April 10, 2019

Did you know that today for the very first time, we as humans were able to photograph the first black hole in history!  If you are interested, there is a great article HERE.

Well onto this translation… this took me a lot of time! I spent about two hours photographing and using Google Translate and Naver’s Papago in trying to get the most accurate translation on my own. Then I went over it with my tutor. It turned out to be very innacurate. My tutor says it’s very sophisticated Korean, so it took another two hours! and then, editing the final corrections took another hour! This photo shows all my sheets with notes and edits:

!

Same dream but different.

Jung Il-woo, who has newly bloomed this Spring.

Translation By Fan 13.

Jung il was sometimes our younger brother getting into trouble and sometimes the prince on a white horse that left us one day. He has come back as Haechi’s Prince Lee Geum and as the editor in chief of the magazine Kribbit. The character of Jung Il-woo in drama has deepened and is he getting noticed. But it’s not just as an actor, now it is as the head of a magazine Kribbit. Being an editor still feels strange. But there is no fear in the light of his eyes, and there is excitement and tension waiting for the new challenge. Through Kribbit’s first issue, Jung Il-woo found the energy for a very active life.

Meryl Streep said “There is a difference between people’s appearance and what’s inside, it makes one curious and excited.” *  What is inside Jung Il-woo is unknown to us, the Jung Il-woo who just came back to us is unfamiliar. The heart he shows when acting and what he says about what his heart reflects this. We meet a Jung il woo that has two dreams but even they look different, they are actually part of a same dream.

*Note: My tutor and I tried finding the quote and were unsuccessful, so what we wrote is the best translation we could come up with!

You must have been the busiest person in the New Year. How do you feel about the New Year?

I started this year very actively, as soon as I completed my military service. It seems that it was only two days ago that I was preparing for Haechi and it’s already on the air. At the same time, in this busy year of 2019, I started meeting with staff and taking pictures for the magazine launch. I am accomplishing one by one, even though sometimes I am very busy and physically tired.

Your come back drama is a historical drama. Why did you decide to work on this?

I read synopses and scripts during my military service. After reading the script of King Yeongjo as the young Prince Lee Geum, I was so absorbed in it, I could not put it down. I kept reading chapter after chapter. I didn’t think I had to do a historical drama as a come back, but I am an actor that wants to do good works, so I chose Haechi without hesitation. I feel gratitude for returning as the young King Yeonjo.

 

I heard you referred to the acting of another young actor in the movie “Sado”. It was refreshing to hear you mention learning from an actor of your similar age. Why? (Usually one learns from older more experienced actors)

If one has something to learn, one should not care about age, accept it and make the most of it. As I see myself with a mirror, I think about things I can learn from observing others. I prepared by watching other dramas and looked for almost all the works related to Yeongjo.

I watched the movie “Sado” * and I was impressed with Yeongjo’s son: Sado. The rich relationship between the father and the son is special and complicated. What does the son reflect from the father? His incomprehensible behaviors were thought to be related to what the King’s hidden motives to preserve the throne.

* If you are interested in seeing this movie, it’s under the English title ‘The Throne” in Netflix.

What did you focus specifically on acting as the character of Yeonjo?

Haechi is about the young Yeonjo, who had not been covered before (in a drama), so I had to find my own way to express the youthfulness of Yeongjo.

Though he was born in a low class, he could not be too lightly expressed as he is a descendant of the royal family, and yet not too heavy because he is still a young character. This was the most difficult part. I am creating my own Yeongjo by continuously talking to the writer and the director of the drama.

You joined the drama late, was it hard to adapt?

Since the shooting was already under way, there was a lot of catching up to do. However, even there was no particular difficulty in adapting to the shooting atmosphere, social workers and actors have different life patterns and the difference was physically burdensome. Fortunately, even though I had not worked on a drama for two years, I still had the knowledge of doing it previously for a decade, so in a way I felt I came back home.

What about the chemistry with the actors?

The atmosphere of the filming scene is cheerful. Senior actors Lee Gyeong-young and Kim Kap-soo, by concentrating deeply in their work created an atmosphere that gave us a great sense of security.

I am familiar with the actress Go Ara acting as Yeo-ji because we did commercials together when I debuted. Even though it was my first time getting to know Kwon yul as Mun-su, Jung Mung-sung as Lee Tan, Park Hoon-hyung as Dal-moon, and Han Sang-ji as Wi Byung-joo, we talk about different topics and joke around when we have breaks like good neighbors.

