"Since you're a couple, your emotions are deeper, I think it's the end of every performance"... Kim So-hyun ♥ Son Jun-ho's 30th anniversary of 'Empress Myeongseong'

Mar 13, 2025

 'Since you're a couple, your emotions are deeper, I think it's the end of every performance'... Kim So-hyun ♥ Son Jun-ho's 30th anniversary of 'Empress Myeongseong'
Musical Empress Myeongseong Empress 役 Kim So-hyun and Gojong 役 Son Jun-ho. Photo courtesy of Acom



 'Since you're a couple, your emotions are deeper, I think it's the end of every performance'... Kim So-hyun ♥ Son Jun-ho's 30th anniversary of 'Empress Myeongseong'
Musical Empress Myeongseong Empress 役 Kim So-hyun and Gojong 役 Son Jun-ho. Photo courtesy of Acom
 'Since you're a couple, your emotions are deeper, I think it's the end of every performance'... Kim So-hyun ♥ Son Jun-ho's 30th anniversary of 'Empress Myeongseong'
Musical Empress Myeongseong Empress 役 Kim So-hyun and Gojong 役 Son Jun-ho. Photo courtesy of Acom
With the musical Empress Myeongseong celebrating its 30th anniversary, Kim So-hyun, who plays Empress Myeongseong, and Son Joon-ho, who plays King Gojong, shared their deep affection for the work and their feelings as husband and wife actors.

On the 13th, an interview commemorating the 30th anniversary of the musical "Empress Myeongseong" was held somewhere in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Musical parakeet couple Kim So-hyun and Son Jun-ho were present on the day.

Kim So-hyun and Son Jun-ho will be on stage together as a couple for the third time in this season's Empress Myeongseong. Kim So-hyun did not choose her husband as her counterpart on the 20th anniversary. It was because it was burdensome to be together as a couple. "However, as the season went on, there were many requests from the audience to see the couple act together, and since then, we have been together."




In particular, he recalled the moment when he sobbed while practicing the scene where his Empress Myeongseong died during practice this season, saying, "It touched me like a real thing when I watched my husband sing with his son during rehearsals. Although the background of the times is different, there are many moments when the emotional line approaches realistically as a couple.

Son Joon-ho also pondered a lot about the historical relationship between King Gojong and Empress Myeongseong."I wanted to emphasize that they were not just political relationships, but couples who loved each other."," he added. He tried to convey his sorrow as a royal couple on stage despite the comfort he felt when acting with his wife."

As an actor couple, the two do not spare feedback on each other's acting and singing. "Junho Jun-ho rather gives me a lot of coaching on acting and singing," Kim So-hyun said. "He tells me without adding or subtracting how the song was today and whether the acting was contrived."




He "I'm nervous, so my husband's advice is rather stimulating. When performing with other counterparts, we share feedback and develop our characters together." On the other hand, Son Joon-ho said, `I don't get much feedback from my wife. However, when you breathe on stage, you can quickly see the opponent's condition, so you can immediately supplement it,' he explained.

Starting with this performance, Kim So-hyun achieved 200 performances of 'Empress Myeongseong'. He added "It's not easy to play the same role for 10 years. But I always think that it's the last performance"For the audience, today may be the first and the last, so we have no choice but to do our best."

At first, he declined this role three times, but the production team's advice that 'Energy comes out the more you use it' gave him a boost to hold out. Kim So-hyun said "As the episodes go on, I feel more and more immersed in the character and closer to the character."




Kim So-hyun, who celebrated her 30th anniversary 'Empress Myeongseong', added that her perspective on history has changed this season.

He said "In the past, if we only focused on the character Empress Myeongseong, we can now look at the entire history as broadly as 'forest'. We have come to have a deeper understanding of 'what process our history has gone through.'" In addition, from this season, we tried to express the relationship between Empress Myeongseong and Gojong in more three dimensions." he said.

However, it is not easy for a couple to appear in the same work. Kim So-hyun said, "Knowing each other so well, I can instantly notice and supplement when the opponent is not in good condition. It is also an advantage to control your breathing naturally when you do a duet," he said, emphasizing the positive side.

There were also disadvantages. He has very little personal life. There are times when I feel uncomfortable because I know all the schedules. But there are many advantages."

In the interview, Kim So-hyun and Son Joon-ho were surprised by saying that their son Juan will watch 'Empress Myeongseong' for the first time. Kim So-hyun said, `I've never come to see my mother die on stage because I don't want to see her on stage. But now they say it's possible."

When asked what she would do if her son dreamed of becoming a musical actor, Kim So-hyun answered firmly, "Absolutely opposite." He said "I don't want you to take the same path because I know how hard a job is." On the other hand, Son Joon-ho expressed a different position, saying, `If there is a certain talent and passion, I will support you.'

Musical 'Empress Myeongseong' has been loved steadily for 30 years and has become a representative work of Korean creative musicals. Kim So-hyun "There are many audiences who have seen this work for 30 years. A granddaughter who was brought to her grandmother's hands is now being connected between generations with her granddaughter. It's really amazing."

He said "There are things that don't change as the work develops every season. The audience naturally shed tears in the scene where they sing the song "Rise, People". He emphasized the power of the work, saying, "It's because of the weight of history that we feel with our hearts even if we don't explain it."

Son Joon-ho also said, `The reason why this work continues to be loved is not simply because of its historical background, but because it contains values and spirits that we must protect.'Empress Myeongseong'I hope that it will develop into a more in-depth work in the future.'

Meanwhile, the 30th anniversary performance of the musical Empress Myeongseong, which is considered a masterpiece performance of all time, will feature Kang Pil-seok, Son Joon-ho, Kim Housing, and Hong Gye-hoon as Empress Myeongseong, and Yang Jun-mo, Park Min-sung, and Baek Hyung-hoon as well as Kim So-hyun, Shin Young-sook, Cha Ji-yeon, and Gojong, and will be performed at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul until the 30th.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.