"Squid Game" is on fire, and along with it, there is also the actor Zheng Haoyan who plays Jiang Xiao.
On the platform of ins, Jeong Ho-yeon has become the hottest Korean actress in 2021, and the limelight even overshadows the goddess Song Hye-joo.
Speaking from the heart, Zheng Haoyan does not belong to the beauty of the public's eyes, in addition to the height of 176 cm, it is difficult to find other highlights.
However, it is such a not too beautiful girl who not only successfully won the protagonist of this global hit TV series, but also gained 20 million fans in a short period of time.
How exactly did she do it? What kind of story is behind it? Let's find out.
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Jung Ho-yeon was born on June 23, 1994 in Jeong Mong-dong, Joong-roon,Joong-yong, Joong-yong, South Korea, to a family of three children.
Due to her tall stature from an early age, Zheng Haoyan decided to follow her inner thoughts after graduating from high school and went to Tongde Women's University to study, majoring in modeling.
At that time, she was very simple in her heart, and when she chose a major, she just wanted to find a job after graduation in order to support herself, "Oh, I'm very tall, so why not try to be a model?" ”
Dongdeok Women's University, located in Seoul, is a private school founded in 1950 and has international exchange agreements with 23 institutions in 10 countries, where Kim Ji-yeon, a member of the "Cosmic Girl" group, studied.
In 2010, at the age of 16, Jung Ho-yeon officially debuted and began her career as a freelance model, starting to participate in fashion shows in Seoul.
Because of her mediocre appearance and the lack of an agency behind her, it is difficult for her to get a good opportunity to show off, and she can only participate in some eighteen-line small catwalks.
In 2011, Jung Ho-yeon plucked up the courage to sign up for the reality show "Korea's Next Supermodel", and after fierce competition, she stopped in the top 30.
In the second year after being eliminated by the reality show, Zheng Haoyan was painfully determined, and felt that it was not far to fly alone, so she began to look for a suitable brokerage company.
After some contact, she felt that ESteem Models was quite reliable regardless of fame and strength, and after weighing it, she signed a contract with the other party.
With the help of the agency, Jung Ho-yeon made a comeback and successfully reached the final round of the "Korean Supermodel" competition in 2013, and finally won the runner-up.
In addition to participating in the model competition, the agency also spent blood to cultivate Zheng Haoyan and strive to build her into a multi-faceted development talent.
In 2014, South Korea's "god of vocal music" Kim Hak-chul released his latest song, and fans found that there was a shadow of Jeong Ho-yeon behind it.
In addition, a well-known Korean magazine, such as Vogue, Elle, etc., has published her photos.
In 2016, Jeong Ho-yeon, who longed for a bigger market, decided to leave South Korea and go to New York alone.
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When she first appeared on the international stage, Zheng Haoyan dyed her hair red and appeared as a "red flame" in the casting of many competitions in New York, which became a symbol of her early international career.
In September 2016, at the opening ceremony of New York Fashion Week, Zheng Haoyan officially appeared at the international fashion show, felt the "click" of countless cameras, and "red-haired Asians" began to emerge.
Because of her excellent performance at the opening ceremony, she was invited to an interview with the well-known fashion designer Alexander, but the interview was not successful.
After making a name for itself at New York Fashion Week, the invitations poured in, including well-known brands in the United States, britain, Italy and other countries.
Louis Vuitton, the veteran French luxury company, of course, has a simple but louder name: LV, who has long had a fondness for Zheng Haoyan, and has spent thousands of dollars plus stalking to sign her as an exclusive model.
When Zheng Haoyan first debuted, a website dedicated to collecting models selected her as the "best newcomer", and the next year, realizing that the new person was no longer new, the website updated the original honor to "best 50 people".
At the 2019 Asian Model Contest, she won the Asian Star Award, and her photos have appeared on the covers of magazines such as "Korean Fashion", "Fashion Japan", "CR Fashion Book" and so on.
It can be said that before starring in "Squid Game", Zheng Haoyan had already taken countless honors on the road of modeling.
Despite her honors, Jeong Ho-yeon did not show off her wealth and Versailles like an "upstart", but was as humble as ever, and as usual, she would fly back to South Korea for acting classes during the holidays, staying for three months.
