All About Kim Hye-jun, The Queen Who Wants It All in "Kingdom"

Tags
NETFLIX
Kingdom
Kim Hye-jun

Zombie thriller "Kingdom" is not like any other. Like how the undead rapidly swarmed up the nation, the series, from season 1 to the latest season 2, gained popularity worldwide at full tilt. It recently claimed a spot in the top 10 list of most-streamed shows on Netflix.

"Kingdom" revolves around the ancient Joseon Kingdom Dynasty. Prince Lee Chang was almost overthrown by the Haewon Cho Clan family. In his desire to save the king's condition, he sacrificed a lot. Selected members of the courts joined in his quest to protect his countrymen from the flesh-eating zombies. 

It's not only the storyline but the characters' impeccable performances captured the global viewers. One of the characters who pulled off her performance as a villainess is Queen Consort Cho who married the king at a young age, which she conspired with her father. To gain more power, she needs to deliver a baby boy to get the heir of the throne.

Conceiving is not possible and she always gets a miscarriage. The worst part is that the king died without anyone's knowledge at first. They hid the king's dead body inside the palace that even the crown prince was prohibited from seeing his "sick" father.

While her father was busy making Prince Lee Chang's life miserable, the young queen focused on planning to acquire a baby boy. She gathered pregnant women in one house and fed them. One woman gave birth to a baby boy and she took it and claimed it as her own.

Driven by her desire to rule the kingdom, Queen Consort Cho killed her father to gain more power. In the end, she too was attacked by the zombie and all her courts. 

Who is Queen Consort Cho? She is Kim Hye-jun, who was featured in a commercial in 2014. 

The 25-year-old actress studied theater and film at Hanyang University. Determined to get more projects, she auditioned for drama series and other variety shows. 

She starred in the list of drama series below.

1. Lily Fever (2015)

2. Green Fever (2017)

3. Matrimonial Chaos (2018)

4. Another Child (2019)

5. Metamorphosis (2019)

In one of her recent interviews, Kim Hye-jun shared her thoughts on her experience in making "Kingdom." While she plays her role as the queen often sitting on a chair, she talked about portraying a zombie on screen.

"It was not an easy job to become a zombie because I had to run fast like somebody who was about to collapse, even though I was wearing proper running shoes while showing some zombie movements from top to toe," Kim said.

"I came to understand how hard the zombie actors, who made up half of the drama, worked and I truly appreciated their performances from the heart," she added.

Her colorful and elegant costume and hair design as a queen made her look more regal. Kim Hye-jun mentioned that wearing the queen's full costume was not easy as well.

"It was summer and the weather was hot when we were filming. And my queen hat and costumes were so heavy, which made me physically very tired," she shared.

The actress also talked about her role.

"When I read the script, I thought the queen was a very smart and ambitious figure to be able to play the fool and control her father. But it is hard to describe her having a self-led personality because she uses cruelty to resolve problems surrounding her," she narrated.

"People may have loved my character not because of her independence but the way she expresses her ambition despite her position and regardless of other's perspective under the oppressive norms of Joseon society," she went on.

Kim Hye-jun also expressed how happy she has been from the get-go for being chosen to do the role.

"I was just happy at the beginning as a new actor and was surprised and worried by the fact that I was able to act with these great writers and actors. At first, I thought the job was for a film role; I didn't know much about how Netflix works," she said.

"As an actor and an individual, I learned how to be myself and take responsibility for playing a role while being harmonious with others.... I want to become an actor who can give faith to people so that they can expect something from me and I can respond to them," she added.

Kim Hye-jun was happy to be a part of the drama series. It created a new path for her career as a rising actress in the entertainment industry. 

Join the Discussion

Latest Photo Slide Shows