“Squid Game” Actress Jung Ho Yeon Reveals Whether There’s A Difference Between Her As A Model And Her As An Actress

Jung Ho Yeon made her amazing acting debut in the hit K-Drama Squid Game as Kang Sae Byeok and many are curious to know more about her.

For one, Jung Ho Yeon started out as a model and has done several huge projects in her career. While she has an amazing career in modeling, Jung Ho Yeon shared she wanted a new challenge in life and tried out acting.

Now that she is a star in both the modeling and acting world, many want to know how different the two worlds are for her. In her recent interview with W Korea, Jung Ho Yeon dishes on how she executes both modeling and acting.

First off, Since many know her as a model, Jung Ho Yeon admitted being titled an actress is still a weird concept for her. Jung Ho Yeon told W Korea, “(laughs) I still can’t get enough of the word ‘actress.‘”

To Jung Ho Yeon, the world of modeling is quite lonely. Because of her time alone traveling as a model, Jung Ho Yeon shared she got into watching movies and reading books. Her new hobbies are what lead her to an interest in acting.

In fact, when I first started modeling, I had no motivation. When I was in middle school, I was like, ‘When you grow up, what do you have to do to make a living?’ After thinking about it, I started modeling. But it didn’t go well, at first. But it was fun. I wanted to do well, and I was always looking for the next step. I seem to be a person who always finds fun in a certain ‘process’ and uses that time as a driving force. So was the acting. There was no clear motive, but the motivation for acting seems to be scattered here and there. I spent a lot of time abroad alone, watched a lot of good movies, and read good books, which filled my empty heart. Then, suddenly, I had a desire to express it through acting.

— Jung Ho Yeon

When asked, “Are model Ho Yeon Jung and actress Ho Yeon Jung different people?” Jung Ho Yeon explained the two are the same person, but with different levels of experience.

The same guy. Of course, I feel relaxed when I stand in front of the camera as a model. When I work as an actor, I think I’m nervous and clumsy. But what I feel good about being a model is that I have experienced both a rookie and a successful career as a model. But if you think I’ve been good since I started as a rookie model, I’m not. It was clumsy and crude, but it had its own beauty. Of course, only later did I realize after 10 years of working as a model. Standing at the starting line of an actor, I feel that my reaction speed is faster than when I was a model. No matter what happens, the speed of pressing and ventilating the mood has become faster. There is hope that these changes will make the actor’s life healthy in the future.

— Jung Ho Yeon