In order to improve her performance level, she also found a special person to teach her English, like a student holding a textbook and listening carefully to the lesson.
"I learned more English because I wanted to really learn acting."
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In 2020, Jeong Ho-yeon, who was still preparing for Fashion Week in New York, received a phone call from someone on the other end who introduced herself as the director of the Squid game and hoped she would audition for one of its characters.
After getting the script, Zheng Haoyan was excited, and during that time, in addition to eating and sleeping, the rest of the time was spent reading the script, and even dreaming about the plot in the script.
The reason why I am so excited is that I can have the opportunity to realize my dream of becoming an actor, and the other is that the roles in the script are very similar to my own experience, which is simply playing myself.
She gets the role of a "defector" who needs money to support her brother and return to North Korea to find her lost mother.
Defectors refer to those who do not adapt to the system and living environment of north Korea and leave north Korea for other countries through irregular means, and later refer to all those who have escaped from north Korea.
Playing such a role as a "defector" is destined to part ways with emotions such as cheerfulness, and it is best for the actor to have a bit of a lonely and lonely experience, just when Zheng Haoyan meets the requirements, which is why she was selected.
All along, despite hiding herself very strongly, Zheng Haoyan has inadvertently shown her scars, allowing people to glimpse the pain here.
Once, in an interview with reporters, when asked the question of "what things would you rather forget?", she did not answer directly, but said a person: "ex-boyfriend", the hurt of this relationship to her is self-evident.
When she first left South Korea for overseas development, she was alone in a foreign country, and the deepest emotion she felt was "loneliness".
One person flies, one person lives in a hotel. When you are happy, you can't share it with others, and when you are wronged, you can't find a place to talk, you can only drink a glass of wine, and then encourage yourself to become stronger.
All of the above, many of which are similar to the experience of the role of "Jiang Xiao" in the play, which is also the basis for her to dare to take over the script, "Most importantly, I think I can accept it without difficulty, because I am very similar to her." ”
Therefore, after passing the video interview, unable to resist the director's warm invitation, Zheng Haoyan flew back to South Korea for the interview and passed on the spot.
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During filming, in order to better integrate into the role of "Jiang Xiao", a defector, Zheng Haoyan first watched a large number of north korean defector documentaries and carefully studied the living environment of the characters in it.
Not only that, but she also asked true defectors to learn their dialect of the Northern Dynasty Province of Gyeongjuk, and practiced word by word, trying to speak Korean fluently.
Accents and living habits are taught, and the loneliness in the character's heart can only be experienced by himself, and then interpreted in the lens.
In order to shape the loneliness in "Jiang Xiao"," Zheng Haoyan began to recall the days when she had just left South Korea over and over again, hoping to find resonance in this experience.
In addition to this, she also made a move: to write a diary as a character, because it could really feel the emotions of the character and the mask she tried to wear on her face.
Thanks to Zheng Haoyan's efforts, "Jiang Xiao" will be portrayed so successfully that this role will be heatedly discussed after the broadcast.
The effort has finally paid off, and heaven will still pity this girl who has been paying silently.
With this TV series with more than 110 million views, Zheng Haoyan, who shot a TV series for the first time, began to become popular and gained a lot of popularity.
In October 2021, LV was once again offered a contract to appoint her as a global brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton fashion, watches and jewelry, making her the envy of all.
Because her debut is so brilliant, people are looking forward to her second work. In an interview, a reporter from Time magazine asked the question, "How do you plan to divide your time between acting and modeling projects?" ”
Zheng Haoyan's answer is that "there are no definite plans at the moment", whether she is a model or an actress, she only hopes to work with people she trusts and feels comfortable, and nothing else has been thought of.
At the same time, she also said that over time, people will have their own definition of Zheng Haoyan as an actor, and people can define me as such a person, an actor.
"I'm happy to accept that definition"
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Successful people always hide in the corner and suffer, and then receive applause in the spotlight, and Zheng Haoyan is no exception.
Without the model foundation laid before, she is destined to return to New York Fashion Week; if there is no perseverance in filming, it will not be possible to become a hit in the future.
People who have worked hard will always have a better life than before they did not work hard, and this is why people struggle.
Because life is always fair, how much to give, how much to get, impartial.
Isn't it?