What are your thoughts on the medium of magazine and your thoughts of Kribbit as an editor.

Since my childhood, because of my parents I became familiar with books, magazines, and newspapers without even noticing. I watched the process my mother went through for a long period of time when she was writing her own book, until it became a published product. As I grew up in this environment, I thought I would be able to write a book someday.

Thankfully, a chance came and I decided to go for the challenge. I have always been interested in various fields, so the magazine medium was a natural choice because I wanted to share my many interests and points of view with many people. Moreover, I wanted Kribbit to be a medium where we could enjoy both paper magazines and virtual content. For those who are familiar with paper media, and those who are familiar with video on smart phones and TVs, I would like to share all of these contents through the name KRIBBIT.

How was the reaction of people around you?

 “It going to be fun” was the usual reaction. “It’s great” too and there was the reaction that it was going to be hard, with my current acting schedule. I know people worry about me as I’m doing both acting and the magazine, but I have the energy to lead a more active style and share stories with many people.

How do magazine features and communication with readers work?

KRIBIT is a multi-content platform in that it serves a variety of contents through online platforms such as offline paper magazines, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Wechat, and Daewoo. The offline magazine is published four times a year, but the extended contents are always available online. Especially in the magazine, the column “together” will become the communication channel of the readers related to the topic. Many messages have already arrived through the SNS about flowers, the theme of the first issue. More than a hundred affectionate stories and photographs are being read carefully.

 What do you think about the professional balance between the actor and the editor?

I think that there is no difference in terms of making good contents together with other people as an actor or editor. However, since the actor is shown and the editor is a profession showing, I am thinking thoroughly to change my attitude when dealing with these two roles.

What if I look back on Jung Il-woo during military service?

I served as a social worker in a nursing home. I participated in a variety of educational activities at the nursing home and did many activities helping the elderly. Every morning there was a senior who I took care who greeted me warmly and made me think about the beauty of life. When he passed away, I was heartbroken along with my colleagues.

After work I had personal time that I did not have before. I read various books on all kinds of subjects, studied English, I went trekking to the mountain near my home, and I also worked out. It was a time when I prepared to show a more colorful Jung il woo.

Specifically, what did military service mean in your life?

I would like to say that it was a time when I was preparing for the next chapter of my life comfortably. At the beginning it was a little hard to adjust as I was accustomed to working without rest and suddenly my life changed and I worked during specific times. When I got used to it, I started to look back at myself, and what kind of acting I wanted to do. It was an important time for me to expand my interests.

What about Jung Il-woo, the person, not the actor?

Is it a rediscovery of ordinary life that has long been forgotten in acting life? As the nature of the actor’s career, the life pattern is not constant and there was no set rule, and there is fatigue and anxiety from it. However, when I spent every day in a regular routine, I had a chance to see my life and I started noticing things I had forgotten and I was grateful for the little things.

Most of the staff I’m currently working with, are people I have known for a long time. I think there is a reason why you are with those people who you have been in a long relationship with and there is a sense of relief in that relationship. I am happy that I can be with people who understand me and we understand each other more now. I have friends who can share my sense of social responsibility and feelings of burden, and I am relieved to be able to share the future with them.

What will be going on Jung il woo’s life?

I always think that I am here now because there are family members, acquaintances and fans who are always concerned and loving. If I always challenge myself openly and fearlessly, I think there will be endless opportunities and funny moments of life. First of all, it is my wish as an actor to try to challenge myself with new characters through various works and broaden the spectrum of my acting.

The editor is still awkward and I need more time to adjust. As a human being, I would like to meet many people, listen to their stories, and have a little heart-warming experience. There are many things to learn and many things to do. There are a lot of deficiencies, but I try to do my best with being authentic. I want to continue to take steps to live happily.

Can we expect another new challenge? Do you have any plans?

First of all, there is a lot of work to be done to complete Haechi that I am shooting now. There is also a lot to do with the birth of KRIBBIT magazine. I am planning a fan meeting tour in Asia after the broadcast of Haechi is over. I am excited to meet my fans after a long time and I am expecting a lot of excitement for a long time. I would like you to look forward to new and various contents related to KRIBBIT.