Seoul — The press conference for the upcoming Netflix special episode Kingdom: Ashin of the North starring Jun Ji Hyun was held online on July 20.
Writer Kim Eun Hee stated,”Could there possibly be another actress who is more suitable than Jun Ji Hyun, in Ashin? I am a big fan of Jun Ji Hyun and I always thought she was an actress with a wide spectrum. Jun Ji Hyun, who is also known as the queen of romantic comedy, played a dark and pained character in ‘Ashin of the North’, and it was cool. Ashin keeps her pain close, but I wanted her to look like a warrior who looked strong and dangerous on the outside.” Kim Eun Hee also expressed her gratitude toward Jun Ji Hyun for accepting her role offer, and said, “I wrote [the script] with Jun Ji Hyun in mind, but I was worried that she wouldn’t agree to appear.”
The actress said that she was a huge fan of the Kingdom series, as reported by Allkpop.
“I was a huge fan of ‘Kingdom‘. When I met with the writer in a private setting before I was offered the role, I told her I was willing to even appear as a zombie in ‘Kingdom‘. I am so thankful that she gave me such a big role.”
‘Kingdom: Ashin of the North‘ is a special episode of the Netflix original ‘Kingdom’ series, which tells the story of Ashin, the successor of the northern village of Yeojin, and the secrets of life and death. ‘Kingdom: Ashin of the North‘ will be released on July 23.
Born on October 30, 1981, Jun Ji Hyun, also known by her English name Gianna Jun, is a South Korean actress and model. She has received multiple awards, including two Grand Bell Awards for Best Actress and a Daesang (Grand Prize) for Television at the Baeksang Art Awards.
Jun rose to fame for her role as The Girl in the romantic comedy My Sassy Girl (2001), one of the highest-grossing Korean comedies of all time. Other notable films include Il Mare (2000), Windstruck (2004), The Thieves (2012), The Berlin File (2013) and Assassination (2015). She also starred in television series My Love from the Star (2013–2014) and Legend of the Blue Sea (2016–2017). Currently, she stars as Ashin in the Netflix series Kingdom (2020–present)./TISG