Song Hye-kyo stunned, forgets lines after her 1st slap in 26-year career

Going the extra mile for realism sometimes means that even veteran actresses like Song Hye-kyo will have to take one for the team.

In a press conference on Tuesday (Dec 20) for the new Netflix K-drama The Glory, Hye-kyo shared a moment where she received a surprising blow — in the form of a slap.

"In my 26 years of showbiz, this was the first time I was actually slapped," the 41-year-old told the media. "At that moment, I was so stunned that I even forgot my lines."

The culprit behind the palm-sized injury is actress Lim Ji-yeon, 32, who added that it was because the director had "instructed her to really put strength behind the slap" and hit Hye-kyo just once, so she committed to it.

Hye-kyo plays Moon Dong-eun, a victim of vicious bullying in school who becomes hell-bent on revenge. Her leverage? She's the homeroom teacher of her bully's child.

The bully Park Yeon-jin (Ji-yeon) is just one of the many that Dong-eun has in her sights, however.

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And Dong-eun isn't alone in dishing out glorious comeuppance — helping her out is Kang Hyun-nam (Yeom Hye-ran), a plastic surgeon with a troubled past who tries to get closer to Dong-eun.

Describing her character, Hye-kyo said: "Dong-eun is a woman with a damaged soul who has sustained many scars and traumas from the school violence in her youth. She's a character who isn't protected by anyone — not the school, her parents nor the police.

"She chooses death but then wonders, 'Why is it that only I have to die?' From that point onwards, she begins to plan a desperate revenge based on the notion that those who tormented her must be punished too."

The depth of understanding Hye-kyo has of her character has shown itself in her performance, The Glory's director Ahn Gil-ho also said, stating that Hye-kyo shares a synchronisation of "120 per cent" with Dong-eun.

Writer Kim Eun-sook added that she had goosebumps watching Hye-kyo's acting.

She also humorously said: "I better not become [Hye-kyo's] enemy. I'm now sure to take her phone calls before they even ring twice — you'll understand when you watch the show."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqVVrTvrI8U[/embed]

Writer Kim also shared the rationale behind the show and the title of "The Glory" and said that she had read many posts about how victims don't seek compensation from their bullies, but apologies instead.

"I wondered what there was to gain from a sincere apology," she began. "It's not [about] gaining something, but rather getting it back. 

"Amid violence, intangible things are lost, such as dignity, honour and glory. I felt that victims want an apology so that they could regain [what they've lost], so I made the title 'The Glory'. It's my attempt at uplifting victims of bullying like Dong-eun, Hyun-nam and Yeo-jung (Lee Do-hyun)."  

The Glory also stars Park Sung-hoon, Jung Ji-so and Shin Ye-eun. The series will also be released in two parts with the first half releasing on Dec 30 on Netflix and the second half around March next year.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com