Son Ye Jin Reacts To Her "Nation's First Love" Title + Says Hyun Bin Is Her Own First Love

Feb 16, 2022

Son Ye Jin talked about being called “the nation’s first love” on “You Quiz on the Block”!

It’s been a big month for Son Ye Jin: not only did the star announce her engagement to former “Crash Landing on You” co-star Hyun Bin last week, but her new drama “Thirty-Nine” also aired its highly-anticipated premiere last night.

Amidst all these exciting developments, the newly engaged actress appeared as a guest on the February 16 episode of the tvN variety show, where she looked back on her decades-long career and spoke candidly about getting older.

“I never imagined that I’d turn 40,” said Son Ye Jin, who just rang in her 40th birthday (by international reckoning) last month. “Even now, I still can’t believe my own age.”

The actress shared that back when she was in her twenties, she hadn’t been satisfied with her own acting, so she had hoped to turn 30 as quickly as possible—thinking that it would help her become like the older actors and actresses whom she looked up to as role models.

Revealing that she had dreamt of becoming an actress ever since middle school, Son Ye Jin recalled, “I had too many feelings and thoughts inside of me that I couldn’t express, and I thought that I wouldn’t be able to express them in another line of work. I wanted to express them through acting.”

When the hosts pointed out that she had worked consistently as an actress for over 20 years without taking any major breaks, Son Ye Jin explained, “Even if I really want to take a break and get some rest, if I see a great script, then I end up wanting to do it.”

As for what she considered the secret to acting in the romance genre, she replied, “I don’t think acting is divided into genres like romance, comedy, or horror. People who are good at comedy are also good at romance and action. But I do think that people particularly like it when I act in a romance.”

After starring in iconic romance films like “The Classic” and “A Moment to Remember” in the early 2000s, Son Ye Jin earned the nickname “the nation’s first love.” When asked how she felt about the title, she replied honestly that she wanted to hold on to the title for as long as she could.

“[Realistically,] how much longer would I be able to hear people call me that?” she asked. “I do want to hear [people call me that] for as long as I possibly can, since I won’t be able to hear people say that kind of thing anymore once time has passed. [By then,] I think people will come up with another nickname for me that suits my age.”

When the hosts asked her about her own first love, playfully commenting that they wanted to hear about “the first love of the nation’s love,” Son Ye Jin made a smooth reference to her fiancé Hyun Bin, replying, “My current love is my first love.”