Actors Ham Eun-jung and Lee Ga-ryeong heightened expectations for "The Queen's House."

On the 13th, in the KBS1 program "Morning Yard," the "Tuesday Invitation" segment featured actors Ham Eun-jung and Lee Ga-ryeong, who have been collaborating in the KBS2 daily drama "The Queen's House."

"The Queen's House" is a revenge drama where a woman, who firmly believed in a perfect life, has her life entirely stolen from her. It first aired on the 28th of last month, recording a top viewership rating of 8.6% and is currently on a roll. In "The Queen's House," Ham Eun-jung and Lee Ga-ryeong play the roles of Kang Jae-in and Kang Se-ri, respectively.

Ham Eun-jung noted, "I go to shoot today as well, and it seems like I shoot 4 to 5 days a week. Sometimes we divide the weekly broadcast portion into one day or three days to shoot." She revealed her busy life, adding, "I have done KBS1 and KBS2. I alternated between daily dramas. KBS1 has a family-oriented atmosphere while KBS2 expresses the spicy flavors of life, so it's a mix of happiness, anger, sadness, and joy throughout."

Ham Eun-jung introduced her character in the drama, saying, "I am a diamond spoon ranked in the top 10 of the business world. It seems familiar, but it's a drama with a different kind of fun." Ham Eun-jung added, "My father has watched me in daily dramas a few times and said I look pretty. Even though he watches it every day, he says I look pretty, so I told him it depends on the role. It’s my first time in a chaebol family, and because it's an elegant role, I think that atmosphere comes out."

Lee Ga-ryeong took on the role of a villain. She said, "I am preparing to be scolded a lot. Isn't it good for a villain to get a lot of hate?" She laughed and added, "This is my first time playing a role that commits evil deeds. It wasn't easy to act out evil deeds. I will thoroughly trap Kang Jae-in in a predicament," and mentioned, "When I told my mother I was taking on this role, she said she understood, but after watching the first broadcast, she said I should now eat at home."

As it is a lengthy drama, attention is focused on its future direction and ending. Ham Eun-jung mentioned, "I receive synopses and know some of the storyline going in, but since it has more than 100 episodes, the actors typically don't know the ending and just go along with it." Lee Ga-ryeong shared, "The chemistry among the actors is very good. It's natural to feel unfamiliar at first, but we became very close from the meeting before the script reading," while Ham Eun-jung noted, "I thought Lee Ga-ryeong was stiff because I saw her in 'Marriage Composition: Divorce Composition,' but she listens well with a bright smile, which made me think she is very considerate, so I felt the drama would do well."

Ham Eun-jung, a graduate of Little Miss Korea, began acting as a child actor. She said, "I participated at the age of 8. Notices would go out to every neighborhood beauty salon for a competition where children could also be crowned Miss Korea, and Jang Geun-suk was there too. Children from all over the country came. I received the 'beauty' title among Jin Seon-mi, and there was a KBS producer among the judges, who proposed acting after I won. I was preparing for ballet at the time but wasn't allowed to do it, so I boldly appealed. It seems they liked that, and that's why I was offered to be a child actor."

Ham Eun-jung also worked as a child actor before joining the idol group T-ara. She said, "I never thought I would become a singer, nor did I expect T-ara to become popular. I was consistently working as a child actor, but my mother had a philosophy of 'let's do it steadily for a long time without drawing too much attention.' I have been active in everything steadily, but while filming a movie, the director suggested that I act for T-ara's agency. I joined that company at 19, but they told me to dance and sing. It was said that entertainers are the trend, so with a fun feeling, I started, and it became T-ara." Ham Eun-jung stated, "There’s not much difference between being an actor and a singer. The stage is about showing short performances in a fantastical way, while acting is about delivering performances in a longer breath. I want to be good at both and continue for a long time."

While continuing her acting career alongside her activities in T-ara, Ham Eun-jung is actively meeting with fans. She said, "As long as the script and the role are good, I don't distinguish between lead and supporting roles. In 'Even if deceived, a dreamlike reality,' I had a supporting role, but I was very happy since I had never played the role of a mother before and thought I could hone my acting skills, so I have no regrets."

Lee Ga-ryeong started her acting career as a commercial model and then as a minor role actor. She remarked, "Since I shot many commercials, casting directors asked me if I wanted to act in minor roles, and I thought of trying it as an experience on my day off, so I participated. Acting was not my major, so I thought it would be fun to go, and it was really enjoyable. I appeared in 'Gentleman's Dignity,' and even as a minor role, I got lines. After that, I did a few minor roles before starting acting earnestly."

Subsequently, Lee Ga-ryeong stated, "Becoming an actor unexpectedly from being a model, I was very lucky to get an audition opportunity and became the protagonist. It was a drama called 'Apgujeong White Night,' and I think the minor role in 'Aurora Princess' left a strong impression. But I was not prepared, so I couldn't do it with just confidence. It wasn't my place, so I couldn’t proceed. I acted as a friend in that drama. Then, I had another opportunity, and I became the lead in a different drama around the same time, but I had to drop out midway, which left me hurt. It was sad to leave after about 40 broadcasts, and there was a significant incident at the start, so I had a gap of 7 to 8 years."

After overcoming the gap, Lee Ga-ryeong met again with writer Lim Seong-han. She expressed, "This time, I truly thought I had to make it, so I endured for 7 years. Casting me in 'Apgujeong White Night' was a loss on my part, but I wanted to prove that the choice was not wrong, so I endured for 7 years. I thought I had to show it someday," adding, "I will also work hard to prove that my choice in 'The Queen's House' was not wrong."

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