[17.04.2014] Sina interview with Gong Hyo Jin

 

Korean star Gong Hyo Jin, who won a huge fan following in China based on The Master's Sun, recently arrived in Shanghai for a fashion event, and had an exclusive interview with Sina Ent. regarding her work and life. She spoke frankly of her gorgeous male co-stars, including So Ji Sub, Cha Seung Won etc, and her impressions of "It's Okay, That's Love" co-stars Jo In Sung, Lee Kwang Soo and EXO's D.O. With the current wave of onscreen noona romance, Gong Hyo Jin expressed her interest to work with younger actors Lee Min Ho, Kim Soo Hyun, but could not help but be concerned about jealous fans.

When asked about her impressions of China, Gong Hyo Jin described it as "amazing". She has been communicating avidly with her fans via her recently launched Weibo account, and while she does not understand Chinese, she could make educated guesses based on the emoticons. With the wave of Hallyu stars into China, Gong Hyo Jin also made are list of names she wishes to collaborate with, and is especially keen on working with Stephen Chow on a comedy.

The following is the transcript of the interview.

Sina: Gong Hyo Jin will be starring in "It's Okay, That's Love". Please give a brief introduction to your role in the drama.

GHJ: In the drama, I am playing the role of Ji Hae Soo, a doctor with two years experience, who thinks the world of her own brilliance, but has a lot of psychological issues. Compared to my previous roles, this one is more mature, intellectual. While most of my previous roles were being taught by others, this time, I am the one doing the teaching.

Sina: In this new drama, you will be collaborating with Jo In Sung, Lee Kwang Soo and EXO member D.O, respectively a male god, a comedian and an idol. Please share your impressions of these three men.

GHJ: You assessed them accurately. Yes, Jo In Sung is the ideal of many women, but even more so, the envy of men. Men look at him and think "He is very handsome", like a god, yet very friendly, putting people at ease. This is my first time working with Lee Kwang Soo on a drama. We previously met on "Running Man" but have not seen each other since then. At the time, we ran the entire day, were extremely tired, and had to protect each other - I feel he is an amiable, interesting person. This time, Kwang Soo's character lives under the same roof with mine, has Tourette's syndrome, and is very amusing. During rehearsals, the moment he says his lines, everyone starts laughing. I have not formally met D.O. I should not have any scenes with him, because there are no scenes in the drama where our characters meet. However, after meeting him, I understand why he is the idol of young girls - being cute and handsome.

Sina: Your previous drama Master's Sun enjoyed immense success. Did you expect it? Did you enjoy great chemistry with So Ji Sub?

GHJ: Lately Korean dramas are enjoying huge success all over Asia, and Hong Sisters are extremely well-loved in China, so its popularity was expected. In addition, having a ghost story in summer is a novelty. I enjoyed great chemistry working with So Ji Sub. Initially, because So Ji Sub has a quiet personality, while I am very outgoing, many people thought it was not an appropriate pairing. After its broadcast, they felt that these are two extremes in character, and really liked it. However, I did not expect that the audience would love this pairing so much. This outcome could only have happened when two people enjoy great chemistry during filming.

Sina: The scene in Master's Sun where Joo Goon embraces Tae Yang is a classic. How did you feel filming it? Did it feel childish? Were you affected?

GHJ: Yes. In that scene, I did not know what to do after seeing ghosts. Although it was acting, my feelings were still stirred, having a tall CEO holding me, allowing me to hide. Later when I watched that scene, that emotion really came across, and I thought it was no wonder that the women love him. When you are afraid, he rescues you, while in reality, the probability of this happening is really little. The men must also really wish to do this for the woman they love, so that she would love him more. After watching the drama, I felt that it was different from when we were filming.

Sina: So Ji Sub, Cha Seung Won are Korean A-listers who are very well respected. In your eyes, what are they like?

GHJ: Cha Seung Won sunbae-nim is an interesting man, who sometimes really feels like Dokko Jin, because he is much older and experienced than me. He has a lot of male charisma, and is extremely meticulous. As an actor, you cannot survive in this industry without being meticulous. He keeps encouraging me to do better, and is extremely tall - much taller than So Ji Sub sunbae-nim. As for So Ji Sub sunbae-nim, intially I thought he was a untalkative, quiet man who only hung out with his family and friends. In actuality, he loves to laugh, and loves to crack jokes... definitely much more talkative than what I imagined.

