Ha Ji Won Continues To Meet Physical Challenges

Actress Ha Ji Won likes her roles with plenty of action and, whether she is playing a stuntwoman, a spy or starring in a commercial, she likes to do as much of her own stunt work as possible.

The actress recently filmed an outdoor wear commercial in which she could be seen climbing up the side of a cliff in Thailand. Her calm cool demeanor in the face of such a dangerous situation impressed both the director and crew.

But facing physical challenges is nothing new for Ha Ji Won.

While the actress admitted that cliff climbing was difficult, it was not the first time she attempted to meet a physical challenge in the name of portraying a convincing part.

For her 2010 series, "Secret Garden," she played the role of Gil Da Ran, a poor but talented stuntwoman. While the actress did have a stuntwoman of her own for some of the shots, she tried to do as many as she could.

Her next role as Cha Hae Joon, an oil rig inspector in the 2011 film, "Sector 7," gave her the opportunity to do all her own stunts.

Before the film went into production, she worked out for weeks to strengthen her muscles.

"I have a petite physique," said the actress. "So I concentrated on weight training to prevent my action scenes from looking weak and powerless."

To prepare for her role, the actress spent eight-hour days swimming and lifting weights. She also obtained scuba diving and motorcycle licenses.

She has made a career out of choosing physically challenging roles.

"My ideal female role model is someone who is not fragile, someone who is independent and charismatic," said Ha Ji Won. "I want to keep doing action scenes like Angelina Jolie."

For her next role as Kim Hang Ah, a North Korean Special Forces Officer, in the drama "King 2 Hearts," she studied martial arts roles and completed her own stunts without a double. For her role in the film "Sex is Zero," she learned advanced aerobics. For the film duelist, she learned Sunmudo, a Korean Buddhist martial art. She mastered boxing for the film "Miracle on First Street" and table tennis for the film "As One." For that role as the famous tennis player Hyeon Jeong Hwa, she spent three months being coached by the pro herself.

Despite sustaining injuries on set while executing her stunts, she has never let her injuries interfere with completing a film or drama.

In the same way as she has been inspired by Angelina Jolie's action films, the actress will yet inspire a new generation of female Korean action stars.