At 85, Kim Hye-ja returns to film after turning down role 6 times

Kim Hye-ja returns to film as elderly Sun-ok in Song Il-gon’s “Still Shining,” which opened Wednesday and marks her first film in nine years. She accepted the role after turning it down six times, persuaded by the film’s focus on the victims’ youth, aspirations and lives before tragedy. The story follows Sun-ok and Jeong-im, friends separated in 1942 when Jeong-im is forcibly taken away.

Kim turns 85 on Oct. 25 this year.

The film’s teenage characters are played by Park Seo-kyung and Choi Ju-eun, while Cha Mi-kyung plays Jeong-im as an older woman.

Of the 240 victims officially registered with the Korean government, only five remain alive.

Kim missed the Oct. 15 press screening at Megabox Coex in southern Seoul because of a cold and sent reporters a handwritten letter explaining her decision.

“Still Shining” is rated for audiences 12 and older.

Published Oct 23, 2026 12:00 am KST

Kim Hye-ja / Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment

“I just want to be like a nameless wildflower.”

That was what veteran actor Kim Hye-ja told director Song Il-gon last year when he visited her home in Yeonhui-dong, western Seoul, to ask her to star in his new film.

Song, whose films include “Picnic” (1999), “Flower Island” (2001) and “Always” (2011), was developing a movie about victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, and Kim was his first choice for the lead role.

But Kim turned him down.

“I've never played a role like this before, and I'm scared, so I don't want to do it,” she said.

Song persisted, even writing her a lengthy letter. After six attempts, Kim finally agreed.

The result is “Still Shining,” which opened Wednesday and marks the actor's first film in nine years, since “The Way” in 2017. She turns 85 this year on Oct. 25.

A scene from "Still Shining" / Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment

What changed her mind was the way the film chose to remember the victims.

“Still Shining” follows Sun-ok and Jeong-im, two 18-year-old girls living in a remote mountain village in 1942. Played in their youth by Park Seo-kyung and Choi Ju-eun, the inseparable friends spend their days gathering firewood and wild greens in the mountains while dreaming of someday moving to Seoul. Jeong-im wants to become a singer, while Sun-ok dreams of running a theater company.

Then rumors begin spreading through the village that girls are being taken away under the pretense of employment at factories in Japan. The friends hide together in a secluded place, but their lives are abruptly torn apart when Jeong-im is forcibly taken away.

The film moves between the two teenagers and the women they become six decades later. Kim plays the elderly Sun-ok, while Cha Mi-kyung plays Jeong-im.

Sun-ok spends her life unable to escape the guilt of having survived while her friend was taken away as a so-called “comfort woman,” a euphemism for victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.

Yet rather than dwelling primarily on the guilt of those left behind, the film devotes much of its attention to the victims' youth, aspirations and lives before tragedy engulfed them. In imagined musical sequences, Sun-ok and Jeong-im sing and dance exuberantly, as if they had really made it to Seoul and fulfilled their dreams.

A handwritten letter from actor Kim Hye-ja, who plays Sun-ok in the film “Still Shining,” to reporters / Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment

That perspective ultimately persuaded Kim to accept the role.

Kim was unable to attend a press screening at Megabox Coex in southern Seoul on Oct. 15 because of a cold, but sent reporters a handwritten letter explaining her decision.

“We must remember how much those girls suffered,” Kim said. “But I also hope we don't forget how beautifully they wanted to live. That's why I decided I had to make this film.”

Director Song Il-gon / Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment

Song's letter to Kim also played a role.

“There was a line in the letter: ‘Sun-ok does not cry. She is someone who believes until the very end that the time she spent with her friend is still shining,’” Kim said. “Those words stayed with me for a very long time.”

“I hope people don't see these two girls merely as one painful scene in history,” she said.

A poster for "Still Shining" / Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment

Indeed, “Still Shining” seeks to bring victims of wartime sexual slavery out of the confines of distant historical tragedy and place them beside the audience as talented, warmhearted friends with ordinary dreams.

“Wartime sexual slavery is a subject that still needs to be explored from many different perspectives,” Song said during an interview at a cafe in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Monday.

Kim's portrayal of the pain carried by those who survived is restrained but powerful. Song said that once she decided to take the role, Kim immersed herself in the character to a degree that surprised even him.

“She never treated a single word casually,” Song said. “She repeated the line, ‘When did you get here?’ dozens, even hundreds of times as she searched for the character.”

He said he was particularly struck while filming Kim's final lines.

“I got chills, thinking, ‘How can someone make an expression like that?’” Song said. “It is the most beautiful close-up I've ever filmed.”

