Hoyeon

The South Korean star reunites with good friend Ethan James Green for a “joyful” Pirelli Cal shoot

Before her critically acclaimed role in the dystopian Netflix drama Squid Game, Hoyeon was known as a model, walking the catwalks for high-profile fashion brands.

Then came her acting debut as North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok, or Player 067, in Netflix’s most watched show. The surprise global hit propelled her to international fame and won her a 2021 Screen Actors Guild Award for best female actor in a drama series.

Now the Seoul-born star juggles high-profile modelling work with acting roles. She will next be seen in Alfonso Cuaron’s Disclaimer, acting alongside Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline, and stars in the upcoming Korean film Hope.

Fresh from celebrating her birthday in New York, Hoyeon soaked up the natural beauty of the Pirelli beach shoot in Miami, a welcome contrast with her home in bustling Seoul. “I’m working with Ethan who is my good friend, so [we’re] just having fun today. It doesn’t feel like working,” she said.

Hoyeon admires the elegance of Green’s photography and says he makes her feel “comfortable and confident, because of his reactions.”

“I feel really connected with him while we are shooting. So I think that’s the best part.”

Hoyeon sees a strong link between modelling and acting. “Some techniques could be different, but I think [the] essence is similar,” she says. Yet despite her ambitions to be “a master of acting”, she’s not solely focused on results.

“It’s all the journey of my life, [that’s what is] important for me.”

What is your definition of beauty? What does beauty mean to you?

True beauty for me I would say is nature. And to live [in] nature as much [as possible]. I know I’m going to work hard and I have ambitions to work more, but at the same time I will try to [balance] nature and work. So I don’t want to lose that sense of it. I really want to live my life as naturally as possible.

Do you have an artistic memory of beauty, something you’ve seen somewhere?

Today was like an artistic memory, a beauty memory, because I was dancing around, moving around, and it was quite a beautiful memory for me, shooting.

When you close your eyes do you have a moment or a memory of beauty that comes to mind?

I climbed a mountain called Talmasan, which is located outside of Korea, on 1st January of this year to see the sunrise. It’s my tradition to go to the mountains to see the sunrise every 1st January. Because I really love the sunrise and going to see it on this date is for me like giving myself good energy from nature.

Hoyeon Calendar Pirelli 2025 Interview 1

Is there a smell that you associate with beauty?

The smell of chocolate. I love sweet candies. And also, because we’re at the ocean, the ocean smell. It’s kind of like a salty smell. It gives me a calm vibe right now.

How about a sound?

The sound of the ocean. It’s actually a beautiful sound to hear and it’s not easy for me to hear these sounds on normal days because I’m living in the big city.

A taste?

The taste of chocolate. When I taste it, it feels like it makes my life beautiful.

What would you say is important to add to the discourse on beauty?

Craftsmanship. I think there is something that is special and beautiful [when something is] made by humans. I know these days many things can be replaced by technology, but I really do think that if humans make something, then there’s a beautiful process. So let’s think craftsmanship more.”