“I realized it after living it.
The trembling heart on stage, the burden that comes every day
“I realized that I could only endure it when I embraced myself as I am.”

Kim So-hyun, the representative musical queen of Korea.
From 2001's The Phantom of the Opera to 2025's The Last Empress, she has quietly maintained her own center, expressing her deep emotions and strong attitude toward life on stage for a long time.
People ask her.
Are you not used to the stage now? At that point, you should be able to act with your eyes closed.
But I say that is absolutely not the case.
The more you know the stage, the more unfamiliar it becomes, and the more familiar you become, the more fearful you become.
In a tense atmosphere where there is no room for familiarity to creep in, she says she braces herself at every moment.
Perhaps his life is like a stage, with an anxious and clumsy heart quietly wavering behind his calm face.

Until I accept myself as I am,
Actress Kim So-hyun shares her heartfelt life story.

Because of his personality that makes it difficult to say no, he readily says “yes” when a job comes in, and he lives each day, which is packed full of people, without rest.
Even so, love for family never takes a back seat.
She searches for information to get even one more thing, cautiously approaches her husband who suddenly feels distant, and narrows the emotional distance with affection and patience.
Sometimes, a carelessly spoken word can come back to haunt you, and belated regrets can fill a part of your heart with sadness. However, all those fragments of emotion eventually blossom into a will to move forward tomorrow.

Knowing that her career as an actress was not achieved solely through her own efforts, she never forgets to be grateful for the dedication and hard work of those around her.
And that heart is deeply embedded in every stage she has walked on and every work she has encountered.
Her husband, musical actor Son Jun-ho, who read her heartfelt letter, responded with a warm letter written carefully and with deep emotion.
The affectionate conversation between son Ju-an and mother Kim So-hyun as they look at each photo as if they were opening an old album gently touches the hearts of the readers.
In it, there is a gentle breath of life as a wife, a mother of a child, and a human being before being an actress.

Even when living in anxiety, actress Kim So-hyun quietly and faithfully cultivates herself.
This book breathes fresh air into our dulled senses with sentences that quietly point out the forgotten threads of life in the complex and awkward daily lives we all live.
I encourage everyone who takes one step at a time to find their own path, and I hope that their journey never stops.
While quietly cheering for all of us to finally live our lives as ourselves.

The me I dream of is quite different from the me I am now.
A person who thinks positively in any situation, makes courageous choices, and has no regrets.
A person who doesn't hesitate before making a decision, and can later say to himself, "I did well."
But in reality, I am anxious and timid every day.
Although I appear bright on the outside, I am full of worries on the inside, and sometimes I get through the day with a frozen heart.
There is always a gap between who I want to be and who I actually am.
--- From the "Prologue"

My father always told us to be strong.
They say that you need to be healthy in body and mind to gain the strength to navigate the world.
Following those teachings, I tried to become stronger myself.
Whenever difficulties arose, she always tried to solve them on her own, and she tried to be a strong eldest daughter, thinking that she had to protect her two younger siblings.
I worked harder as a daughter because I wanted to receive my parents' love, and I put all my effort into making my dream come true.
As a result, I neglected to take care of myself, and even though my mental immunity was weakened, I pretended not to be sick or in pain, and eventually I got sick.
--- From "Dad and Salt - The Power to Heal Yourself"

Despite her busy schedule, my mother raised us while juggling school classes, vocal lessons, childcare, and housework.
Seeing that, and seeing the older sisters who came to learn music, I naturally learned about 'a life of diligently working towards one's dreams.'
I didn't think it was a big deal, I just believed that was how we should live.
--- From "Mom and Music - The Magic That Makes You Do Anything"

But as we live, something called a ‘variable’ arises.
Just when you think, 'I'll never do that,' an exception appears.
As we get older, we encounter situations like this more often.
The more I do this, the more I am determined not to confine myself to a certain framework.
--- From "How to Create Miracles in Everyday Life _ The Courage to Discover a New You"

The most important thing in studying people is ‘observation.’
Observing carefully the person's speech, facial expressions, and every action.
Just as you immerse yourself in a role for a performance, you need to open your heart and take the time to understand people.
What's really interesting is that after going through that process, you eventually come to empathize with the reason why it 'had to be that way'.
--- From "Anna Karenina _ Studying People"

I've done many historical dramas with tragic endings, but "Empress Myeongseong" has a special meaning because it is based on our country's history.
Of course, I know that historians have sharply different views.
But I looked at her not as a queen, but as 'the human Min Ja-young' who was 'a mother, a wife, a daughter-in-law, and a daughter' and acted with her.
--- From "Empress Myeongseong _ A work I met as a human, Min Ja-young"

When I was a student, I had a habit of writing everything down.
Of course, when I was studying, and even when my thoughts were complicated, I opened my notebook first.
When memorizing English words, I had to write down the words and their meanings one by one so that they would stick in my head. Even when my mind was as complicated as a tangled ball of thread, I would jot down the first thought that came to mind and find a clue.
--- From "Wicked _ Reflection Notes"

Even if it's not a 'life's work' or a 'life actor' that will remain in someone's life for a long time, if there is even just one audience member who comes a long way to the concert hall to cry and laugh with me... I want to stand on stage until the very end, pouring all my heart into it.
--- From "Marie Curie 2 _ Thank you for sharing the lives of all the twinkling stars"

Perhaps, there may already be some 'answer' in the heart of the person who comes to us with his or her worries.
Maybe you bring it up because you're unsure and want confirmation, because you need someone to say, "Yes, you're right."
--- From "From there it's a noisy ride _ Between comfort and noisy ride"

If you just step outside the musical stage, you will discover that there is another world you have never seen before.
If you focus on just one thing, you'll eventually become greedy, you'll become disappointed in yourself for not doing well, and you'll even feel suffocated by the familiar routine.
But there is so much to learn when you step outside the stage and into the world beyond.

--- From "It's Not Dangerous Outside the Stage - Reasons for Appearing on Variety Shows"