[trans] AERA - Yunho's Interview

In Yunho's words, "The Way To Realize Dreams"
Not just limited to his activities as the TVXQ who had debuted for 10 years, we are also seeing a new side of him as an actor.
His heart as an actor, his usual thoughts, and his dreams of the future...

He is also currently in the midst of his live tour in Japan as Tohoshinki. But on the other hand, he is keen on his activities as an actor.
In the drama "King of Ambition" which recorded high ratings in Korea last year, he acted the role of a youth who loved an older "evil woman" till the end.
He said that with capable actors such as Kwon Sang Woo and Su Ae as his counterparts, he immersed himself into acting with a "rookie" mindset. We started talking about his challenge as an actor with his fluent Japanese.

Q: Was there any fruitful things you gained from "King of Ambition"?

A: It was an experience which I have never had before. It was really refreshing to have had to express all the laughter, anger, sadness and joy of the person known as Baek Do Hoon, which I acted as, from his days as a student till his adulthood, and there were also difficult aspects. This drama portrayed the complicated human relationships and the revenge against their loved ones, but I wanted to become the sole pure innocent man amidst all that. I thought of him (the character) as a cool man who lived an upright life, and I wanted to act him out in that way. In terms of myself as a human being too, while acting out those aspects of things which I hadn't known myself, because I came to learn of and realize those things, for me, Baek Do Hoon became a good teacher of life.

"There are many times when I don't confide in people."

Q: How was it acting out a character who loved the woman all the way till the end?

A: There were more aspects of the character which overlapped with myself than I had thought. For me too, if I have decided on this person, I will be immersed in the same attitude towards the person I love no matter what. Do Hoon has a bit of a brooding side to him too, there are many times when he agonizes alone. That point is also similar to me. I also don't consult with people and always think alone.

Q: The side of you loving the female lead without being aware of her wrongdoings makes one jealous.

A: I also have times when I wonder if I am a little bit of a fool (laughs), it seems like I am similar to Do Hoon in reality. If it is someone I love, I want to believe her right till the very end. Do Hoon too, although he was aware of her wrongdoings, because he loves her, perhaps he was pretending not to know it. Even so, if it were me, I think that I will lead the women instead. I am the type who speaks honestly, "Let's stop all these, because it's dangerous", although the part about believing in her till the end is similar.

Q: So you mean that if it is someone you love, that person's dark past also does not bother you?

A: Although I will be a little concerned, if I love her, instead of her past, the present is enough for me.

Q: The female lead is a lady who has extremely strong ambitions of rising high.

A: She has a certain charm, but even so, for myself, I wonder if it will be a little tiring to date her. Because the thing which I feel is the most important is the relationship with one's family. I am not sure if she will get along well with my family in reality.

"Last year, Tohoshinki mobilized 850,000 people for their Japanese tour. They achieved the feat of being the first foreign artistes to have their own exclusive concert at Nissan Stadium, and gathered more than 70,000 audience members in one place. It is something which they were able to do because of the result they have accumulated steadily and gradually from their activities in Japan. No matter what situations they are faced with, they are maintaining their unchanging popularity. And alongside all these was the simultaneous drama filming, and he said he continued on with days where he only got 1, 2 hours of sleep, but at the filming set, he became the mood-maker, and the existence of his part grew larger the more this cycle repeated. In his 10 years in the entertainment industry, what kind of position will he be granted in his acting activities?"

"He matured at the filming set"

Q: Were you perhaps nervous when getting along with the veteran serious actors?

A: I thought that if I were nervous, wouldn't that cause even more inconvenience? After the filming started, I became close with everybody pretty quickly. Because all of them were older than me, when they went "Yunho, dance for us to see", I would go "Yes~!" (laughs). Because my experience in acting was very insufficient, I would always ask the director and everybody "I'm thinking like this, how is it?", but they would say to me "If Yunho thinks in that way, Do Hoon also thinks in the same way". Because there was hardly any time for filming, there were also times when the drama was broadcast 2 hours after filming, and it was a situation as if it was a live broadcast. Because we didn't have time, it also became such that we had to finish one scene in one cut. To that extent, there was no other option other than to focus and work hard. The seniors, myself, and the director all became one and the filming set had a good atmosphere. And there were also aspects where I grew / matured at the filming set.

Q: What did Changmin-ssi say about your drama?

A: When I was filming the drama, Changmin hardly had time to watch the drama because he was also busy. It was about the extent of him going "work hard"? I watched all of the dramas which Changmin appeared in. But even so, we do not intentionally say anything to each other. Because we both know each other's personality well. Whether this is my issue, whether this is something I myself have to be responsible for, we always know that. Because we are both the type who work hard and put in effort, I think that it is perhaps better that we are the type who do not say anything. And Changmin perhaps also thinks in the same way.

"Artistes even 10 years later"

Q: What does Yunho-ssi think is the most important thing as an actor?

A: It has been 10 years since I stood on the stage as a singer. If anyone suddenly asks me "Is singing good, or acting good", I will answer "Singing is good". But even so, it was also my dream to work as an actor. This time around while acting, I came to realize that I was also subconsciously maturing, like "Ah so I also have this side of me". I wonder, isn't acting a teacher of life? That I am able to experience new things (while acting) is what I like the most. In the future, I also want to act out diverse types of characters.

Q: Is 10 years a long time?

A: In the bat of an eye, the time just went by. One thing which is similar between the Yunho 10 years ago and the current Yunho is that both are "dreaming dreams". In the future, I will also "dream dreams". I have to be like that in order for Yunho to be able to grow as a person.

