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The actress Ha Ji-won came close to despair while practicing the wide range of skills needed for her role as ¡°Hwang Jin-I,¡± a famous Chosun-era gisaeng or female entertainer, in a new KBS mini-series. Her head endured the leaden weight of a big decorative wig or gachae. Ha confessed to the suffering, saying, ¡°The gachae is too heavy. My neck is already stiff, although I¡¯ve only filmed three episodes. It¡¯s too painful to sleep.¡± Her fingers are blistered and bruised due to hours of practicing the gayageum, a 12-stringed Korean harp, and geomungo, the six-stringed zither at which the Chosun-era entertainers excelled. Ha is even practicing even tightrope-walking.
To keep up her strength, she is eating eels, which are believed to be good for stamina. And her pains are rewarded with a sense achievement: after all, she now has several skills she never dreamed of. ¡°I want to break away from the typical image of gisaeng and create a new one to win approval from women,¡± she says.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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