Sina: Currently noona romance, maternal love are the rage in Korean dramas. Do you have any intention to try such roles? What kind of roles do you wish to play?

GHJ: Of course. Noona romance is not bad, but acting in one may incite the jealousy of the actor's fans (laugh), so I don't intend to do something so dangerous. (laugh) Of course there are many younger actors such as Kim Soo Hyun, Lee Min Ho, Lee Jong Suk who are much younger than me. I do wish to act with the hoobaes, but collaborating with older sunbaes would be even more beautiful and adorable. (laugh) I don't want to be targetted by the actors' jealous fans.

Sina: Recently, you set up a Weibo account. How does it feel to interact with your fans via Weibo?

GHJ: It is amazing, to see words like "unni", "oppa". As it is in Chinese, it is not easy to understand, but when I see emoticons like red hearts or smileys, I try hard to guess the contents. Recently Master's Sun was broadcasted in China, so fans will send letters/messages in Chinese or English. Some even came to Korea just to see their idols. I thought can this be true? It is really amazing, to think that Korean dramas are enjoying such popularity. Since everyone was saying how popular they are, I decided to see for myself, and so I set up a Weibo account.

Sina: GHJ is a well-known fashionista. What is your definition of fashion?

GHJ: Fashion. It's hard. Every time I am asked this question, I have no idea how to answer it. Sometimes, when asked what style is in, I would always reply that I am not sure. Since I am not a professional, I do not know how to respond to such questions. I believe fashion is something to be continually studied and analysed.

Sina: You are here in Shanghai for a fashion event. What is your impression of China? 

GHJ: It is too near, to the extent that I was almost airsick. If the distance was further, I generally won't be airsick. To arrive in another country within 1.5 hours is amazing. My recent trip to China, I found a lot of similarities to Koreans. Due to the popularity of Korean dramas, the fashion is very similar to Korea, which feels like home. In the past I used to be able to distinguish between Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, but now it is difficult to do so. I visited Xintiandi - it is very beautiful, with a lot of great eating places.

Sina: Nowadays, many Korean stars choose to break into the China market. Do you have any intention to do so? Who are the people you wish to work with?

GHJ: I really like director An Lee. His works have a strong Chinese influence, but he does not look Chinese. China has many excellent directors. When I was young, Hong Kong movies and music were at its peak, and wildly popular during my student years. The fact that I am now in China doing an interview, is a magical feeling. Previously, I just knew about the popularity, but due to the distance, I never experienced it for myself. However, this time, seeing the fans reception at the airport, is really amazing - although there is a language barrier, they still came because they like me. I am very envious of the Korean actors who have activities in China, and also curious how they work. I wish to meet everyone up close and come over often. I still love actresses such as Maggie Cheung, Tang Wei. I also particularly like Stephen Chow and hope to have a chance to work with him on a romantic comedy. 

_End_ 

Source: here

Engtrans by: liddi@soompi.com

Vietnamese translation: here

[01.07.2009] Asians in America (AIA) interview with Gong Hyo Jin on "Crush and Blush" (NYAFF 09)

Gong Hyo Jin and So Ji Sub received Rising Star Asia Award at NYAFF 09

Gong Hyo Jin is a force to be reckoned with. Although having been in the film industry for more than 10 years now, the Korean actress is never at a loss for reinventing those characters she portrays. Last week at the New York Asian Film Festival, audiences embraced both screenings of the movie Crush and Blush, in which Hyo Jin played the leading role.

As a crazed, awkward, and often ostracized teacher named Me-Sook, Hyo Jin accomplished the difficult task of not only mastering the character’s maniacal tendencies, but also enabling her to be felt sorry for and pitied (especially when she blushed beet-red) because of her vulnerability. Hyo Jin made the story of a woman’s obsessive mission to woo her crush feel just as poignant as it was insane.

Her work in the film has been widely recognized and praised. She was the first female recipient of the Rising Star Asia Awards presented by Subway Cinema and The Hollywood Reporter. I had the privilege of speaking with her about her performance in Crush and Blush.

AIA: What initially drew you to this film?

