Television Comeback
In Korea, divorce is still a big blow to actresses but Go is one of the few who've successfully overcome the stigma. She staged a comeback in the 2005 melodrama Spring Days, which she followed up with May–December romantic comedy What's Up Fox? and police procedural H.I.T.
Go regained her reputation as Korea's top actress in 2009 after playing royal concubine Lady Mishil in the hit historical drama Queen Seondeok. She was not the titular lead character, but her interpretation of the power-hungry main rival to the queen was impressive enough to make viewers remember the show as Mishil’s story. The drama reached ratings of over 40 percent and won her the highest award at the MBC Drama Awards and Baeksang Arts Awards.
That same year, Go surprised fans not only by appearing on a TV entertainment show (popular talk show Golden Fishery hosted by comedian Kang Ho-dong) for the first time in 15 years, but also by very frankly addressing rumors surrounding her shrouded personal life. Once notorious for declining to appear on entertainment programs other than dramas or films, she maintained a mysterious image for a long time. Her new easy-going, and down-to-earth attitude seemingly reflects a philosophical view of the many ups and downs in life. In interviews with print and online magazines, Go has even expressed her feelings towards her ex-husband and children.
Twenty-one years after making her acting debut, Go held her very first fanmeeting on June 13, 2010—she held a press conference beforehand, sang songs for the 500 fans present, answered questions, and prepared video clips.
Though plagued with production issues prior to airing, Go returned to television ten months later in Daemul, which means "big shot" or "big thing" in Korean. In the drama, Go plays Seo Hye-rim, an anchorwoman who enters politics after the death of her war correspondent husband and becomes the nation’s first woman president. The 24-episode series revolves around an ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances: how and why she became head of state and also the complicated schemes and plots surrounding her, her presidency, allies and enemies. Besides its star-studded cast (Go starred opposite pan-Asian actor Kwon Sang-woo), the show’s ratings was helped by its controversial plot, which included events from Korea’s recent past such as a presidential impeachment and the sinking of a Navy warship, and it topped its time slot for 11 consecutive weeks. Go repeated her feat by winning the top prize at the 2010 SBS Drama Awards. According to industry sources, Go was reportedly paid ₩55 million per episode, setting a new record for a Korean actress.
Read more about this topic: Go Hyun-jung
Famous quotes containing the word television:
“It is among the ranks of school-age children, those six- to twelve-year-olds who once avidly filled their free moments with childhood play, that the greatest change is evident. In the place of traditional, sometimes ancient childhood games that were still popular a generation ago, in the place of fantasy and make- believe play . . . today’s children have substituted television viewing and, most recently, video games.”
—Marie Winn (20th century)