Counseling Helped Ha Ji Won Recover From Emotional Role

Actress Ha Ji Won devotes considerable physical and emotional energy to preparing for a drama or film role. She is known for taking on physical challenges such as learning to scuba dive or how to ride a motorcycle or even shadowing a world-class table tennis player to prepare for a role. The result is a very convincing performance where viewers find it easy to believe that she really is a North Korean Special Forces officer as she was in "King 2 Hearts" or the tough oil rig inspector she played in the film "Spector 7."

But the dark side of dedicating yourself so thoroughly to playing a character is that it can be hard to let go when the show is over.

On a recent episode of the SBS show, "Thank You," the actress spoke candidly about how she sought therapy after playing the character Cha Hae Joon in "Spector 7," and how the film continued to affect her emotionally long after it ended. Ha Ji Won cried when she related the experience that caused her to seek help.

 "I could not break away from the character I played," said Ha. "In 'Sector 7,' the monster dies, and all the people I love die and I am the only one left alive. For some reason, I could not break away from the pain of that character for quite some time."

After the film, Ha went to a script reading for her role as the stuntwoman Gil Da Ran in "Secret Garden." But it was hard to release Cha Hae Joon's pain.

"I could not break away from my other character, so the entire script reading was a mess," she said. "I knew I could not do it alone, so I went for professional help."

She was still distracted during her early days on the set of "Secret Garden."

"I found it hard to focus," said Ha.

Therapy eventually helped her realize that because an actor puts so much emotional energy into playing a role it's easy to feel empty when filming ends. Ha Ji Won learned that it was important to counter that empty feeling. Therapy helped her avoid a similar situation when playing future roles.

"I get very invested in my character and when the project ends, I realize just how boring my life is," said Ha. "So, now when I am between projects, I know to expect it and work hard to stay busy."