GHJ:  The character she played has a very strong and sometimes frightening personality, but at the same time she’s a very likeable dimension so I had to figure out a way to make audiences like her and even root for her. So that was sort of my task in this film, that’s what weighed on my mind a lot. But I knew I wanted to help the character achieve this. After a lot of thought, I decided I wanted to take on the challenge.

AIA: It seemed as though you could have easily fallen into either of the extremes in your role- being too likeable or being too harsh- what sort of past roles had you played or seen that might have prepared you for this one?

GHJ:  I don’t think there was ever this kind of character portrayed in Korea, so in terms of role models there wasn’t any character that I could pull from, so in that respect it was hard. But looking back it was good since this was the first time you’re seeing this person. I had no comparison, “oh, she’s better, she’s better.” So in a way there was a lot of freedom involved. I got to do the character the way I wanted to, and people could accept that “Yes, this is what Me-Sook would be like.” And even though it was hard, it was such a freeing experience creating such a character.

AIA: While there might not have been any similar roles or movies to reference in Korea, I’m wondering if you have had any traumatic, outcast-stories or experiences like that of Me-Sok, maybe in middle school or high school, that enabled you to sympathize with the character?

GHJ:  I think there were those friends who were kind of outcasts in school, but fortunately I wasn’t one of them so I didn’t know much about them. I think that lack of attention and lack of existence, that’s a serious thing to understand. But there was a music teacher in junior high that wasn’t as strange or intimidating as Me-Sook in the film. But she had no sense of existence- people and students would ignore her and would be eating in class, come in late, and she just would never say anything to them. And her outer appearance was a lot like the character in the film, drudged clothes, outdated and curly frizzy hair. And so in terms of this film, I did remember her. But really, for the film we actually created someone completely new and different than anyone we knew.

AIA: What was the hardest scene or the hardest aspect of portraying this role?

GHJ:  Looking back I think they were all hard scenes [laugh]. You know, I had to constantly be angry and we had a lot of night shoots and cold-weather shoots. At one point, I wondered, “Am I going to survive this sleep deprivation?” But I think the hardest scene was the one where we were taking the group class photo. And it was actually the first day of shoot and up to that point, I had maybe a scene with one or two people. But it was really the first time with that red bright makeup, so to stand in front of all those students with that made-up face was really embarrassing for me. And I mean the whole scene was about being an outcast, so it was very emotional and very hard for me.

AIA: What did you take away from this film, in which a) you don’t necessarily relate to the character so much, and b ) which is probably the first of its kind in Korea?

GHJ:  When this opened last year, it was around my 10-year mark of my career. And in terms of age and experience, I thought I had “gotten there,” and I thought it would be nice to get some awards and get some recognition from critics…and although there was a part of me that wanted to avoid such an unattractive “loser” of a character, I thought that with such a great script if I did do it well it could translate into getting an award. Because sometimes, if you look at a role, you know you can sort of tell whether or not it’s award-worthy, but this one, I was thinking, maybe if I work hard enough, it could get an award which would be a nice way to commemorate my 10 year career. And so I did work hard and I was awarded so that turned out well! And In a way it was sort of my last hurrah! in my late 20’s, and was a way for me to commemorate that as well. It’s like the last time I could sort of do whatever I wanted and de-construct myself, and be brave and just do a character like this and go the distance. It became a very treasured role, and in terms of my acting I feel like I’ve even overcome my limits in acting.

AIA: What was it like working with the first-time female director Lee Kyeong-Mi?

GHJ: In terms of our working relationship, we were very in sync. Our styles are very similar, our points of comedy are very similar, and I think the reason I was so satisfied with this movie is that her favorite take would always be my favorite take. And so since this film essentially is a series of the best takes I got, of course that’s why I’m 100% satisfied with it. And our kind of working relationship doesn’t happen very often- a director has their thoughts and I have my own interpretation but in this case, we were very, very in tune. Because I found her to be sort of like Me-sok, I think just looking at her and being around her, I drew a lot of inspiration for the role. And because I had an incredible trust in her, I think I just went for it, I didn’t have to worry because the trust was there. I would be and go all the way- whether it was being the most attractive or most unattractive, I would scream and do anything, and just be very comfortable because of that trust. And also because she is a female director, I felt like she paid more attention to detail and we talked comfortably about a lot about things. She also had a wide variety of styles, and I think that might have upped the whole strangeness or oddness factor of the film.