Q: What will you be doing 10 years later?

A: I think I will definitely be working hard as an artiste. When I look back at these past 10 years, we started out as rookies in Korea and worked hard and came to receive huge awards, and then we came to Japan and again started as rookies and worked hard. After we became just the two of us, we started again from the start and we came to be able to have a concert at Nissan Stadium in Japan, and now I am again starting as a rookie actor. Although I am thankful that everybody labels me as "top", it is important to go back to being a rookie even if one becomes "top". After climbing up a high mountain, in order to climb up another even higher mountain the next time around, if one does not come back down once, it won't happen. I'm coming down slowly and climbing up once again. If we repeat that process, when we are really climbing up a high mountain, we will come to see various sides. Isn't that life?

"If I have any troubles, I will go back to my hometown"

Q: You say that it is also important to come back down?

A: It is important. The reason being, if one is always only at the top, he will not see his surroundings. Even so, because the past 10 years really saw a lot of things happening to TVXQ, I came to be able to see my surroundings, and I think that those have all became a part of my life subconsciously.

Q: If you were to be born again, what do you want to be the next time around?

A: Won't I want to do work related to the entertainment industry? Because although I don't know if it will fit well with my physical stamina, my heart feels blessed. Because I am blessed thinking that this is something I will be doing. When I was young, my dream was to be a prosecutor. But even so, because I suddenly developed interest in the entertainment industry, I worked hard at it. Because an artiste undoubtedly is not satisfied with just himself and if he does acting or singing, he will be conveying his heart. The good artiste which I have in mind is a person who creates life and continues on together with the audience. In acting, and on the stage, joys, anger, sadness and laughter all co-exist. It isn't just a relationship between the artiste and the audience, I also want to see it as my own life.

"Terms such as "dreams", "life" and "hard work" appeared a few times. The incidents which have accumulated over 10 years appear in those words. Now, he is 28 years old. From the time when he was an elementary school student, he displayed talent at dancing, and in the latter half of his teens, he made his debut in the entertainment industry. From the hometown where he dreamt his dreams and was born and raised in, Korea's Gwangju, he came up to the capital of Seoul alone."

Q: There is a certain unyielding unique and progressive air about Gwangju.

A: Yeah. It is hot (ie burning with passion) in any way. It also subconsciously is a part of me. Even now, if I have time, I will go to Gwangju. Especially when I develop a lot of troubles, because that place is not only the place where I was born, it is also the place where Jung Yunho's life started, if I gather my thoughts in that place, I come to gain good answers.

Q: If you were to have a 1-year free break, what will you do?

A: I want to go around the whole country. In either Korea or Japan. This is not as the artiste Yunho but just the human being Jung Yunho. If there is anything I want to eat, I will buy and try that with my own money, and if there is anything I want to see, I will go and see it. In Japan too, although I roughly know where is where, because I haven't had time to go to Japan in my personal capacity, I want to see various places with my own eyes.

"I want to attempt being an inventor."

Q: When is the time when you can take a breather the most?

A: I want this and that in my notebook. I treasure that time the most. I don't write after rearranging my thoughts every day, if ideas come to me, or when I feel like writing, or if I want to draw, I will do all that in that memo book. "The 100 types of storybooks belonging only to Yunho". I brought that book along with me in my bag today too. The memos can be divided into 2 different types, one of them is a record of the happiness which I feel myself. I write only the jappy and good things. Every year when I decide on a few new goals / targets, I write them there. Another one is writing when I feel distressed, or when I have failed, or when I have to reflect. If I have failed after deciding on my own rules, I will write "let's do it this way", and if I have succeeded, I will go "let's do it this way", "ah, so it felt like this when this happened", and come to have realizations. I have continuously been writing in my notebook from my time as a trainee before debut. And in that way, my record of the past 10 years has ended. Now, I carry with me the mindset of trying to write in an even more earnest and renewed manner once again. I also leave memos of reading books and the lines therein which I myself thought as important. Recently I wrote "R=V+D" on the cover of my notebook. It is an equation meaning "Realization = Vivid + Dream". It is a famous saying that goes "If one possesses vivid / distinct dreams, that dream will be realized." Although I have a strong image of being the exercising type, I also like reading books quietly in my room.

Q: In a personal aspect, what are the dreams and the things which Yunho-ssi wishes to challenge?

A: From long ago, no matter how long it would take, I have always definitely made good all the things which I have promised, or what I have wanted to do. From a personal aspect, 5, 6 years ago, there was a time when I said that I would like to try inventing as a hobby on a Korean variety programme, and on this, I created something with a friend from my high school days. We also applied for a patent. What that is, is a secret. Although I am not sure if it will fail, I see a good possibility that it will succeed. If it succeeds, won't it be a real daebak... (laughs). The people around me were also surprised and went "Oh, aren't you smart?" (laughs). Recently, I am also composing songs. I have created about 10 songs. Even so, I think that showing off only really good songs to the world is what is considered a good artiste. There were also songs which received good reviews, and I want to put in even more effort into composing songs in the future too. But before that, I think that it is the most paramount to convey good songs, good singing and dancing to everybody. In these 10 years, I have continuously overcome various things, and to repay the love I have received from everyone is the assignment for me as TVXQ, as Yunho, isn't it? I think of it that way. Of course I have to work even harder.

[Jap-Kor trans cr: tvxqdrip]

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