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The Korea Times

By Lee Gyu-lee
New Korean original series The Silent Sea on Netflix was a much anticipated drama even before its release, thanks to the star-studded cast and actor Jung Woo-sung’s new role as an executive producer.
After premiering on December 24, the space series came third on the streaming site’s weekly list of most-watched non-English-language television shows.
“Nowadays a lot of series have eye-catching, striking elements, but The Silent Sea didn’t follow that equation. This series is like a whirlwind swirling amid the tranquillity,” the series’ lead actress, Bae Doona, said during a recent interview. “The reason I decided to join the series is that I felt the strength of following the characters’ emotion in such a tense moment.”

The sci-fi series, set in a dystopian future where resources on Earth have been depleted, revolves around a group of astronauts – played by Bae, Gong Yoo, Lee Joon, and Kim Sun-young – on a 24-hour mission to an abandoned research facility on the moon.
There to retrieve samples before permanently closing down the facility, the space explorers encounter secrets and unexpected events.
The Silent Sea: new Netflix K-drama the latest Korean sci-fi fail
The series is based on its director Choi Hang-yong’s 2014 short film The Sea of Tranquility.
Bae plays astrobiologist and ethologist (a scientist who studies animal behaviour) Song Ji-an, who takes part in the mission to find out more about the mysterious death of her sister, who was a researcher at the facility five years earlier.
The actress said she was drawn to how the series portrays the characters’ emotions.

“When I watched the short film, I thought the director took a very smart approach in making a sci-fi flick. I was awed, not by its technicality but how it followed people’s emotions,” she said.
“I’ve taken part in Hollywood’s futuristic flicks like Cloud Atlas so I wondered if it would be possible to make a sci-fi film with a limited budget. But I saw that director Choi could make it happen.”
Despite the limitations with turnaround time and budget, the actress is satisfied with how The Silent Sea turned out – though she also revealed that she felt pressure portraying her character.
#Iamhere: Bae Doona plays elusive love interest in French comedy
“The most difficult part was that Song’s role is to lead the audiences through the series. Song starts as a secluded person, but as the story develops, it unfolds from her perspective. So it felt overwhelming to portray her emotions delicately.”
Bae, who added that she enjoyed the experience of working in spacesuits, had a blast working with the co-stars.
“I liked it because [wearing a spacesuit] was a new experience … the good thing about being an actor is that I get to live different lives, which I’m thankful for,” she said. “At first, it was hard since the suit weighs a lot, but it became fun. It could’ve been so much harder, but the actors had such good chemistry on set, so we had a blissful time.”

Bae, who has more than two decades of acting experience, still likes to challenge herself with different roles.
“I don’t put limits in genres or have a set of roles that I prefer to play,” she said. “It can be a lead role or a supporting role. And I can take part in low-budget or independent projects or in a blockbuster. I aim to get my hands on anything that I want to do.”
Read the full story at the Korea Times


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To Bae Doona, portraying her character in The Silent Sea – who’s on a mission to the moon to investigate her sister’s mysterious death – felt overwhelming
Acting while wearing a heavy spacesuit was tough, the Korean star says, ‘but the actors had such good chemistry on set, so we had a blissful time’



Bae Doona reveals what it was like to work on Netflix’s new Korean original series The Silent Sea, the good things about being an actress and tackling challenging roles.


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