[OSENWORLD] Kim Go-eun has shared that, like her character in Netflix’s You and Everything Else, she would not hesitate to accompany a real friend if they chose assisted death.
In the drama, Eun-jung (Kim) endures two painful farewells — first to Sang-hak (Kim Jae-won), her secret love, and later to Sang-yeon (Park Ji-hyun), her closest companion since youth.
Reflecting on these moments, Kim explained the difference between the two goodbyes. “Sang-hak’s death came so suddenly to young Eun-jung. She didn’t even understand why, and she had no chance to say the things she wanted to say. Those regrets likely stayed with her throughout her life,” she said. “With Sang-yeon, it was different. Eun-jung had time to prepare herself. When she went to Switzerland, she resolved not to cry in front of her. I felt the same, both as myself and as Eun-jung — this time, she could give something back.”
Asked directly if she would accompany a friend in such circumstances, Kim replied without hesitation: “I would go.”
She linked this conviction to her own past, recalling the six years she lived with her grandmother: “From my first year of college until after Cheese in the Trap, I lived only with my grandmother. We were closer than most, more like friends than family. She even told me things she never shared with her daughters. Sometimes we would have makgeolli together.”
Kim also described her grandmother’s final days. “When she was dying, I stayed at the hospital for three nights straight because I wanted to be there at the end. But she passed while I had dozed off, and my father woke me to tell me she was gone. It reminded me of a scene in Unknown Seoul. A few days earlier, she whispered what felt like a will in my ear: ‘Go-eun, live generously. Help others and give as much as you can.’ I whispered back to her too. Even though I missed the exact final moment, being by her side for three days still feels like a blessing.”
She added with quiet reflection: “Of course it’s sad when I think of it, but the good memories outweigh the pain. I feel peace knowing I was able to accompany her until the very end. You and Everything Else is really the story of the one left behind. At the time, it was unbearably hard — even flying back alone felt impossible. But looking back later, I think choosing to be there was the right decision.”
/k_inside@osen.co.kr
Courtesy of Netflix
