Kim Hye-ja shares handwritten appeal ahead of “Still Shining” release

Kim Hye-ja has shared a handwritten letter ahead of the October 21 theatrical release of “Still Shining,” asking audiences to remember not only the suffering of its two girls but also their desire to live beautifully. She expressed hope that the film would leave a small light in viewers’ hearts.

Distributor Plus M Entertainment released the letter on the 15th, describing it as carrying “the radiant sincerity of beloved national actor Kim Hye-ja.” The actor had been scheduled to appear with director Song Il-gon at a stage greeting before a press screening at Megabox COEX in Seoul that day, but could not attend because of a cold. Her letter conveyed her reasons for choosing the film and the feelings she wanted to share with audiences and reporters.

“Still Shining” follows Sun-ok as she reunites after 60 years with Jeong-im, the best friend with whom she shared the most radiant period of her life. Kim Hye-ja plays the older Sun-ok in the film, which addresses the experiences of victims of Japanese military sexual slavery during Japanese colonial rule.

A letter about remembering suffering and the wish to live beautifully

“Standing before you like this today makes me a little nervous,” Kim Hye-ja wrote at the beginning of her letter. She said it had been a long time since she had made a film and felt it had also been a long time since she had stood before an audience who had come to see one. Thanking viewers for their valuable time, she explained that she had prepared the letter because there was something she particularly wanted to tell them.

She recalled words from a letter Song Il-gon sent her last autumn: “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.” Those words, she wrote, stayed with her for a long time.

“We must remember how much those girls suffered. But I also hope we do not forget how much they wanted to live beautifully,” Kim Hye-ja wrote, explaining that this was why she felt she should take part in the film.

She also shared another passage from the director’s letter: “What I hope for is not a performance in a single scene, but a moment when a human being’s existence leaves its mark on time.” Wanting to pass that sentiment on to audiences, she asked them not to regard the two girls they were about to encounter “merely as a scene from painful history.”

Kim Hye-ja wrote that some things disappear from memory unless people remember them. She said she believed even a small light from long ago could illuminate people again if they continued to hold it in their hearts, and hoped a small light would remain in viewers’ hearts, too.

Two friends in 1942 and a reunion 60 years later

The film begins in a mountain village in Gyeongsang Province, where Sun-ok and Jeong-im are inseparable friends in 1942. They share arduous work, cutting wood and digging up roots, while retaining their laughter, dreams and innocence. Park Seo-gyeong plays the young Sun-ok, and Choi Ju-eun plays the young Jeong-im.

The story moves between the girls’ lives and the present, when they are grandmothers. Alongside Kim Hye-ja as the older Sun-ok, Cha Mi-kyung plays the older Jeong-im.

The plot account cited in the source describes Japan, after starting the Pacific War, forcibly taking young men and women from Joseon, with those events eventually reaching the two girls in their remote village. The film explores their suffering, the time they spent together and the present-day life of Sun-ok as she remembers their friendship.

Directed by Song Il-gon, whose previous films include “Always” and “Spider Forest,” “Still Shining” connects its title and central friendship with the memories described in Kim Hye-ja’s letter: the pain the girls endured and the lives they hoped to lead.

A return to film nine years after “The Road”

“Still Shining” marks Kim Hye-ja’s return to the screen nine years after “The Road,” released in 2017. She began acting in 1961 as part of KBS’s first open-recruitment class of television actors and has since worked in film and television.

At the press conference, Song Il-gon linked that career to the perspective at the center of the film. “The film unfolds through the gaze of Sun-ok, played by Kim Hye-ja. It needed a warm gaze with compassion for human beings,” he said. “I hoped Sun-ok would join the countless warm characters Kim Hye-ja has built up over 65 years.”

According to Song Il-gon, Kim Hye-ja had wanted to rest and stop acting after her preceding drama, “Heavenly Ever After.” He said she wanted “to stay still like a wildflower in front of her house.”

The director described trying to persuade her on several occasions, sharing meals and discussing earlier filming experiences. He said it took a long time for her to find a reason to accept the role. In her letter, Kim Hye-ja explained that his description of Sun-ok had stayed with her and that she wanted audiences to remember the girls’ longing to live beautifully as well as their suffering.

Song Il-gon also praised her preparation, saying she repeatedly rehearsed her dialogue, pauses and gaze and had already become the character when she arrived on set.

He said he used close-ups extensively to hold on to the characters’ memories of their beautiful days. “I thought of this work as a portrait, so close-ups were important,” he said, explaining that he wanted to capture Kim Hye-ja’s face, expressions and the way she looked at someone. The film follows Sun-ok’s perspective, bringing together the actor’s portrayal of her present-day life and the story of the girls.

Cold prevents stage appearance; screening and press conference go ahead

The film’s team announced that the stage greeting before the press screening on the 15th had been canceled because of unavoidable circumstances. Plus M Entertainment said Kim Hye-ja had a cold, and Song Il-gon gave the same explanation at the press conference. The screening and press conference proceeded as scheduled, with the handwritten letter shared in place of her appearance.

Reports about her condition had also followed her Busan International Film Festival appearances. Kim Hye-ja attended the opening ceremony on October 6 and walked the red carpet with Song Il-gon. On the 8th, she attended an outdoor stage greeting for the film at Busan Cinema Center.

Reports showed her coughing and receiving support while moving. The distributor said she had mild cold symptoms and that her Busan schedule had been adjusted to take her age and condition into account.

Fellow cast members also discussed working with her. Cha Mi-kyung said she experienced becoming immersed in the situation alongside Kim Hye-ja on set. Choi Ju-eun said Kim Hye-ja encouraged her as filming began by telling her to do what she wanted.

Jo Seong-ha, who plays the mountain village’s headman, Kwak, described Kim Hye-ja as a living cultural treasure in acting and a precious treasure.

“Still Shining” opens in theaters on October 21. In her letter, Kim Hye-ja asked viewers to carry the two girls’ hopes alongside the memory of their suffering, wishing that their story would leave a small light in audiences’ hearts.

Read the original (Korean)