Lee Hwi-hyang: "Middle schooler Park Shin Hye was slapped 30 times in one scene"

Actress Lee Hwi-hyang has revealed the behind-the-scenes story of the so-called "slapping scene" filmed with Park Shin Hye, who was a middle school student at the time, in the drama "Stairway to Heaven." She explained that to maximize the character's villainous nature, the scene was expanded with settings much more intense than the original script, a process in which Park Shin Hye had to be slapped multiple times.

Appearing on the MBN talk variety show "Kim Ju-ha's Day and Night" broadcast on the 22nd, Lee looked back on her 45-year acting career and mentioned memorable scenes from her past works.

During the show, Lee identified the common denominator among the actors she worked with as "actors who suited her well." She recalled a specific instance involving Park Shin Hye in the SBS drama "Stairway to Heaven," which aired in 2003.

At the time, Park Shin Hye played the child version of the character Han Jeong-seo. Lee delivered a powerful villainous performance as Taemi-ra, who showed harsh attitudes toward Han Jeong-seo.

According to Lee, the original script only set the scene as a simple "slap." However, to express the character's wickedness more strongly, she consulted with the production team and changed the single slap into a sequence of multiple slaps.

The issue lay in the filming method. As repeated takes were required to capture the same scene from various angles, Park ended up actually receiving a significant number of slaps.

Lee recalled, "Middle schooler Park Shin Hye was hit about 30 times." She added that immediately after filming ended, she hugged Park out of guilt.

"Even though her cheeks were red and swollen, she said she was okay," she confessed. "When we met again at the airport after time had passed, feelings of apology came to me before the joy of seeing her."

The scene remained a strong memory for both actresses even after time had passed. Park also appeared on tvN's "You Quiz on the Block" last January, recalling the filming and stating, "I did get hit a lot." However, she showed consideration for Lee by adding, "I worry that the teacher might feel uncomfortable whenever the video is brought up."

'Stairway to Heaven' gained great popularity at the time due to its high viewership rating and intense melodramatic narrative, and Lee left a strong impression by densely constructing an extreme villain. In particular, villainous acting in dramas at that time was often designed to maximize the contrast between good and evil, and physical confrontations or violent scenes were used relatively more frequently than they are today.

However, filming methods that were conventionally accepted in past broadcasting production environments are being re-evaluated over time from the perspective of actor safety, human rights, and ethics on the filming set. How to reduce the physical burden actors must endure during the process of repeatedly filming the same scene is an issue treated with greater importance in today's video production sites.

For Lee, the scene was an acting choice to increase the intensity of the villain, but even after time has passed, it remains a source of apology toward her young junior actress. Conversely, as Park showed understanding of Lee's feelings, it demonstrated that a special emotional bond between senior and junior actors continues even after a long time.

Lee, who has continued her acting career for nearly 45 years, has recently been expanding her field of activity across various genres and media. She is scheduled to meet audiences on the big screen through the film "Family Trip," which is set to be released this September.