Actress Lee Na-young addressed the mystique that surrounds her.
On the morning of the 11th, at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Lee Na-young sat down for a wrap-up interview following the finale of ENA's Monday–Tuesday drama Honor: Their Court (directed by Park Geon-ho; hereafter Honor). She laughed and pushed back at the label: "If you meet me in person, don't you think I'm fine? When people actually see me, they say I'm fine — but once they leave, they still call me mysterious."
Asked about YouTube and social media activity, she said, "Watching people around me do it, I think it must be really exhausting. When and how do they even shoot all that?" She added, "The agency runs an Instagram account, so I'm prepared to handle that level of activity."
She said she enjoys reading other people's articles and interviews because they reveal how people live and what they think. Still, she admits she holds herself to high standards. "If I go somewhere and talk a lot, I'll later think, 'Did I really say that?' and cringe," she said. "I'm not used to that, so even though I like reading others' coverage, I sometimes think, 'Who am I to do that?' Those differing standards end up worrying me."
Lee Na-young, who broke a three-year absence from television with Honor, also reflected on that hiatus. "I wasn't just taking time off," she emphasized. "I kept working to fill out my inner life. I'll continue doing that through the end of March."
She said she even takes dance lessons as part of that process. "I don't stick to a specific style — I just go and tell them to teach me anything. It's exercise, and practicing in front of a mirror helps; those movements can aid my acting. So I try to internalize them," she explained.
Recently she learned the choreography for Zico's "SPOT!" featuring BLACKPINK's Jennie. "Of course I dance K-pop. I'm clumsy at first, but once it gets into my body..." she said. "I like nerdy characters and black comedy, and you never know when a skill will come in handy, so it's useful to learn different things."
Honor: Their Court follows three female lawyers who confront a past that has exploded into a massive scandal, propelling them into a mystery-driven pursuit. The series, adapted from a Swedish drama of the same name, concluded on the 10th to strong reviews.
Lee Na-young played Yoon Ra-young, the outward-facing messenger for L&J (Listen&Join), a law firm specializing in representing sexual assault survivors. She anchored the show with a sensitive portrayal of extreme emotional shifts — from defending clients' wounds while struggling to face her own, to finding the courage to stand up to perpetrators and vowing to prevent similar tragedies.
[Sogyeok-dong (Seoul) = Son Jin-ah, MK Sports reporter]
