Sisley items have been really good to me, so I use their items, including their eye cream. And Estée Lauder, maybe because they’re geared towards slightly older women compared to Sisely. Their balance between a water and oil base is good to me.
I scrub my face just about once a week. I used to use oil-based cleansing foams, but they troubled my face. So I use milk washes. It’s a Korean product. I lightly put it on my face, rub it around, and then rinse off my face. And body lotion I put on a lot, especially at night. My skin tends to be dry. Especially in the winter time—I shower with water only.
At home, I tend to fall asleep fine, so I don’t have any special setups in my bedroom. But if I move around to a location, it’s a little more challenging.
I don’t take sleeping pills whatsoever. I try to do things that make me fall asleep, especially when I’m shooting. I pack the items that make me fall asleep—aromas and diffusers that help me. And there are times where pillows are so uncomfortable that I can’t fall asleep, so pillows are important. Sometimes I bring my own pillows.
I have a L’Occitane spray diffuser. At first I wondered, How much comfort is it going to give me? It’s shown to be effective for me. The scent of it makes me calm down and relax, and easily fall asleep. When I travel, I carry it with me. Especially when I’m traveling for shooting, I definitely pack it. At home sometimes, too, when I’m having a hard time falling asleep, I use it.
Then I fall asleep, after watching my mukbang videos.
I know I ought to sleep right away, but I have to confess that I watch about five different videos on YouTube. In my bed, on my cell phone. I can’t stop it! Have you heard of mukbang? I don’t know why I watch them, but I have to watch them. I just automatically watch those mukbang videos before I go to sleep. Maybe they make me calm.
I’m a sensitive sleeper.
I tend to sleep late, so I start my routine at around 11 p.m., and by 1 a.m. I hope to sleep. I used to sleep fine even going to bed at 4 a.m., 5 a.m. But I try to be more regular in my sleep, and I try to sleep earlier. Because when I’m filming I cannot control the sleeping time schedule. So at least when I’m not shooting, I try to stay on schedule.
I tend to wake up in the middle of the night. Because I’m a light sleeper, sleeping is important to me. When I don’t sleep well, the next day things don’t go very well. So doing stretching, drinking warm water, moisturizing my body—all of these are the things that I do to keep myself sleeping well.
I try to keep my home at most 24 degrees Celsius, because anything hotter makes my home dry. I try not to make my home too hot, and turn on the humidifier, especially in the summertime. I feel like I might have died early if I were born in the past. I’m too sensitive! I’m not a sensitive person, but my body is sensitive and makes it hard for me.
In Korea, we believe that everyone has a different body type. Sleeping actually is very important for my body type.
Some body types, what they eat is more important compared to sleeping. Because sleeping is so important to the type of body that I have, when I’m shooting for example, I try to focus on sleeping more than eating. I try to sleep at least seven hours, seven to eight hours every day.
Knowing your body type and your body’s “personality,” should I say, is important. My body doesn’t like cold things. Every morning, as soon as I wake up, I try to drink water that’s close to body temperature. I try not to eat cold foods throughout the year.
Some people as they get older, they get softer—their muscles get softer, their overall body gets softer. But some people get harder, a hardened body, and I’m the latter kind. My body gets harder as I age. So I try to stretch, and I try to drink a lot of water, and not to have excessive exercise—just a little bit of cardio activity that makes me sweat.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.