Thanks to Gong Hyo Jin for her time, her translator for being at the interview, and everyone at Subway Cinema for setting it up.

Source: soompi

Vietnamese translation: coming soon

[28.06.2009] Twitch interview with Gong Hyo Jin on "Crush and Blush" (NYAFF 09)

Note: CW: reporter Charles Webb from Twitch, GHJ: actress Gong Hyo Jin.

One of the feature guests at this year's edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) was Korean actress Gong Hyo Jin, present to support the one-two punch of her festival-screening films Crush and Blush and Dachimawa Lee. Charles Webb had the chance to sit and talk with her.

[Twitch would like to thank Grady Hendrix of the NYAFF and interpreter Mina Park and of course Ms. Gong for facilitating this interview]

CW: How are you enjoying New York so far?

GHJ: Good.

CW: Have you actually seen any other films at the festival?

GHJ: No. Not yet. 

CW: So, how did you come across the role of Mi-Sook?

GHJ: First I read the script and the character’s very unique and I really was tormented about whether to do the role because there’s a lot of construction going on for an actress. Her face reddens and it’s not the most attractive of roles. I really wondered for the longest time and met with the director and was tormented. But this poor girl of a character keep creeping and grabbing on to me. She kept saying “Do something with me!”

It really felt like - just like the character in the movie - you don’t want to get close to her but there’s something about her that draws you in. I felt like she was kind of a poor soul and I felt this need to become creative with this role and something about it gave me a creative impulse.

As you know there is a lot of makeup involved in the unattractive instead of in the attractive way and that gave me a little pause. I felt like it was a very charming role that might not come back to me in my lifetime and I thought, “Okay, I’m doing it.”

CW: There seemed to be a lot of character quirks – the way she moved her body, the way she interacted with everyone else. There seemed to be something beyond the makeup, even in the way she spoke and moved. What kind of preparation went into this role?

GHJ: In the beginning I felt “What can I do to make this character more appealing, less unattractive?” You know, she’s very unpopular and she actually didn’t have, I felt, a sense of existence. It became about how could I draw her out. But then I realized she did have a sense of existence, it’s just that people ignored her and didn’t want to be around her. The reason for her unattractiveness and unpopularity was very very clear.

So I thought that it was actually more effective that way and that the character was already drawn that way. What helped were the actual circumstances of the shooting. We did a lot of night shoots and the set was… you get tired from the actual circumstances of the shoot. And to have that makeup done and that red face that in itself… there was an instance with the director where she thought I was angry even if I was just sitting there because I had that getup on. People just assumed with the slightest little twitch of my mouth something was wrong. I really feel that redness of the face plays an enormous part in real situations and not just in the movie itself.

So, during that time I did do a lot of frowning and got a lot of wrinkles in my forehead and did a lot of twitching of the mouth. And it became a part of my life, because when I would meet with my friends at that time that would say that I’d developed a very strange expression. They would say that I twitched at the mouth and people started to perceive me very negatively in the sense that I was very negative towards the world. Ultimately, that played on itself and like I said before the whole situation along with the makeup kind of fed upon itself so during this film I became like a very different person.

CW: It sounds like it was kind of a challenging shoot.

GHJ: Yes it was. It was a bit of a difficult shoot. If you see my role, it’s a large role and I’m on the screen a lot. And it was low budget – I think the whole budget was about a million. There’s a lot to shoot in a short amount of time. And the director’s style is that she did do a lot of takes. For two months we would have a 24 hour shoot then rest a day, then another 24 hour shoot then rest a day… if you start off at 7 in the morning then by 2AM from the slightest nudge I’d be frowning. Also, the role itself was very physically tiring because she’s angry so much of the time and I had to play angry so much of the time. So emotionally, it was very draining. Being angry takes a lot of energy. So yes, in that way it was a very tiring shoot.

But I think the tight schedule actually worked for the role of Mi-Sook because when I watch the film now I look at those expressions that I’m doing and I wonder if I could actually do that and get those expressions again. Because I think they were really, really derived from the situation of it all. You know as an actress you’re usually smiling and attractive and pretty. But here I look at those faces and I’m wondering in retrospect [if I could do that]… that’s the sense that I get. 

