Interview - Im Joo Hwan: “Everyone created a direction for ‘Gong Joon Soo’”

Source: Xportsnews.hankyung.com
Translator: Cookingdramas

Cookingdramas: note: (*) means I’m unsure of translation

A tall stature with a handsome appearance, but honest as well. This was my first impression of actor Im Joo Hwan. He holds a clear self-view and that self-view is honest. This could have been the influence of ‘Ugly Alert’s’ ‘Gong Joon Soo.

On the 2nd (of December) at the head office where the interview took place, the reporter met up with Im Joo Hwan who appeared bright and showed no signs of tiredness at all.  SBS’s daily drama ‘Ugly Alert and the characters received much love from the viewers. Acting as  Gong Joon Soo, Im Joo Hwan conveyed a sense of ‘healing’, and once again demonstrated his (acting) ability.

 ”‘Ugly Alert’ is a daily drama that was like a miniseries. (*) Luckily, I was able to last long. Although it was not difficult in a physical sense, there were a lot of emotional scenes which were quite difficult. However, there luckily weren’t any big accidents and it ended well. Now when I go to restaurants, the ahjumoni’s recognize me. They call me “Ahjumma’s Idol” (laughs). (*) This is the ‘power’ I wanted a daily drama to have.

‘Ugly Alert’ was also known as a ‘nice drama’ and received a lot of love from the viewers. Gong Joon Soo is hard to understand, but he is a nice and honest man. He took the blame for his brother Gong Hyun Suk (Choi Tae Jun)’s mistake and was falsely charged with murder, and then served time in prison. For his siblings he is willing to sacrifice and for this reason, he is a character that perfectly matches the title “Ugly” (alert).

"The viewers would have empathized with Gong Joon Soo seeing how he earned his livelihood and we (the viewers) also basically had a realization while watching him. Eventually we know that the root of all that (to be working hard) is for your family and their happiness. A lot of people forget this and so through the warmth of ‘Gong Joon Soo,’ there is a chance to be think about that.”

Actually, Im Joo Hwan personally also did not understand the character ‘Gong Joon Soo’ in the beginning. Despite that, as he said himself we all have a ‘Gong Joon Soo’ inside of us and that made us realize what the most basic definition of ‘family love’ is.

 “I didn’t understand Joon Soo at first, but that’s because I never experienced the ‘incorrect’ way of living Joon Soo had. Once you looked at Joon Soo’s behaviour you’d find that everything he did was expected from him. (*) On the surface while it would look like he was immersed into everyday life, in reality it wasn’t like that.

I also actually changed as well. When my family phoned (before), I thought it was annoying, but now I am the first one to phone because no matter what, family always comes first.” 

To Im Joo hwan, Ugly Alert was the first project he had after getting discharged from the army. During his time in the army, he craved to act and Ugly Alert was the project that relieved him of that ‘thirst’. Furthermore, to act together with veteran actors like Lee Soon Jae, Kim Ha Goon, Song Ok Sook and others was a special thing.

 “Personally, I had no time prepare for ‘Ugly Alert’. From the script reading when we talked about the meaning of the lines and such, I really learnt a lot from the sunbae-nim’s. Also, when filming Ugly Alert I felt that there was nothing to complain about. I’m the type of person to slightly overwork myself. (*) I think that no matter what I’m doing, if I find it interesting I’ll keep on doing it until the end. While filming for ‘Ugly Alert’ it was being broadcasted at the same time so I could see how I did and got immediate feedback. And because of that, my ‘thirst’ for acting was quite fulfilled.”

 The reason why ‘Ugly Alert’ received such great love was not only because it was known to be a really ‘kind’ drama, but because the viewers could accept the character Gong Joon Soo. Im Joo Hwan is largely credited for his portrayal. Towards this, Im Joo Hwan answered back modestly.  

 “I am thankful for the viewers to have thought that way, and have felt his charm. I felt that together with my coworkers, actors and staff I had gradually made up for all the things that I lacked. Although in the beginning I didn’t understand Joon Soo either, even if it took a bit of time, many people gave their empathy and understanding. It was like I somehow received their sincerity and that sincerity reached out to me when I was filming. And so, (because of that sincerity) my acting became much more real. I felt as if the viewers and I both had that connection and that’s why all of these reasons gave me my direction.”

To Im Joo Hwan who had no complaints being a ‘nice’ character, we asked what kind of character he wanted to be in his next project. Im Joo Hwan immediately answered “a villain.”

 “I’ve never played a villain before and I’ve always wanted to be one. It is not about facing a villain upfront that is scary, but rather a villain who you don’t know what will do and lets you feel unease is. ※ For example, not (someone who is holding) a kitchen knife, but rather a scalpel (laughs). I also want to act out professional roles. Someone like a doctor, a lawyer or a prosecutor or learning to become a really unique professional. I want to see myself living as this kind of role in my next life (laughs).”

 [※ IOW: he means those villains that don’t seem like bad guys on the surface…but really are deep inside!]

As he revealed that he is the type to ‘overwork’ himself, rather than fans that give compliments, he confessed saying he likes his fans that point things out for him.

"I remember those fans the most that point out things I have missed (as in his performance).  (They are) looking out for the details. Although I  do like them coming to  ※ cheer for me,  but besides that I hope the fans will give me pointers. Those pointers they give me in turn become like an ※ asset to me.”

(※‘cheer’ in this sense means preparing food and gifts for him and the staff etc.)

(note: I gave a pretty literal translation here (word for word). In a general sense, he hopes fans can help him by helping him improve his performance perhaps by pointing out something he could’ve did better. With those suggestions, he thinks his life will be much ‘richer’ :)!)

 A long journey has finally ended. Through Ugly Alert he has again firmly set his position as an actor. Before another project comes for Im Joo Hwan, he plans to meet with his beloved fans who he has not seen for a long time.

“This month there has been a fan meeting that has been scheduled. I’m hoping I can do a movie for my next project but to my fans who got to see me everyday in ‘Ugly Alert’ and suddenly can’t see me, they will dislike it (laughs). So that’s why I want to first hold the fanmeeting to meet up with fans and have a good chat.”

 Im Joo Hwan expressed what it means to himself to be ‘slow’. It is not the amount of projects (dramas/movies) that matters, (but to him), it is usually about ‘ the art of being slow’. As an actor, Im Joo Hwan will slowly and steadily grow.

 “I want my fans to be able to proudly say that they are “Im Joo Hwan’s fan”. In the near future, I hope to greet them again with a good project.”