(The CEN News / Reporter Yang Hyung-ju) Actress Ha Ji-won delivered a striking comeback with her performance in ENA's Climax.
On March 16, in the ENA Monday‑Tuesday drama Climax, Ha Ji-won stars as Chu Sang-ah, an actress whose career imploded amid a tax-evasion scandal. She anchors the series from the start.
In the episode, Chu Sang-ah, keeping a low profile, attends a first‑birthday celebration hosted by her agency's co‑CEO. She endures rude requests from guests and masks her discomfort as she prepares for a return to the spotlight. A particularly tense moment comes when she forces a humiliating smile in front of Lee Yang‑mi (played by Cha Ju‑young), the WR Group matriarch and an entertainment powerbroker — a scene that underscores her desperation to reclaim her status.
Her dynamic with Bang Tae‑seop (Joo Ji‑hoon) is equally fraught. At the height of her career, Chu Sang‑ah entered a strategic marriage with Bang, a prosecutor from a modest background often labeled a "dirt spoon." They maintain the marriage despite conflicting interests. Later, she admits, "I thought we could go further, but this feels like the end — it's terrifying. I thought you'd be with me to the end," signaling a shift in their relationship.
In the episode's latter half, the series peels back Chu's inner life and past. After learning that junior talent Bae Yoon‑seong agreed to provide sexual favors to Mayor Nam Hye‑hoon, Chu rushes to the hotel to stop it. Confronting old trauma, she breaks down. A subsequent elevator encounter with Bang Tae‑seop raises the stakes for what comes next.
Marking her first TV role in four years, Ha Ji‑won makes a commanding impression. Episode 2 of Climax airs March 17 at 10:00 p.m.
Photo = ENA 'Climax'
(The CEN News) Reporter Yang Hyung‑ju press@mhns.co.kr
