Bae Suzy rose to fame simply as Suzy, debuting as a member of top girl group Miss A in 2010. In 2012, she reclaimed her last name when she caught her big break as an actress in the film “Architecture 101,” where she played the classic girl-who-got-away and earned the nickname “Korea’s first love.”

In her latest film, “The Sound of a Flower,” she plays a very different character from that early role. She becomes Jin Chae-seon, the first woman in Korean history who performed pansori -- a traditional Korean art that blends singing with theater. “Sound of a Flower” adds fictional dramatic elements to the elusive historical figure of Jin Chae-seon, telling the story of how she was able to break the glass ceiling in conservative the Joseon era.


 
“I’m Jin Chae-seon in the movie, but I think for a lot of people, my story overlaps with hers,” Bae said in an interview at a Seoul cafe Monday, noting that Chae-seon’s efforts to become a pansori performer were not unlike the struggles she faced to become an idol star.

“Of course, I didn’t have to go through the same historical situation. No one told me I couldn’t (become a singer) because I was a girl, but my parents were against the idea,” she said. 

Even after she was able to convince her parents to audition and start training with JYP Entertainment, Bae faced a slew of new troubles similar to Chae-seon when she began training with pansori singer Shin Jae-hyo (Ryu Seung-ryong).

“Some scenes make me choke up every time I see them, like the scene where (Chae-seon) is practicing voice projection in the rain, and she collapses,” she said. 

“When people are training (to become singers), they all have moments when they hit a wall. In those moments they just drop to the floor and cry a lot.”

The experiences of Bae and Chae-seon may have been similar, but their appearances create a jarring contrast. Bae appears in the film free of glamour, her face and clothes smirched with ash and dirt to realistically portray the orphaned girl who worked in a gisaeng (courtesan) house. 

“On our first day of filming, I saw myself with the makeup on and was a bit surprised,” she admitted. “But that was who Chae-seon was, and it was easier to concentrate on the role. ... I became goofier, more comfortable.” Bae also recalled a day when she was filming in the countryside, and none of the locals recognized her because of her costuming.

Bae said she enjoyed the different look, which was a shift from her solid “first love” image. 

“As someone who wants to keep acting in movies, (the ‘first love’ description) is something I have to move past,” she said. “If (‘The Sound of a Flower’) helps dilute that image even just a little bit, that’s a good thing for me.”

After taking a year to mostly relax after filming “The Sound of a Flower,” Bae is set to begin the KBS TV drama “Uncontrollably Fond” opposite Kim Woo-bin, scheduled to air next year.

“The Sound of a Flower” opens in local theaters Wednesday.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)