SOUTH KOREA: Young Korean actress considered the "nation's little sister" wants to grow up

Record ID: 522842

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: Young Korean actress considered the "nation's little sister" wants to grow up
  • Date: 4th January 2007
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (DECEMBER 16, 2006) (REUTERS) SOUTH KOREAN ACTRESS MOON GEUN-YONG ARRIVING FOR INTERVIEW SOUTH KOREAN ACTRESS MOON GEUN-YONG DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) ACTRESS MOON GEUN-YONG, SAYING: "Because I am a girl now, it is only fair for people to see me as a girl. But as time goes by, I believe I will become a real woman who understands sorrow, love and pain, rather than being innocent or girlie."
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2007 12:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVA3BGBEA5BRFCSP2DG3LQM8MJTW
  • Story Text: South Korea's 'little sister' wants to grow up -- she only hopes the country will let her.
    Moon Geun-young, 19, became the biggest teen star in the country by playing a schoolgirl in a sentimental TV drama in 2000 called "Autumn in my heart" -- that was a hit both at home and in other parts of Asia.
    Since then she has been a box office hit in movies such as "My Little Bride" and "Innocent Steps", where she plays a girl from China who heads to South Korea to become a dancer.
    She has also been the country's most sought-after celebrity for advertisers who want to cash in on her sweet, innocent and a slightly feisty image.
    It's almost impossible to spend a day in South Korea and not see Moon, dubbed the "nation's little sister", who appears on a seemingly endless litany of billboards, TV commercials and magazines.
    "Because I am a girl now, it is only fair for people to see me as a girl. But as time goes by, I believe I will become a real woman who understands sorrow, love and pain, rather than being innocent or girlie," said Moon.
    In the past few months, Moon has tried to show a more mature image, appearing in a racy ad for a mobile phone company and taking on the role of a young woman in a movie called "I Don't Need to be Loved", which stumbled at the box office.
    Moon herself doesn't feel that she's growing too fast or is showing too much in a short period.
    "I believe in myself, that I have limitless potential inside to show people, which makes me capable to change myself and have different images. That's why I want to reveal my talents step by step and slowly," said Moon.
    In Seoul, people showed different opinions about the "nation's little sister" change of image.
    Some residents are pleased to see their little actress turn into a sexy and mature woman.
    "Now she's all grown up, so it's okay for her to act in an adult role breaking from the past image as the 'nation's little sister,'" said 29-year old Ahn Mi-jung.
    Some feel uncomfortable in accepting the fact that their little actress' cute and innocent look is starting to be a thing of the past.
    "It is a little pity (that she's being changed), and even her make up suddenly got too thick," said 41-year old Park Hyun-jung.
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