At the age of 21, Song Yunhua debuted with the movie “Coffee or Tea”. The following year, she rose to fame in both sides of the Taiwan Strait with “Our Times”, becoming the most watched newcomer of the year. In 2023, she ventured into the international scene by challenging herself in the French movie “The Road of Glory”, where her outstanding performance garnered applause at the Venice Film Festival.
This year marks her debut in the South Korean film and television industry, as she participates in the Taiwan-Korea movie “The Unseen Family”. To prepare for this role, she dedicated three months to diligently practicing Korean.
Since her debut, Song Yunhua has continuously challenged herself to portray diverse roles and genres. When she performed in English for the first time in “The Road of Glory”, she surprised and moved her fans. In a recent interview for a magazine, she shared her profound experience from this project.
She said, “While filming ‘The Road of Glory’, because the crew and actors were all French, we communicated in French. What amazed me was that even without translation, I could sense the director’s imagination through body language. Some things do not require language to understand, but can be felt through emotions and actions.”
Song Yunhua also shared a newfound realization from a filming experience, “In the past, I tended to fill the silence when interacting with others. However, through this experience, I have learned to slow down the pace, leaving more room for silence to make each other’s state more comfortable and imaginative.”
“I always spend a lot of time exploring and learning from stealing a little from the character or retaining a bit of myself,” she added.
Admitting her own timidity, Song Yunhua revealed that delving into a new role requires great effort to discover similarities between the character and herself, even facing her own vulnerabilities. Although the process is not as easy as imagined, once the character is established, she feels an immense sense of “authenticity”.
She expressed, “I truly enjoy immersing myself in a character, as not every role resonates with my soul. Therefore, when I encounter a ‘can’t let go’ state, I truly cherish it.”
From her youth campus dramas to recent works addressing themes of love, ideals, and life and death, Song Yunhua shared that the issues in her works often overlap with her current experiences and state of mind. By intertwining her life experiences with the characters’, she interprets struggles, serenity, and growth from her perspective, learning and practicing such life lessons.
When asked whether she possesses a strong obsession like the character in “The Eliminator of Bad Thoughts”, she chuckled and mentioned her mixed feelings about her memory capacity, describing herself as having a “goldfish brain”. Although she believes there are no insurmountable obstacles, she candidly shared a moment in the past when anxiety clouded her judgment: “These feelings can surface like little monsters in life, but when bravely confronted, they can be resolved and let go.”
In reality, Song Yunhua is a very free-spirited and casual individual, like a shapeshifter who can embody different personas every day and become the most desired version of herself. She reminisced about her past self, realizing that seizing every opportunity may not lead to true enjoyment, emphasizing the importance of choosing what one genuinely loves to pave the way towards freedom.
In her thirties, Song Yunhua feels more relaxed and open compared to her early days of fame. Describing herself with three adjectives – “Dreamer, Crazy, Free” – she has always harbored dreams of living abroad. The topic of living overseas brightens her eyes, as she shared, “Acting is a profession that requires courage to step out of one’s comfort zone. I have always dreamt of living in a foreign country, and being in my thirties now, it is the perfect time to make this dream a reality!” She laughed and said, “Perhaps one day you will see me sipping tea in LA, but that’s what freedom is all about, right?”