Actress Kim Ha-neul is known for her solid romantic comedy credentials, which she continued to build up after her 2003 hit film “My Tutor Friend.” So when it was announced that she would play the part of Jin-yeong opposite heartthrob actor Jung Woo-sung in the romantic film “Remember You,” many fans thought it was a natural choice.

However, in an interview with reporters at a Seoul cafe on Wednesday, Kim said that “Remember You,” a mix of dramatic romance and mystery, was a different beast from her previous works.

“The types of movies that allow actresses in their 20s and 30s to shine are very limited,” she said. “They’re all comedies.”

In “Remember You,” she takes on a role far different from the typical damsel in distress or the clumsy, cute ingenue. Jin-yeong is a woman with a troubled past, burdened with memories of trauma and hardships that she cannot share with anyone.

“It’s hard to describe Jin-yeong in one word. She is a woman in every sense of the word, and she has a great capacity for accepting pain. She can seem weak in some ways, but at her core she’s strong, and that’s what drew me to her,” Kim said. “She’s not a character who needs a man to protect her, but she’s also not overbearing. It’s a mix.

“I think that for actors, getting to take on deeper roles puts pressure on them but also gives them catharsis,” Kim said. “You want to know how well you can portray this character. You look back on yourself and pull the character out of you. It’s very appealing.”

“Remember You” was a careful choice for the actress, who had been absent from the big screen since the 2011 romantic comedy “You’re My Pet.”

“I had a really long break after the drama ‘A Gentleman’s Dignity,’” she said. “I actually received the script pretty early, but I had to wait a year before we went into filming.”

She says that she was “so eager to start shooting” that she met or called director Lee Yun-jeong “every day” to discuss her character.

“I don’t normally work that way, but I felt it was necessary for this movie,” she said.

“(Since it’s a mystery film) I had to not only think of Seok-won (Jung’s character), but also about how much the audience knew. ... To Seok-won and the audience, Jin-yeong appears out of nowhere and makes Seok-won fall in love with her. I wanted to make her charming. I had to keep that in mind, plus make sure that it felt natural when all the pieces of the puzzle came together at the end. Each scene, each expression had to be carefully controlled.”

The 37-year-old actress said that ultimately, she felt the movie was right for her at this stage of her career.

“I don’t know if I would have taken this movie if it came to me five years ago,” she said. “It was the same with (upcoming film) ‘Female Teacher.’ The experiences I have as an actress each year build up inside me, and I know when a film is right for me.

“At my core, I’m afraid of challenging myself, making drastic changes. But with time, my spectrum is growing broader and I want to push myself more and more.”

“Remember You” opened in local theaters Thursday. Kim Ha-neul’s next film, “Female Teacher” by “Set Me Free” director Kim Tae-yong, is currently in post-production.

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