‘The Glory’: Shin Ye-eun Lost Followers Portraying the Younger Version of the Main Bully
Not only did The Glory K-drama have an outstanding cast of adult actors, but the actors playing their teen character versions are also rising stars. Jung Ji-so starred as the teen version of Dong-eun, while actor Shin Ye-eun played the heinous bully Yeon-jin. Since The Glory’s global fame, Shin Ye-eun revealed how it had changed her life.
A teenage Yeon-jin was the thing of nightmares in ‘The Glory’
Most of The Glory focuses on actor Lim Ji-yeon as the adult Yeon-jin. Throughout her role as the heinous bully, the actor convinced fans to loathe her character. The Glory actor revealed that staying in her character’s mindset for hours made her cranky at the world. Fans can only imagine as Yeon-jin became Dong-eun’s nightmare that changed her life.
While fans quivered over Yeon-jin’s evil tendencies in the K-drama, they also feared the teen version. Both versions of the character were ruthless, but the teen Yeon-jin had an even greater inferiority complex. In The Glory, flashbacks reveal how sinister she truly was, with no regard for her victims beyond seeing them as entertainment.
One of the K-drama’s most brutal scenes was when Dong-eun is burned with a hot curling iron. Why? Yeon-jin wanted to see if it was hot enough to use. Fans could feel Yeon-jin’s dark soul and promising threats with one gaze alone. As a teen, Yeon-jin got away with her torture and was never punished by authorities or adults. Fans will agree that The Glory casting team did a perfect job finding the right actors to play the teen characters, so perfectly that Shin Ye-eun faced some repercussions.
Shin Ye-eun revealed fans became scared of her after ‘The Glory’
While appearing on My Little Old Boy variety show, actor Shin Ye-eun discussed the global success of The Glory. To emphasize how perfect Shin was as the teen version of Yeon-jin, the host had her reenact her more famous line. It is a line that had everyone in attendance shivering with fear. The scene is from the first half of The Glory when Dong-eun returns home and finds Yeon-jin and the others waiting for her.
Yeon-jin said with a sinister smirk, “Why are you so late? I missed you to death. You know, Dong-eun. Can you go and check the temperature of the hair iron?” Actor Shin said the line with an empty expression and dead eyes. Many would mistake her for the real deal, as the variety host notes that actor Lim had received many messages about the hair iron from fans since the K-drama debut.
Shin explains that her agency warned her she would become popular after The Glory. She was a bit excited to receive new followers, but her outstanding acting also had a few drawbacks. “Many people said that they don’t want to see me smile and they don’t want to see my face,” explained the actor. “People actually unfollowed me.”
But the mothers on the show and the hosts made her feel at ease by commenting that it meant she had achieved true success. A dedicated actor who manages to convince fans they are their on-screen character means they have talent.
‘The Glory’ actor currently stars in a romance K-drama
After The Glory, Shin’s current role drastically differs from her bully character. Having premiered on March 20, she stars as the female lead in the historical romance The Secret Romantic Guesthouse. As Yoon Dan-o, the character enjoyed the stress-free luxuries of being the youngest daughter. But she now runs Ihwawon Inn to provide for her family.
The inn caters to scholars who come to town to take their exams to become ranking officials. Some of her patrons are Kang San (Ryeo Un), Kim Shi-yeol (Kang Hoon), and Jung Yoo-ha (Jung Gun-joo). Her life changes when she is offered to get rid of the inn’s debt if she helps find the oldest song of the deposed crown prince. She and the others guest work to find the missing man.
Before The Glory and The Secret Romantic Guesthouse, Shin gained fame for her role in the revenge K-drama, Revenge of Others. She also played the role of Da-eun in Yumi’s Cells Season 2.
