SINGAPORE — Korean actress Lee Young-Ae, the star of Jewel In The Palace, will be a hidden gem no more. She is re-entering the spotlight — after more than a decade — to star in her first drama since the 2003 hit series.

The 45-year-old’s comeback drama is a time-shuttling one called Saimdang Memoir Of Colors, about Korean historical figure Shin Saimdang. A poet and artist who lived in the 16th century, it is Shin’s image that appears on the present 50,000 won note. Lee plays both Shin and a university lecturer in modern-day Korea who discovers the artist’s diary in Italy.

Korean heartthrob Song Seung-Heon, known for his roles in the dramas Autumn in My Heart and East of Eden, who is acting in his first period drama, stars as her love interest.

In the years since Jewel In The Palace, Lee has led her life largely off-screen, choosing to occupy herself with marriage and motherhood. She is mum to five-year-old twins, a girl and a boy.

“I am meeting my audience for the first time after I got married, through Saimdang,” said Lee in an email interview. “I hope that people will respond to Saimdang by saying that they can see aspects of me that are distinct from my image related to Jewel in the Palace.”

How has she been spending her time in the last 10 or so years out of the public eye? “After I got married, I started my doctoral programme in a graduate school. I wanted to study acting in a more profound way, and I had a great time learning a lot about it,” she said. “Moreover, I remained faithful to my family. I watched my kids growing up and I found new kinds of joy by starting a family.”

She chose to take on this drama because she “was very much interested in the character of Saimdang”. She explained: “What makes this drama so important is that it is about a woman. I wanted to show that the feelings these women had in the past are similar to the feelings that women living in modern times have as they become mothers and wives.” In addition, “if a character allows me to show more diverse aspects of me, then, it becomes a more attractive role for me to play.”

Lee also revealed that she was specially sought out for the role. “Almost one year before they started filming the drama, the writer and the director of Saimdang came to my house to talk about it with me. We talked a lot about the tone of the drama in terms of what I wanted and how I should portray certain things. Compared to other dramas, we made preparations for ‘Saimdang’ more thoroughly before shooting. Therefore, I would cautiously say that the viewers will enjoy a much higher level of perfection when watching Saimdang,” she said.

Does she feel pressure to replicate the success of Jewel In The Palace? “Well, if I answered that I do not feel any pressure at all, that would be a lie,” she said. But ultimately, “I just want to warm and touch the heart of our viewers. If just this one goal is met, that would mean success to me. I couldn’t ask for more.”

As for whether Saimdang marks her comeback and whether she plans to take up more acting projects in the future, Lee said: “I hope for many opportunities to show new facets of me that are different from my pre-marriage period. I would like to show these different images of mine, as a mother and as a wife, in a broad range through dramas, movies or other channels. I hope I will have many such opportunities, going forward.”

Catch Saimdang Memoir Of Colors starting Jan 25, Wednesdays and Thursday at 9pm (same time as Korea) on Oh!K (StarHub TV Ch 816 and Singtel TV Ch 525 [with Chinese subtitles] and 611 [with Malay subtitles]).