Shin Min Ah addresses concerns over Western style of Disney+ K-drama 'The Remarried Empress'

Actress Shin Min Ah has addressed concerns about her upcoming Disney+ drama, The Remarried Empress.

On the morning of June 16, an interview with Shin Min Ah was held at a café in Seoul.

After the release of her thriller K-movie The Eyes, Shin Min Ah will be gracing the small screen with the upcoming Disney+ drama The Remarried Empress.

The Remarried Empress tells the story of Empress Navier (Shin Min Ah), the perfect empress of the Eastern Empire, who is divorced by her husband, Emperor Sovieshu (Ju Ji Hoon), and subsequently marries Prince Heinrey (Lee Jong Suk) of the Western Kingdom.

In keeping with the genre, the characters' names, looks, and even the setting retain their distinctly Western style — not localized for a Korean adaptation. As a result, from the moment the drama adaptation was announced, it drew a wave of concern and apprehension from many fans of the original work and prospective viewers alike.

Moreover, even after still cuts from the drama were released, public reaction remained sharply divided, with opinions split between strong approval and disapproval.

In response, Shin Min Ah said, "I think the series will probably be released around the end of October. As far as I know, it's currently in post-production, and [we] worked very hard on it there as well."

"I had a lot of worries before we started. But because we were constantly wearing those costumes and calling each other by the characters' names, it didn't feel awkward at all. So I think we'll need to see how general viewers respond once it's released. 

For us, everything has felt completely fine so far, but I'm curious about what the reactions will be like. Since so [many people have shown] interest in the project, I think the cast members also feel a certain amount of pressure, but I believe we all did our very best."

She also spoke about wearing the drama's Western-style dresses:

"I think people just get used to things. In the beginning, it was really uncomfortable, but I'm filming another project these days, and the clothes are so comfortable that, by comparison, I find myself thinking, 'Wow, that really was tough back then.' But wearing the dresses was fun too. Among ourselves, we'd say, 'When else are we ever going to get to wear clothes like these?' That, too, was a very special experience for me. The sets, the characters, the costumes, and even the names — it was all a really enjoyable experience."

When asked whether her decision to seek out more challenging projects reflected a change in her mindset over the years, Shin Min Ah replied, "I think there probably has been. It's not as though I'm the one creating these projects. I'm choosing from the works offered to me. But I've actually changed as I've gotten older. The Remarried Empress is also a story in which the husband takes a mistress, isn't it? If I had encountered a story like that when I was younger, I think it would have been emotionally difficult for me. 

But these days, I find myself feeling incredibly grateful for projects like this being offered to me. So just as I was thinking, 'I should work hard [so that I can] take on an even wider variety of projects,' many opportunities came my way."

She was also asked which title she preferred more, given that she has been active across genres as both a "rom-com queen" and a "thriller queen." Shin Min Ah candidly replied with a laugh, "When The Eyes is being released, I want to be the 'thriller queen,' and when I'm doing rom-coms, I want to be the 'rom-com queen.' I want to keep being a queen in every genre."

She added, "I've done a lot of rom-coms, so it's fun for me. I'm also very used to delivering everyday, conversational dialogue. But with thrillers or projects like The Remarried Empress, you have to establish and maintain a very specific tone [throughout], so they offer a different kind of enjoyment."

The Eyes is a suspense thriller that follows Seo Jin, who is slowly losing her eyesight due to a hereditary disease, as she investigates the suspicious circumstances surrounding her twin sibling's death.

The K-movie is scheduled to premiere on June 24.

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