Jung Eunchae’s trademark is long black straight hair and a big smile. She has an attractive appearance that goes well with both simple attire and high fashion. Her name is usually adorned with the modifier ‘mysterious’ or ‘elegant.’ Therefore, it is no wonder that she has been active as a muse for metropolitan and luxurious brands such as Estée Lauder, Boucheron, and TOD’S. Jung’s charms played their part from her debut film Haunters (2010). Youngsook, played by Jung, is the daughter of a pawn shop owner, where superpowers fight. In a cartoon-like atmosphere, Youngsook is a mysterious subject. She attracts the viewers’ attention with her picturesque looks and unexpected charms. In fact, Jung’s natural personality stands out when she plays a character that resembles her. In the nonfiction film Play (2011), which tells the autobiographical story of the Korean rock band Mate, Jung played Eunchae, which has some similarities to the actor herself.

The character Haewon in Nobody’s Daughter Haewon (2012), directed by Hong Sangsoo, is one of the characters that resembles Jung most, as the actor herself put it. Haewon, who hates lying and dreams often, appropriately moves back and forth between being cheerful and depressed, drawing attention of the audience. Jung has often mentioned that her role model is Charlotte Gainsbourg, and in this film, Jane Birkin appears and the two exchange conversations related to this. The unadorned performance of collaboration with writer-directors who accept improvisation like Hong Sangsoo and Zhang Lu (Ode to the Good, 2018) reminds us of the smart side of Jung who knows how to absorb and express the atmosphere of the scene.

Jung Eunchae has the advantage of being able to alternate between fine, clear energy and extreme splendor, activating different images of hers. In The Table (2016), she delicately expresses the psychology of a cautious woman at the beginning of love, and in The Great Battle (2017), she clearly stands out for her mysterious role as a divinity who foretells the rise and fall of war. Another forte she has includes her excellent command of English that she achieved while studying at CMS (the Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design) in England. Her next film is Pachinko, an 8-episode series produced by Apple TV+, based on a bestseller of the same name. It deals with the epic story about the four generations of Korean immigrant families. Lee Eunsun