CW: You mentioned the physicality of the role. And a lot of it involved your co-star with Seo Woo (who plays Seo Jong-hee in the film). You note the physicality there and there’s a lot of time that the two characters spend together during the course of the film. Did anything grow out of that in the role? Did the relationship between the characters change because the two of you were spending a lot of time together, fighting and propping each other up?

GHJ: She’s a newcomer, actually and we met for the first time on this film. I think there’s a 7 year difference in our ages. I know in the film she plays a junior high school student but really she’s in her 20’s. This is her first film and she brought in this very fresh energy and there’s this sense that she’s not afraid of anything. She doesn’t know enough to be afraid yet and she’s very confident in that sense.

At first our relationship was very… we were very shy around each other. But after a few nights shooting around the clock our roles were such that we had to get in synch with each other. I think it’s like the film: our relationship grew as the shoot progressed. She’s a very pretty person, but in the role she’s actually made more attractive with the freckles and everything. After the film was over we’d be promoting the film and wouldn’t be the character she would be herself and in a way I felt sad because I felt like Jong-hee wasn’t there anymore and for me she’ll always be Jong-hee.

So we still call each other a lot and when it was announced that I was receiving an award, the three of us – the director, I, and Seo Woo – would call each other and start crying. I think she cried so much more when I received the award that there was a close-up of her being so happy for me. So we are very close still. 

CW: Congratulations on the award!

GHJ: Thank you!

CW: It seemed like an opportunity for you to mentor a young actor. Did you have anyone when you first started acting who helped you along?

GHJ: [Laughs] Unfortunately, no. In my career, rather than working with older actors I usually worked with my peers - a lot of actors around my age and with similar experience. The roles that I’ve done aren’t so much serious but more stories that fit my age. So there weren’t a lot of adults in the projects to begin with. There was really no one around me to teach me or school me in that sense. Once you start acting you sort of get caught up in a style of acting and you get to rely on your technique. Like anything, acting’s also a profession so you tend to fall into something that’s more comfortable or familiar.

Since I didn’t have anyone scolding me or telling me how to do it I think I found for myself a fresh style of acting. Throughout the 10 years that’s sort of stayed with me, the style that I was able to develop. And in Korea, you’ll notice at the time that I came onto the scene actresses were very intent on looking pretty and doing the “pretty” acting. When I came on it became a cool trend to do the unattractive or strange roles. After I started acting I found more and more actresses- dare I say- following in my style of acting.

CW: That’s something I’ve noticed in a lot of your roles. Your characters seem to have strong personalities, forceful personalities. Is some of that coming from you? The script?

GHJ: Well my first foray into acting wasn’t a strong character with a strong personality. Since that was my first role it became my image of myself as an actor. At the time no one wanted to touch roles like that. They wanted the more traditional, “pretty” role. So having started off like that it kind of became my image. So when roles came my way including TV dramas I’d get these strong characters who would get mad like a man or a sort of wild woman. I did try different types of roles but I don’t think it’s all acting. You take a part of you and you dramatize it. So I suppose there’s a part of me that lends to these characters. I think it’s also because I was much younger at the time. Right now, I’m older and I’ve calmed down and have more experience. But when you’re in your early 20’s you’re young and not afraid of the world and passionate. I think the media would enlarge that aspect of me, so I continued to do those types of roles.

CW: I think what’s admirable is that you still bring some vulnerability to these roles. Even broad characters like the one you played in Volcano High are larger than life and aggressive but they end up being someone who just wants to be cared about.

GHJ: You must have seen a lot of my films?

CW: I have, yeah.

GHJ: [Laughs]

CW: So at this point what’s next for you?

GHJ: I haven’t finalized any plans for my next project yet. It’s been a while since “Crush and Blush” opened but since then there was a film I did called “Sisters on the Road” that’s only been open in the theaters for less than two months. I don’t feel there’s this rush to jump into the next project. It’s taking a little bit more time after these two films to decide on my next project. I think to overcome the image or the un-image of Yang Mi-sook I think I’ll do something more feminine or pretty. But I really haven’t found the role that type of role or met the script that I want to jump on. I think after doing a film that I’m very satisfied with and happy about it takes that much more time to find the next role to do in that sense.

CW: Like one-upping yourself.

GHJ: Yes!

CW: Thank you so much for your time today.

