'Climax' Star Ha Ji-won Says, "It’s Sad to See Choo Sang-ah Turn Into a Monster... I Don’t Feel the Need to Get Married"

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[The Financial News] Ha Ji-won has long been known as a leading action actress, holding the top spot with solid performances across genres, from comedies to large-scale historical dramas such as Damo (2003), Hwang Jini (2006), Secret Garden (2010), and Empress Ki (2013–2014). Now, in the 30th year of her career, she is drawing attention for yet another bold transformation. It comes through the ENA Monday–Tuesday drama Climax, where she plays one half of a look-alike "desire-driven" couple opposite Ju Ji-hoon.
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Climax, directed by Miss Baek filmmaker Lee Ji-won, is a thriller that uses this star couple as its axis to delve into the hidden sides of politics, business, and the entertainment world, as well as human desire. In the series, Ha Ji-won plays Choo Sang-ah, a top actress and the wife of prosecutor Bang Tae-seop (Ju Ji-hoon). Her character is driven by a fierce desire to survive as an actress and stay at the top. She engages in a melodramatic relationship with a same-sex lover and, depending on the situation, either bows to power or exploits others, constantly crossing the line between good and evil.
The line "I’d rather shatter than wither" encapsulates Choo Sang-ah’s personality in a single moment. To portray such extreme emotions and heightened situations, Ha Ji-won even lost about 5 kilograms.
Climax is also her first drama in four years since Curtain Call. Perhaps because of that, Ha Ji-won said during a roundtable interview held on the 6th in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, "I approached it with the mindset of a rookie actor."
She recalled, "When the release of Portrait of a Family, a film I worked on with director Lee, was postponed, I had time to look back on myself." She said she reviewed her life as an actor and tried to see herself objectively, reflecting not only on the moments when she enjoyed box-office success and love from audiences, but also on her shortcomings and limits in acting. "I examined myself so much that I even wondered if I should quit acting," she confessed.
Ha Ji-won said, "This project felt like a debut work to me," adding, "I had a strong desire to make the character of Choo Sang-ah understandable and convincing." Describing the role, she noted, "I once told the director that she feels like an actress who has only ever made the hardest choices." She went on, "Within those inevitable choices, her identity changes and she turns into something like a monster. I found that very sad and pitiful."
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Her perception of her profession and her attitude on set have also changed. "After all that soul-searching, acting actually became more fun," she said. "I realized how precious my job is, and there are now even more things I want to do going forward." She continued, "In the past, it was important that I personally did well, but now I watch how the staff move and really enjoy being on set."
Now in her mid-40s, Ha Ji-won also spoke candidly about marriage. "I’m not a staunch singleton, but I don’t feel the need to get married," she said. "Rather than a stable family life, I want to live an interesting life. There are still so many things I’m curious about and so many things I want to do." She added that her "desire to take on challenges is stronger than the wish to settle down and be comfortable."
Meanwhile, Ha Ji-won is set for another challenge with her first solo web variety show, Class of 2026: I’m Applying. The show follows Ha Ji-won, a graduate of the Department of Theater and Film at Dankook University, as she enters university again as a freshman in the class of 2026 and navigates a chaotic, comedic campus life.
jashin@fnnews.com Shin Jin-a Reporter