Part 1 : “I have been really happy recently”When JYJ member, Park YooChun decided to take on acting, many people were saying, 'Can a singer act in a TV drama?' etc and topics were arising from the same. But YooChun's challenge to take on acting had won him high praises. Last year at the KBS Drama Awards, YooChun who acted in the KBS TV drama SungKyunKwan Scandal, had three awards crowned on him, having won the rookie award, netizens award and popularity award. His ability has once again gained everyone’s attention.
The flawless, 'warm' YooChun, when he was in TVXQ, he was really an artist with both looks and talent, having limitless chance to become the best star.
His acting on Bee TV, a broadcasting channel for Japanese handphone, has caught a lot of attention too. His acting career makes one to be envious but at the same time, YooChun's life is put to a huge test and by making a decision to leave SM Entertainment, this gave rise to the SM contract dispute. Not only this, together with his 2 other members JaeJoong and JunSu, the three of them left their original group and formed a new group called JYJ. However, as performances on TV shows were met with obstacles, they were unable to make any first moves.
But again, YooChun did not show any evidence of sadness, he was rather active and showed everyone his great acting skills. Recently, he was offered many dramas and is in the process of choosing them carefully. It is like he never gave up and moved against the direction of the water’s flow, challenging himself against all odds. I have met such a YooChun...
When I first met you, it was in 2004 when TVXQ debuted with ‘Hug’. And in no time, 7 years have passed. In the past you looked so polite and honest; do you still hear people saying this to you?YooChun: Now when I meet people whom I’ve met with before and hear good compliments, I feel really good. I debuted as a singer and this was really worrisome. It’s like my feelings were all crumpled up. But now, no matter where I go, I’ll still keep the same positive outlook and optimism to give everyone a good impression of myself.
Congratulations! You have won 3 KBS awards! You only acted in one drama and have obtained such results, this means that your popularity in the country is really high! What’s your secret to have such a high popularity in both the music and acting industry?YooChun: This is a very difficult question (laughs). I have never thought of this question before. I feel that the drama this time was really compelling to me. Many singers would choose acting, and I who tried to get rid of the burdensome feeling worked even harder and this made me not think about being successful or not, but it made me concentrate on the drama more and I’m able to blend in as one with the character. As for secrets to popularity.. hmm.. I don't think I can answer this like a theory which can be written on the whiteboard right? But to tell you the truth, the whiteboard is not always clean, when I need it, it would be filled up fully and sometimes erased off so I could write whatever I want to do on it.
Recently in the entertainment industry, artistes are evolving very quickly, and this made singers cum actors seem so ordinary. Your situation is the same as the other artists, but I really want to know, what is your real motive to move on to acting? And was there anything that made you want to become an actor?YooChun: After debuting as a singer, I wanted to try acting the most. I really wanted to go and learn acting formally. During SungKyunKwan Scandal, many people asked me, "You have been in the industry for so long as a singer, why did you want to start acting now?" But I feel that I’m acting really early in my entertainment years! I want to act because... I really like acting.
Recently, during the KBS awards, you have finally stood on the stage which you’ve missed. Fans were looking forward to your performance but you only sang one OST track which made fans feel that it is such a pity. After all, it is a stage for JYJ to meet the fans, don't you feel the pity too?YooChun: To tell the truth, I wanted to perform more for everyone but it's a wish that cannot be fulfilled now. Even if we sang only one song, we're really happy. We want to sing our own composed song but just the feeling of standing on the stage, that kind of feeling is really good. But maybe it's because we haven't been on the stage for too long, we were able to enjoy the stage even more. Regarding the pity, it's not only us, but the fans who were at the hall and fans who were watching us on television felt it too. Hopefully we will be able to show a better performance for everyone to watch.
Part 2: "While acting, I got angry"Currently with the SM contract dispute, because of the situation, you guys meet with obstacles while doing promotions. But if you continued staying in your original place, there wouldn't be such a difficult situation, and you guys would still be standing on the stage with no limits. Why did you give up this kind of glory?YooChun: We set our hearts hard for this. I wouldn't deny we actually gave up all those glory. We didn't think about this when we were at our peak. All we thought was we wanted to stay in this industry longer. But now, with the new family (member) we're moving forward together, working hard together.