Source: twitchfilm

Vietnamese translation: coming soon

[04.03.2011] 10Asia interview with Gong Hyo Jin (part 3)

Q: Hyun-wook is extreme when it comes to principles and Yoo-kyung does well in giving him advice in ways that won’t hurt his feelings. I think you must’ve had to come up with a lot of the details for your character to show this naturally.
GHJ: The director at first wanted my character to be someone who has a strong fighting spirit. That’s why in the first scene that my character appeared, she was singing with a bandana around her head like a rapper. She was someone with a personality so boyish that you wouldn’t be able to tell whether she is male or female and she came off as someone who would have the perseverance to succeed no matter how much Hyun-wook tormented her. 

Q: But in the end, she turned out to be someone who is extremely attractive in a feminine way.
GHJ: Because I had wanted to play someone who is very likely to exist somewhere after “Crush and Blush.” And the script to “Pasta” was very simple without too much detail regarding my character so I felt that I could do a lot with it. But after I had my first meeting with the director, the scenarist came up with details for Yoo-kyung which all made her seem wild. So I told the director that I’d like to show the feminine side to my character this time and that I’d try to make something out of her if such details were left out. I also didn’t want to show people just the wild or determined image people already had of me. 

Q: I think that’s what was unique about Yoo-kyung. She didn’t try too much to appeal to men with her femininity yet it’s not like it was concealed on purpose. It just felt like you portrayed women as they are in everyday life but I think you must have thought a lot how to go about this.
GHJ: I try not to play the same roles. That is why I try to convince producers straight up of the sort of roles I want to play everytime. And I put in a lot of effort in the beginning of the project to show that I didn’t make the wrong judgement. The director did say I seemed too feeble at first. (laugh) And he worried over whether I’d be able to stand up to Hyun-wook when he’d always be shouting at me. But I told myself that I wouldn’t act it out even if I know how to because I’ve done it before. I just wanted to show an ordinary girl who is scared enough to cry when Hyun-wook is being scary and be slow at a lot of things. It was after the first two episodes that the director said I should continue portraying Yoo-kyung the way I was. 

Q: It must’ve been important that you have good chemistry with Lee Sun-gyun to convince viewers of such details of your character.
GHJ: I did think about how I should portray my character but never based solely on her. If I had been stubborn about not wanting my character to seem pitiful, when it is only when my character has become weak enough that she’ll draw the emotions from the male actor, there would be no reason for him to act the way he does. He’s only overlooking the problems she causes because he feels sorry for her so I can’t stop that. It’s just that it would’ve been boring and cliche to play her in the way I had with acting that people are used to in order to explain what sort of person she is in the beginning. That’s why I want to become very ordinary people in projects these days. 

Q: Ordinary people?
GHJ: So many different types of people exist in the world these days and they all live in different ways. But if we express something excessively or try to seem too pitiful, it becomes difficult to express the details to each type of character. I want to make new rules to my acting by avoiding going with obvious setups because I think that’s the only way I’ll improve. So I think the synergy was great between the director, scenarists and actors in “Pasta” in particular and that’s why Yoo-kyung turned out to be who she is. 

Q: I was impressed by how Yoo-kyung revealed her various charms to Hyun-wook by working with him so naturally instead of suddenly turning up all pretty one day.
GHJ: What I was very worried about was that I couldn’t make Yoo-kyung seem like a troublemaker. She’s someone that could’ve easily made viewers think, ‘Who’s she to always cause trouble and have the man sort out her mess?’ She was always causing all sorts of trouble in the kitchen, then crying about it everyday because she wouldn’t know how to deal with it and the chef would let her off the hook which would come off as distasteful to anyone. That’s why I kept running about here and there when I was in the kitchen, even in the parts that I didn’t have any lines to say. She’s skinny so she looks like she would be weak but she would keep trying and try twice as hard as the men to overcome her limitations. The director chased me around for six hours to show that as well, and showed it through single takes as well. 

