Kim Tae Hee Talks About Upcoming Drama "Lies Hidden In My Garden," Working With Lim Ji Yeon, And More

Jun 04, 2023

Kim Tae Hee has shared her honest feelings about her first-ever thriller drama “Lies Hidden in My Garden”!

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, “Lies Hidden in My Garden” is a suspenseful new thriller about two women who lead entirely different lives. However, a suspicious smell in one of their backyards winds up bringing the two together in ways that they could never have expected.

Kim Tae Hee who is returning to the small screen for the first time in three years, will star as Joo Ran, a housewife who seems to have the perfect life, with a husband and son that anyone would envy.

When asked why she chose “Lies Hidden in My Garden” as her comeback drama, Kim Tae Hee explained, “It has been a long time since a project has made me so excited. I was intrigued by the idea of two female characters living different lives, each telling their own story, and then the exciting incidents that occur when they meet.”

She continued, “Personally, the genre felt a bit unfamiliar to me, but I found Joo Ran’s character very realistic and relatable, so I was drawn to the drama.”

As “Lies Hidden in My Garden” marks Kim Tae Hee’s first thriller since her debut, the actress talked about how she really feels about the thriller genre before further elaborating on why she chose to star in the drama. She revealed, “To be honest, I don’t usually watch thrillers. But I really enjoyed reading the script regardless of the genre, and as soon as I read it, I automatically developed a strong desire to play the character of Joo Ran in a way that viewers could understand and relate to.”

Describing her character in the drama, the actress shared, “Joo Ran lived as a doll for her mother during her childhood, suffered from guilt and trauma due to the sudden death of her sister, and then married her first love, Jae Ho (Kim Sung Oh), to start what she believes is a happy family. However, that belief is gradually shaken, and she eventually breaks all the molds that have been holding her back and grows into an independent human being.”

“I wanted to cheer on Joo Ran as she made that journey,” she continued. “So I approached the character of Joo Ran with the mindset that she is someone that we could easily see around us in our everyday lives.”

“The Glory” star Lim Ji Yeon will also be appearing in “Lies Hidden in My Garden” as Sang Eun, a victim of domestic violence who dreams of escaping her hellish reality. Sharing what it was like to work with her, Kim Tae Hee said, “Lim Ji Yeon was always serious and detailed when thinking about the character of Sang Eun, and as a result, she played Sang Eun in such a three-dimensional and realistic way. Thanks to Lim Ji Yeon, who was the essence of Sang Eun herself on set, I was also able to immerse myself in the role of Joo Ran more easily.”

On working with director Jung Ji Hyun for the first time, Kim Tae Hee recalled, “I received a lot of help from the director while on set. He gave me really detailed, but simple and specific directions. When I fell into a slump while studying art in college, I overcame that slump by doing detailed sketches, and working with director Jung Ji Hyun felt like doing detailed sketches.”

As for the key points viewers should look forward to in the drama, Kim Tae Hee commented, “Viewers can look forward to seeing the psychological changes in an anxious woman who is having a nervous breakdown when she meets a strange woman named Sang Eun. Veiwers can also look forward to seeing how the two women’s sharply contrasting characters and lives influence each other later on.”

She concluded, “It’s an eight-episode series, so you can think of it as watching a long movie. I hope viewers will enjoy it by focusing on the detailed psychological portrayal of the characters.”