Being A Mom Has Changed The Way Kim Hee Sun Chooses Drama Roles

Being a mother has changed the way Kim Hee Sun thinks about real-life issues and the kinds of roles she will take in k-dramas.

After the actress married in 2007 and had her daughter Park Yun Ah, she took a few years off to devote to being a wife and mother. During her hiatus, she published a book on childcare and losing pregnancy weight, titled "Kim Hee Sun's Happy Mom Project."

When she did return to acting, the 37-year-old actress says that motherhoodhas affected her views on life and the kind of roles she is interested in.

In a recent interview with the Korean media outlet E Today, she said that motherhood made it easy to play Jo Kang Ja in "Angry Mom."

"I didn't need to pretend to be a mom because I am one," she said. "It came naturally. If I wasn't married and didn't have a child, that would have been impossible. It's not something you can do by being a good actress."

In that drama she played a mom who disguises herself as a student to take on the bullies that are tormenting her daughter. She strongly related to the way her character felt and has said that she might take even more drastic measures to protect her own daughter.

As the mother of a 7-year-old girl she has taken more interest in such social issues as bullying. She confessed that she didn't used to care about issues as long as they did not affect her. Being a mom changed all that.

"I went to a bakery during the shooting of 'Angry Mom,' and I saw some students with a lot of make-up on. I told them their uniforms were too short and asked if they wore underpants. I can't stand that anymore."

Being a mom has been good for Kim Hee Sun's career. Playing Jo Kang Ja in "Angry Mom" won her critical praise. Many of her roles previous to motherhood were cute cheerful characters, but Jo Kang Ja is a woman who is prepared to sacrifice everything for her child. She's fearless and strong.

Kim Hee Sun wants to become an actress her daughter can admire. Because her daughter likes that she is famous and recognized by her friends, she feels she can no longer do extreme dramas.

"I want her to see only good things about this job," she says.

Kim Hee Sun's last drama role was playing Lee Min Ho's love interest in the historical fantasy drama "Faith: The Great Doctor."