Q: That’s why I’m curious of the next step that you’ll take. Actresses become limited to the roles they can play with age but it seems like you’re just increasingly getting better at finding the roles you want to play.
GHJ: Up until “Pasta,” I think used to believe my strength laid in how I was good at making women think I’m cool or wild. But for the time being, I want to play characters like I did in “Pasta” although of course, I’d make sure there are different things that are charming about her. I think that now, actresses have longer heydays and they have more time than they did in the past. I just think that we need to be better. We have to extend our life as actresses by constantly working hard instead of waiting to make it big by coming across a great project by chance. You need to competent to captivate people. Acting isn’t just about working on a good project and a good director. Projects that may have seemed slightly hopeless turn into good projects with good acting and I’d like to become an actress who can be of help to the people who make that project. I’m trying to become an actress liked not only by people who watch my work but also those who make them. I think that’s probably how I’d be able to stay in this industry for a long time. (laugh) 

Q: How would you like to live your life when you’re past your thirties, not as an actress but as a human being.
GHJ: Well it may have already started for me but actors have defined characters as actors. For example, that one may seem ‘feminine’ or ‘kind.’ But I think I need to push that aside and look for who I really am when I’m back to being my real self. When actors get a set image, they try to magnify that aspect of them as much as they can and push ahead with it in a way that will be most well received by people. That also sometimes makes them worry whether they might mistakenly show their true selves. That’s why when they play characters that deviate from their set image, they say things like, “I played a character completely different from me” or “The person you see on screen is just the character.” (laugh) 

Q: So are you not going to do that anymore? (laugh)
GHJ: I know that I have the image of being a fashionista who is honest, confident and outspoken. And it’s true that I don’t deny it nor try to change it. But that’s me as an actress. I want to show people who I am as myself. I’m actually more careful and I’m hoping to be someone who can see the entire forest instead of just a single tree. That’s why rather than adopting my image as an actor to my actual life, I don’t know how this will be accepted, but I want to be someone who is two-faced. (laugh) An actress on the outside but I think what I’ve written in my book is closest to who I really am. That’s what I want people’s perception of me to be.

_End_

Source: 10Asia

Part 1: here; Part 2: here

Vietnamese translation: here

[04.03.2011] 10Asia interview with Gong Hyo Jin (part 2)

 

Q: But just like we need new recycling techniques to be invented to protect the environment, these issues aren’t things that can’t be resolved through a single person’s efforts.

GHJ: I actually did start thinking that in the end, it’s up to the government to solve environmental problems. For example, with recycling, they need to start by fixing the law on how they only fine people who throw away trash so that it can’t be recycled. I want to handle these issues in more detail in my next book. But for now, I felt that it’s important that I at least bring slight changes to the lifestyle of my readers. And that’s why I came to write about spending. The most people who will read this book are people in their twenties who will be spending the most because they have just started to make money. A lot of people relieve their stress by spending money on Internet shopping malls and I felt that the reason we make money may be to spend, and that we live to buy the things we want. 

Q: So you ended up going from environmental issues to consumption, then to living. (laugh)
GHJ: In a book called “No Impact Man,” there is a part that says your daily wage would be higher if you work during the time you spend two to three hours cooking for yourself at home. But you’ll buy food since you can’t make it which means you’ll make more to spend more and create more trash. At first I thought, ‘What’s he talking about?’ (laugh) but I ended up relating to it quite a bit. If you work for longer, you’re more likely to take a cab instead of walking or taking the bus and you’ll spend more money to make up for how tired you are physically. It’s just a vicious cycle. So I started having very complex thoughts while writing the book but it’s a difficult issue for me and my readers so I want to handle it in my next book. 

10: So you’re going to write another version?
GHJ: I left out a few things in this book on purpose because I wanted to save them for book 2. In a way, I’m also worried that it’ll be less popular than the first book. (laugh) It’ll be more complicating and the more I go into detail, the more depressing it’ll be because there isn’t quite an answer to the issues I’ll be talking about. Readers may think, ‘So what does she want us to do? There’s nothing I can do about it.’ But I guess I can’t help it. That’s why environmental issues in particular are about convincing others. I’m going to have to make them take interest, as if trying to seduce them (laugh), ‘This is what is good’ or ‘That’s what is cool.’ 

Q: In that sense, I think you did well in dealing with environmental issues by talking about your own experiences because I felt very strongly about not using shampoo when taking a shower after reading your book. (laugh)
GHJ: I think nagging people actually helps. (laugh) Even my friends who had used to say they couldn’t be bothered have started telling me they’ve changed their ways because of me. I believe that everyone subconsciously regard themselves as kind people and want to be good people. When I do interviews like this, people may think, ‘She’s probably talking about it to sell more of her books’ (laugh) but I believe that it’s important that someone keeps saying these things. It may stimulate people to restart things they had been hesitant about doing. Having the thought that one person can make a difference will help both yourself and the world. 

