Bona plays Su-ji, a girl determined to end the cruel game her classmates play.
Transferring schools can be tough, but Su-ji, the main character in Pyramid Game, changes schools so often that she’s more than capable of adapting to a new social scene. Her social skills are not that useful when she transfers to Baekyeon Girls High School. In her new class students are ranked by a cruel game that measures popularity. Rank at the top and everyone does what you say. Rank at the bottom and your classmates can bully you. Su-ji tends to avoid conflict, but the game is so unfair, she vows to destroy it.
“I think she grew up as a child with a strong tendency not to want to cause or receive harm at first,” said Kim Ji-yeon aka Bona, the singer-actress who plays Su-ji. “However, as she experiences the pyramid game and meets friends, she becomes more active to break the game rather than avoid it. Rather than saying it takes a lot for her to get angry, I think it was a process of gaining courage.”
The first time Su-ji plays the game she ranks at the bottom and becomes a punching bag for bullies. She’s defiant and her defiance inspires some of her classmates to question the game and it’s cruel founder. Su-ji’s actions also inspired Bona.
“The most attractive thing about Su-ji is that she is bold and smart, but she isn’t exactly nice,” said Bona. “She’d best suit the expression ‘cool’ because she’s not afraid to say ‘Then I will smash the pyramid and destroy it.’ While playing Su-ji, I was able to learn many things such as action and courage, and thanks to this, I thought I could become a courageous person like her.”
Bona can’t imagine really attending a school like Baekyeon Girls High School. A school like that shouldn’t even exist. She hopes the show’s anti-bullying message will resonate with audiences.
“Those scary situations portrayed in Pyramid Game must not happen in reality,” she said. “This show has a message that says a perpetrator is just a perpetrator. I hope everyone will be aware and pay attention to school violence.”
The on-set atmosphere was much friendlier than the fictional high school classroom.
“When filming Pyramid Game, the atmosphere was comfortable, as if I was attending an all-girls high school,” said Bona. “During recess, we sat in the classroom as if we were back in high school, chatting, playing games, and having a great time. And thanks to all the actors giving their opinions and working hard, we received a lot of positive energy, and filming while being considerate of each other made our relationship even stronger.”
Su-ji eventually realizes that the only way to win the game is to play the game, so she decides to play long enough to destroy it. It’s not going to be easy.
“Su-ji is a very courageous and independent character,” said Bona. “In order to fight against this game, she approaches the game with an eye-for-an-eye attitude, and doesn’t give any legitimacy to anyone and says, a perpetrator is just a perpetrator.”
Will Su-ji succeed in destroying the game? Betting on Bona’s brave determined character seems like a sure thing.
Bona is a member of the group WJSN, also known as Cosmic Girls, and she appeared in the dramas Twenty Five: Twenty One and Joseon Attorney. Pyramid Game also stars Jang Da-A, Ryu Da-in, Shin Seul-ki and Kang Na-eon. The series is directed by Bak So-yeon (The Heavenly Idol) and written by Choi Sui. Pyramid Game airs on Paramount+ in the U.S.
