Actor Shin Sae-kyeong admires her character's 'strong will to live' in action film 'Humint'

Actor Shin Sae-kyeong [THE PRESENT COMPANY]

 
Actor Shin Sae-kyeong said she was drawn to the strong will for survival embodied in her character — a trait that diverges from her naturally careful and timid disposition — in the upcoming action film “Humint.”
 
“I really enjoy playing strong female characters,” said Shin during an interview with reporters at a cafe in central Seoul on Monday. “Because I get scared easily and am innately cautious, I think that there’s a part of me that wants to take on such roles.”
 

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She described her latest character as possessing “the strongest will to live” among all the roles she’s played.
 
Directed by renowned director Ryoo Seung-wan, who also helmed films such as “Veteran” (2015) and “The Berlin File” (2013), the action spy film revolves around the tension between South Korean intelligence agents and North Korean officials as they investigate a crime near Russia’s Vladivostok border. The title, “Humint,” is short for “human intelligence” and refers to intelligence gathered through human sources.
 
The film features a star-studded cast. Shin plays Chae Seon-hwa, a waitress at a North Korean restaurant in Vladivostok who becomes a key source of information. Actor Zo In-sung stars as manager Zo, an agent from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, and Park Jeong-min as North Korean official Park Geon. Park Hae-joon portrays North Korean Consul General Hwang Chi-sung.
 
Playing a Pyongyang native means that Shin had to master a North Korean dialect — a first in her career. She described the process as particularly challenging because there were “no shortcuts.”
 
“I tend to be [...] intimidated by new challenges, and every project feels like one to me,” she said. “Some people may not see this as a big deal, but for me, each role carries a certain weight. And this time, having to use a dialect made [the experience] even more nerve-racking.”
 
To prepare, she consistently trained with a dialect coach, listened to audio recordings of native speakers and reviewed her performance until the accent felt natural. She even incorporated the dialect into a song performed by her character, which she sang herself.
 

Still of actor Shin Sae-kyeong in director Ryoo Seung-wan's action film ″Humint″ [NEW]

Actors Shin Sae-kyeong, left, and Park Jeong-min in a still from director Ryoo Seung-wan's action film ″Humint″ [NEW]

 
Shin was also initially worried about a grueling waterboarding sequence, in which water is poured over her character’s face as a means of torture.
 
“I’m extremely scared of water,” she said. “It isn’t easy for me to even put my face into a bowl of water, so when I first received the script, though I found everything about it incredibly compelling, I was also afraid of whether I’d be able to pull that scene off.”
 
“It may seem like a brief sequence, but I felt a lot of pressure to execute it well,” she added. “Fortunately, a stunt double was on set to ensure that the shoot was conducted safely, and I was able to film the scene without any issues.”
 
While “Humint” delivers highly intense action, it also weaves in a poignant romance between Seon-hwa and Park Geon. As the story unfolds, Zo and Park Geon risk themselves to protect Seon-hwa, both as an intelligence source and as someone with whom they share a complicated past.
 
Shin described watching those moments on screen as “heart-fluttering,” adding that portraying such an emotionally charged love story will remain a lasting memory.
 
As most of the film was shot overseas, Shin shared that the cast formed a sense of camaraderie by the end of filming, becoming more like neighbors to one another than colleagues who return to their own individual lives once work is done.
 

Actor Shin Sae-kyeong [THE PRESENT COMPANY]

 
“Promoting the film is still part of our job,” she said, “and I’m fully aware of that. But maybe because we spent so much time living and working together, it also feels like I’m seeing people I’ve missed.”
 
She then confessed, “If I don’t see them for a while, I find myself wondering how they’re doing.”
 
Now nearly three decades into the entertainment industry, Shin said she has reached a point in which she feels “grateful instead of anxious” about her career.
 
And though she describes herself as timid and cautious in real life, she hopes to one day take on a role that stands in stark contrast to her personality.
 
“I want to play a character who expresses their emotions without restraint,” she said. “Of course, there would have to be a clear reason behind their behavior, a convincing motivation for why a character would go that far.”
 
The action thriller film “Humint” will hit theaters on Wednesday.


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]