moon Dong Eun frequently does throughout the show. Adding “Yeon Jin” to the end of sentences is not only used in contexts related to The Glory but in random situations that have nothing to do with the series.
Job well done, Yeon Jin!
In a recent interview, Lim Ji Yeon noticed people saying “Yeon Jin” on social media and in any situation.
I’m surprised and happy that many people on social media or anywhere say the name ‘Yeon Jin.’ I didn’t know there were so many Yeon Jins. It’s not just Dong Eun who does it but all the other actors add a ‘Yeon Jin’ at the end of their sentences. I’m so thankful. It happens even in scenes I didn’t come out in.
Lim Ji Yeon posted a series of Park Yeon Jin moments from The Glory on her Instagram with the caption, “Hey, Yeon Jin...”
She then confessed that Yeon Jin might be more popular than Lim Ji Yeon—and her mother is evidence.
Now that Yeon Jin is more famous than Lim Ji Yeon, my mom even calls me ‘Yeon Jin’ at home.
In response to the show’s popularity, Lim Ji Yeon stated that she knew the show would be a hit, but in a different way.
I can feel the popularity of the show. Actually, I had a feeling that the show will do well from the beginning. To be honest, I was confident that the show would be popular and loved, but I didn’t think that each character would be loved and receive a lot of attention.
To prepare for the role, Lim Ji Yeon stated that she approached it in various ways.
At first, I thought about acting like an emotionless sociopath, like a psychopath with everything shut off, in a monotone voice, or be totally emotional. I tried to come up with as many ideas as possible, but I thought I should make something only I, Lim Ji Yeon, can do. Instead of referring to or copying villains in other famous works, I thought to make the character mine with my face expressions. So it was a bit difficult at first, but I got used to it in the second half.
— Lim Ji Yeon
It’s no wonder we saw such diverse facial expressions from Park Yeon Jin!
The actress’s hard work paid off, and she perfectly portrayed Park Yeon Jin in a way that only Lim Ji Yeon could. In fact, her portrayal of Yeon Jin was so spectacular that her name is now a trending phrase!