When you announced that you were going into acting, many people criticized, "What are you going to act as?" But now, everyone is looking forward to your next drama. No matter where, the expectation for actor Park YooChun is getting high.YooChun: I received a lot of offers, be it for TV dramas or movies. But I haven't got the time to read all of it. I wouldn't choose my next drama in a whim, but I would talk to the people around me before deciding my next work. It is because of SungKyunKwan Scandal that I have these thoughts. (laughs)
You’re currently still a rookie, so it's hard to avoid from people pick pointing your mistakes. But I feel that you will be a wonderful actor in the future. However in regards to your own acting skills, have you been angry to yourself before?YooChun: Of course. During the filming of SungKyunKwan Scandal, I did a lot of preparation but the director still felt that my acting was not enough. Every time when I’m met with this situation, my mind would go blank. I wanted to show a good performance to the director too but when it doesn't go according to what I wished for, I would be angry with myself.
When the drama finally finished filming, what was running through your mind?YooChun: Two days after the filming ended, my body didn't feel good. For 2 days, I laid down at home, staring blankly. I couldn't remember what happened during the filming. Until when my body felt better, I suddenly had a realization that, "Ah! My drama has finished filming." Initially, I wanted to know what everyone thought of my acting skills, so I turned on the computer to go online to read but then again, I felt really sad and turned it off. After that... I thought whether if I did do anything wrong in front of the seniors? Or did I do anything wrong? Did I forget to give my greetings to anyone? I kept thinking of going back to the time when I was filming. The people whom I missed during the filming, I would call them one by one.
How long do you think can you survive in this industry?YooChun: Not long ago, during a performance in Japan, I suddenly thought, 'How long can I survive in this industry?' First, I thought about my mom, my brother and fans, my members and the people around me, and as long as they feel satisfied, I would like to work until they feel it's enough. But a long time after having those thoughts, my mum started to have difficulties in walking. At that time, I wanted to stay by her side to take care of her.
You are able to get 3 awards, it can be said that the fans' power is really great! But have you ever thought that, after this, when your acting gets recognized, you would like to aim for a higher award?YooChun: This is why the burden on my shoulder got heavier and I feel bad. At that time, I felt really good while getting the awards but at the same time, I was pondering if I was really worthy of this award. The award given this time to me, was a good motivation. And also, looking back to the past recipient of the awards, I noticed that actors with high popularity only had to rely on one drama a year to win a huge prize (some actors just have to act in one drama a year and get the huge prize). But my thinking is different. Although I got the big prize, I should have numerous works which can make people recognize my acting skills.
Between an actor and a singer, which one suits you more?YooChun: I like singing and acting, but not the position of a singer cum actor. I learnt composing when I was in middle school. Recently, even if I don't compose each night, I still try to touch the piano. I noticed that I really love music. Once I have that inspiration, I’ll start writing them. (laughs) While for acting, reading the script was pretty burdensome. But once I entered the filming set, I immediately put myself into it and thought, "Ah! Acting is pretty interesting too." Be it acting or singing, I like them both as they're both interesting and make me feel accomplished.
Part 3: “I'm not joking, I really want to fall in love~”I would like to know what your planned schedule is for this year.YooChun: This year, in the first half of the year, a world wide album will be released in America and we plan to go to the US to promote the album, and a world tour concert is still under planning. In the meantime, I will choose my next drama and to prepare myself for the filming, I’ll be going for acting lessons and I will meet everyone again on the TV drama in the second half of the year. JunSu is currently busy with the 'Tears Of Heaven' musical and JYJ’s overseas promotion. JaeJoong hyung plans to take on a TV drama in the second half of the year.
Are you in contentment recently?YooChun: Will I sound old if I say this? But recently life has been really interesting. Everything, every moment is really precious and blissful.
Wants to dateJYJ member, YooChun has made a new year wish: "I want to fall in love!"
YooChun, whose blood type is O, has dated women of blood type O and A each for 3 years and said that it felt pretty good. Now he's looking for a girl with marriage in mind.
YooChun, during the interview with Chosun.com on the afternoon of January 13th mentioned that, "My father's body hasn't been well recently. Until now, I have yet to bring any of my girlfriends to meet my parents. But if there's a chance, before his body’s condition gets worse, I would like to introduce my girlfriend to him."
When asked what his ideal type is, he said, "I want someone with a kind-looking face, someone who looks sunny. Someone who can love the people around us, the family-type of girl and able to communicate well with all the relatives."
Lastly, when asked about MinYoung who had a scandal with him because of the drama SungKyunKwan Scandal, YooChun replied, "Truthfully, it's just a scandal."
Source:
Chosun NewsTranslation: mel @ OneTVXQ.com
Credits: OneTVXQ.com
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