“Still Shining” opened Wednesday and is rated for audiences 12 and older.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

金惠子在宋一坤执导的电影《依旧闪耀》中饰演老年善玉，该片于周三上映，这也是她九年来的首部电影作品。此前她曾六次拒绝出演该角色，最终被影片对受害者青春岁月、抱负以及悲剧发生前生活的刻画所打动。故事讲述了善玉和正任这对好友在1942年被迫分离，当时正任被强行带走。

金正恩今年10月25日将迎来85岁生日。

影片中的青少年角色由朴叙京和崔珠恩饰演，而车美京则饰演成年后的贞琳。

在韩国政府正式登记的240名遇难者中，仅剩5人还活着。

金女士因感冒缺席了 10 月 15 日在首尔南部 Megabox Coex 举行的媒体试映会，并给记者们写了一封亲笔信解释了她的决定。

《依然闪耀》适合 12 岁及以上观众观看。

发布于2026年10月23日凌晨12:00（韩国标准时间）

金惠子 / 图片由 Plus M Entertainment 提供

“我只想做一朵无名的野花。”

去年，资深演员金惠子在首尔西部延禧洞的家中接受导演宋一坤的采访时，曾这样告诉过他，当时宋一坤邀请她出演他的新电影。

宋承宪曾执导过《野餐》（1999）、《花岛》（2001）和《直到永远》（2011）等影片，他当时正在筹备一部关于日本战时性奴隶受害者的电影，而金秀贤是他心目中主角的第一人选。

但金拒绝了他。

“我以前从未扮演过这样的角色，我很害怕，所以我不想演，”她说。

宋坚持不懈，甚至给她写了一封长信。经过六次尝试，金最终同意了。

这部名为《依然闪耀》的电影于周三上映，这是这位演员自 2017 年的《朝圣之路》之后，时隔九年推出的首部电影。她将于今年 10 月 25 日迎来 85 岁生日。

《依然闪耀》剧照 / 由 Plus M Entertainment 提供

改变她想法的是这部电影选择纪念受害者的方式。

《依然闪耀》讲述了1942年生活在偏远山村的两位18岁少女——善玉和贞琳的故事。朴叙京和崔珠恩分别饰演她们的少年时期，这对形影不离的好朋友每天在山里捡柴火、采野菜，梦想着有朝一日能去首尔发展。贞琳想成为一名歌手，而善玉则梦想着经营一家剧团。

随后，村里开始流传谣言，说女孩们被以去日本工厂工作为名掳走。朋友们躲在一个僻静的地方，但当贞琳被强行带走后，她们的生活突然支离破碎。

影片在两位少女和她们六十年后成为的女人之间来回切换。金饰演年迈的善玉，车美京饰演贞任。

孙玉一生都无法摆脱这样的罪恶感：她活了下来，而她的朋友却被带走，成为了所谓的“慰安妇”，这是日本战时性奴隶受害者的委婉说法。

然而，这部电影并没有着重刻画​​幸存者的愧疚，而是将大量笔墨放在了遇难者们的青春岁月、抱负以及悲剧降临前的生活上。在虚构的歌舞片段中，善玉和正任载歌载舞，仿佛他们真的已经抵达首尔，实现了自己的梦想。

电影《依旧闪耀》中饰演善玉的演员金惠子亲笔写给记者的信 / 图片由 Plus M Entertainment 提供

这种想法最终说服了金接受了这个角色。

金女士因感冒未能出席 10 月 15 日在首尔南部 Megabox Coex 举行的媒体试映会，但她给记者们写了一封亲笔信解释她的决定。

“我们必须铭记那些女孩遭受的苦难，”金说。“但我也希望我们不要忘记她们多么渴望美好地生活。这就是我决定拍摄这部电影的原因。”

导演宋一坤 / 由 Plus M Entertainment 提供

宋给金的信也起到了一定作用。

金女士说：“信里有一句话：‘善玉从不哭泣。她直到最后一刻都坚信，她和朋友共度的时光依然闪耀。’这句话我一直铭记在心。”

“我希望人们不要仅仅把这两个女孩看作是历史上一个痛苦的插曲，”她说。

《依然闪耀》海报 / 由 Plus M Entertainment 提供

事实上，《依然闪耀》试图将战争时期性奴役的受害者从遥远的历史悲剧中带出来，并将她们置于观众身边，使她们成为有才华、热情善良、拥有平凡梦想的朋友。

“战争时期的性奴隶问题仍然需要从许多不同的角度进行探讨，”宋先生周一在首尔市中心钟路区的一家咖啡馆接受采访时表示。

金秀贤对幸存者内心痛苦的刻画克制而有力。宋康昊表示，金秀贤一旦决定出演这个角色，便全身心投入其中，其程度甚至令他本人都感到惊讶。

宋说：“她对待每一个字都非常认真。为了找到合适的角色，她反复练习‘你什么时候到的？’这句台词几十遍，甚至上百遍。”

他说，在拍摄金的最后几句台词时，他印象尤为深刻。

“我当时浑身起鸡皮疙瘩，心想，‘怎么会有人做出那样的表情？’”宋说。“这是我拍过的最美的特写镜头。”

《依然闪耀》于周三上映，适合 12 岁及以上观众观看。

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。