Q: Don’t such thoughts end up changing how you live life? There was a part where you wrote about how you exchange books and clothes with friends but you have to know how to not compare the value for such things to do that.
GHJ: Well I think I took an interest to the environment because of my personality. I’m very timid and am always trying to figure out what the other person is thinking. (laugh) I’m always trying to think of how the other person feels and constantly think of things like, ‘Maybe she’s hungry now?’ or ‘She said she had another appointment to go to’ when I’m with my friends. That’s why I’m in complete agony when I have birthday parties (laugh) because I’m always wondering how everyone is doing. I think that’s why I have those thoughts for my plants and dog… I observe them to see whether the plants need more sunlight or the dog needs to go out for a walk. 

Q: When you think of the environment, don’t you start realizing that everybody on this planet is just as precious as I am and that I’m not someone who is special in particular nor can I use whatever I like however I please. But actors are people who are at the center of what goes on on set and they sometimes have to assert their opinions. So don’t the two conflict?
GHJ: That’s true. There are times when an actor will look a bit pathetic if he or she isn’t assertive about certain things on set. (laugh) In a way, acting brash sometimes looks cool and it’ll make people think, ‘What makes him so fearless? I guess he’s just that great of an actor.’ And that’s actually the type of actor I was striving to be. (laugh) I’d ask for a cup of coffee with gusto, then not finish it. (laugh) But I realized I’m not that sort of person. I tried to look like I’m confident when I’m acting, no matter what, but I suddenly started thinking that it’s very mean of me. I have a job which places me in the spotlight so people think I’ll be a spender but I actually take a shower in ten minutes and use the same towel several times so I started wondering why I hadn’t shown that side to me. 

Q: I guess there was a big gap between who you really are and who you want to be.
GHJ: I actually wanted people to see me as a wilder person up till my early twenties. You know, there are always kids like that in school. Those who think the No. 1 delinquent in school is cooler than the class president. And that it’s cool to spit, chew gum and kick what you could just use your hands to push. (laugh) There was a time I wanted to be like that. Of course, that’s no longer the case (laugh) although there are times I want to seem more brash. And over time, I’ve come to think that thinking of the environment and becoming a meticulous person is much cooler. I also think there will come a time when the fact that my serious attitude toward other things and people will be received well by others as well. 

Q: Do you think having such an attitude influences your acting as well? It looks like you act your roles with more precision in your more recent projects, particularly in “Pasta” alongside actor Lee Sun-gyun. It seemed like you were paying more attention to how you guys work with your scene partner or the overall space of the kitchen rather than trying to make yourselves stand out.
GHJ: Once you start taking an interest in these sort of issues, it becomes difficult to play characters that spend recklessly. I may decide that it won’t fit me to play the daughter of a rich family. Of course, I’ll probably take it if the project is a good one (laugh). I also think an actor’s job involves getting many people to like me. You’ll meet from 50 to up to 100 people on the crew per project, then go your own ways but meet again later. And of those people, there will be people you meet for the first time but you can only work well with them by talking to them, getting them to like you and exchanging each others feelings. I think that’s how I came to pay attention to relationships on set or how I work with the project in general so that may be my strength when it comes to acting. 

Q: It seems that you think a lot about your relationships with others and people’s perception of you.
GHJ: Since young, I’ve been the type that tries to get along with my friends. (laugh) Someone who is good at noticing how others feel and knows what’s going on. I’ve been the type that has always made the effort to maintain good relationships with people rather than lead others or be in the center of attention. 

Q: I think that’s why you’ve played a lot of roles that involve taking care and looking after others. Even in “Pasta,” Lee Sun-kyun’s character Hyun-wook started depending a lot on your character Yoo-kyung.
GHJ: It just turned out that way. (laugh) I came to realize one day that I was controlling chef (Hyun-wook). (laugh) I was watching one of the episodes on television one day with the crew and they kept saying that Yoo-kyung is so sly. (laugh) I know I’m the one who did the acting but Yoo-kyung truly did look sly in how she controlled Hyun-wook with her expressions. 

(to be continued) 

Source: 10Asia

Part 1: here; Part 3: here

Vietnamese translation: here