Eli Joshua Ade/HBO (NEW YORK) — Lovecraft Country’s latest episode that aired Sunday featured a standout portrayal by Jamie Chung that fans have been buzzing about all week.

She played the mysterious Ji-Ah, a Korean nurse who’s revealed to be the mythical and deadly multi-tailed fox spirit known as the kumiho. Playing the part was a welcomed challenge for Chung, who calls it a “dream role.”

“I prepared so hard for this role,” she tells ABC Audio. “I mean, I speak conversational Korean with my parents, but I’ve never had a Korean role like this where I’m speaking Korean for the entire episode. And, you know, there was dancing and singing involved and really, as an actor, this is kind of like the dream role.”

To have all that hard work pay off with viewers’ positive reactions has been “validating,” she says. Chung says she hopes Lovecraft Country will inspire similar meaty roles for Asian American actors.

“For [the showrunners] to give an opportunity to tell the story of this kumiho and, you know, take the story back to Korea during the Korean War — like, who does that?” she says. “And then the whole episode is going to be in Korean. Like, that is a bold choice.”

She adds, “And yes, these kind of roles — guest star role, by the way — [are] few and far between. So, you know, I do hope that this opens the door for more opportunities for storytellers to go there and for actors to have these kind of opportunities.” 

Lovecraft Country airs Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m.

By Andrea Tuccillo
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