Actress Responds to Backlash Over Her Controversial Acting Decision

Jin Ki Joo is facing backlash over her acting choice in Netflix’s Teach You A Lesson.

The controversy began with Jin Ki Joo’s unique voice tone as Im Han Lim, a former special forces soldier turned inspector. Viewers called it awkward and hard to watch.

Soon after, Jin Ki Joo explained the whole idea came from veteran actor Lee Sung Min during an early script reading.

“Before the full script reading, the four members and the director gathered for a reading, and the basic tone and idea for this character came from Sung Min sunbaenim,”
— Jin Ki Joo

Jin Ki Joo said she studied documentaries, variety shows, and training footage on special forces soldiers to prepare.

“He suggested the idea at first, and everyone thought it would be something different, so that’s when we began creating it. Because I had to express it, I kept watching documentaries, variety shows, and training scenes of special forces soldiers over and over. They have this unique, animal-like roar. At first, the sound itself felt unfamiliar when I heard it.”
— Jin Ki Joo

She added the tone isn’t just a gimmick but tied to the character’s backstory — a fragile person who found strength through brutal training.

“Han Lim was also someone who used to desperately run away from bad students. Thinking about how difficult it must have been for someone who was once so weak to endure such strong and almost unbelievable training, I felt that sound was the sound she used to overcome it. When the brain wants to rest, it’s a sound that wakes up the mind. I thought that sound would have become ingrained in Han Lim’s body.”
— Jin Ki Joo

Still, the actress admitted not everyone might accept the choice.

“It might have been loud. It wasn’t necessarily to express the sound of special forces soldiers. I just wanted to do something during the preparation process. I thought anything, through any route, might help, so I went to a teacher and asked them to help refine anything that could be refined and tried to learn the basics.”
— Jin Ki Joo

Teach You A Lesson dropped on Netflix June 5 and quickly hit #1 worldwide despite the mixed reactions.