Since the success of Netflix’s Squid Game, Korean actress and model Jung Ho-yeon has become one of the most popular and beloved Korean actresses among Filipinos. You can imagine our excitement when we learned she’d be flying to Manila to meet her fans! 

At the live press conference last Friday, November 11 at Marco Polo Ortigas, Ho-yeon had the opportunity to answer questions about her career, projects, and personal life. The press con was hosted by Sam Oh, who skillfully translated Ho-yeon’s answers from Korean to English and made the Q&A seamless! 

Ho-yeon expressed her excitement to visit the Philippines, especially because she noticed that Filipino fans ranked #2 among all her Instagram followers. Since her arrival, she’s been treated to delicious food (which she says is most important!) and is already looking forward to coming back. She referred to a Korean concept of saving images in your mind to look back on later — she wanted to save her memories of all the places, people, and anything in Manila in her mind. 

When asked where in the Philippines she would like to vacation, Ho-yeon answered that she’s heard of islands in the country where there are very few people. Her ideal Philippine vacation would be to visit a quiet beach where she can relax, go on a boat ride, look at the sky, and just do nothing! It would be the much needed break she deserves. 

Many of us know Jung Ho-yeon for her role as Sae-byeok or Player 067 from Squid Game. She mentioned that she and her character on the series have a few similarities: “More than [Sae-beyok’s] actions, it was this quality of being in a foreign country where she did not grow up, and living in a place with a different culture.” This is the aspect of her character that Ho-yeon found most relatable. 

The international success of Squid Game and praise for Ho-yeon’s performance has helped her land more acting projects — right now, she’s working on AppleTV series Disclaimer, A24 film The Governess, and Netflix Korea series Dak Gang Jeong, or Chicken Nugget. "My friends asked me, why do you choose food like Squid Game and then fried chicken?” Ho-yeon joked.

Ho-yeon said she wants to explore her range and try playing as many different kinds of characters as possible. “Maybe it’s because I’m adventurous, and greedy as well,” she said. In the process of taking on a new role, she takes her time to know the character, and then also takes time to not deal with the character at all. 

With her acting career taking off, Ho-yeon puts a lot of thought and effort into keeping herself grounded. She gets alone time to help herself process the situation and her feelings, then plans how to move forward. “I give myself that mental space and emotional space just to be by myself and process it,” she said. 

2022 has been an amazing year for Ho-yeon’s career, and she shared some of this year’s unforgettable achievements, including attending the SAG Awards and the Emmys. "I brought my mom to the Emmy awards! That was one of the biggest things that happened in my life." She also said working on Disclaimer is a big career win. “I had the chance to work with Alfonso Cuaron and Cate Blanchett. It was a magical experience in my career.” 

After the press conference, Ho-yeon took time to meet her adoring Filipino fans and hold another Q&A at the New Frontier Theater that same evening! 

Big thanks to Wilbros Live and I AM Worldwide for inviting us!