[TRANS] Ryu Jun Yeol for UWeekly Magazine (July 2016)
Cover page: Ryu Jun Yeol walked out of the <Reply 1988> “curse”
Ryu Jun Yeol- Acting-Handsome BOY generation
Through acting as “Dog Jungpal” in <Reply 1988>, he shot to fame, becoming the “acting-handsome” male god of the new generation, capturing the hearts of many female fans!
Venue of interview: Seoul Gangnam Andromeda Studio
Source: UWeekly Magazine (July 2016)
Translated by Eyes On RYU | eyesonryu.tumblr.com
Please do not translate to other languages without permission!
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Although he debuted a little over one year, his acting skill is recognized and have also received countless number of awards, including South Korea’s most influential award –Best New Actor from “Baeksang Arts Awards”.
2016, he acted full force and puts all his efforts on both drama and movie industries. The first episode of his recent hot drama <Lucky Romance> exceeded 10% for its ratings, initiating hot discussions. The generation belonging to Ryu Jun Yeol is coming!
UW: After being chosen to act in <Reply 1988>, how did you feel at that time? Did you expect the drama to be so popular?
Ryu: The audience may have seen the scene of me participating in the auditions for <Reply 1988> in <Youth Over Flowers>. The third time I went for the auditions, after the director chatted with me, he suddenly said, “Let’s do it together.” At that moment, I didn’t understand what he was saying but I realized I was confirmed as the cast after that. I’m full of hope every time I go for auditions but when I was confirmed as the cast, it felt like very complicated, a feeling that I don’t know how to describe. The memories of me preparing for <Reply 1988> auditions before, flow out like scenes in a movie. I remember the director said something like “Thank you, thank you.” to me. I didn’t expect any audience overseas to watch it at all.
UW: I heard that you wanted to act as “Sung Sunwoo” (acted by Go Kyung Pyo) at first, is it true?
Ryu: No. The director gave me Sunwoo’s script when I went to the first audition so I thought the director wanted me to act as Sunwoo. After that, the director gave me the script of other roles, I guess he wanted to me to try different roles, and he decided to give me the role of “Kim Jung Hwan”.(Nickname: Ssangmun-dong Dog Jung Pal)
UW: How are you similar to Kim Junghwan?
Ryu: Half-half. “Kim Junghwan” is a very firm person, which is similar to me. However, I am likable like “Sung Sunwoo”. I think “Kim Junghwan” is a little boring when he is dating and I’m not as boring as him. HAHAHA.
UW: Then. how are you similar to “Je Suho” in <Lucky Romance>?
Ryu: I have some areas where I am similar with Je Su Ho. I am not superstitious. If someone tells me to not write my name in red ink, I will do it more.
UW: In <Lucky Romance> you kissed with Hwang Jung Eum, how did you prepare for that kiss scene?
Ryu: I was very anxious! Hwang Jung Eum helped lead that scene, I’m very grateful towards her.
UW: You shot to fame because of <Reply 1988> and became “Nation Fluttering Man”; becoming the “Acting-Handsome Man of the New Era” after Kim Woo Bin, what thoughts do you have of such nicknames? Which area/side of you do you think you are the most charismatic?
Ryu: I am satisfied with the nicknames the audience gave me and I’m very thankful to them.People who met me always say I look very familiar, just like a person whom they knew before. Maybe the reason why the audience like me is because I give off the feeling of a “familiar person”, can I say that this is my charisma? Reporters in Korea tell me the “life drama” I act in is very vivid, like something they will see in normal life which is what they are able to relate to. This may be the reason why the audience like me too.
UW: Because of the success of <Reply 1988>, was it stressful for you to act in <Lucky Romance>?
Ryu: When I take on a new drama, I will have a lot of concerns including <Lucky Romance>. However, I believe that all will be good, after I started filming, these worries were all solved. I will film happily and finish a good piece of work.
Birthday: September 25th, 1986
Height/weight: 183cm/70kg
Blood type: A type
Education: University of Suwon-Film and Theatre Department
Debut: Year 2015, Movie <Socialphobia>
Notable work: 2016 drama <Reply 1988>, <Lucky Romance>, Variety show <Youth over Flowers:Africa>
Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/ryusdb/
No stress after becoming famous
UW: You became famous after debuting for just one year, do you feel it’s very unimaginable? Being recognized by the audience in a short period of time, how do you feel?
Ryu: I am an extremely optimistic person, after I shot to fame suddenly, I felt like I cannot believe it at first, but I am adapting to it slowly. Being popular makes me even busier, but there aren’t much changes for others. Recently, I even took the public transport, but I wore a mask so the public didn’t recognize me. I feel that how I adapt to it is very important, if I am not used to bringing inconvenience to others, or I think it is not convenient to take public transport, I won’t take it, so I don’t have much pressure.
UW: When you decided to be an actor, in what situation were you in?
Ryu: In highschool, my dream was to be a teacher. To become a teacher, I studied hard just like a normal highschool student to prepare myself to go to the Graduate School of Education.I didn’t make it through the first university entrance exam, and when I was preparing to retake it, I always felt that I am not someone who can study well. At that time, I really like watching movies, so I decided to major in acting and become an actor.
Hope to collaborate with Jackie Chan
UW: You said you like watching movies, do you have any movie that made you want to become an actor? Do you have any director or movie that you like from the Chinese industry?
Ryu: When I was preparing to be an actor, I watched many Western films and also many Hong Kong films. I really like Stephen Chow, Wong Kar Wai, Ang Lee and Jackie Chan movies. In <Reply 1988>, Ssangmundong friends gathered to watch <A Better Tomorrow>. Growing up in my generation, I watched Jackie Chan movies so I feel much more for Jackie Chan. If the opportunity comes, I would like to work with him.
UW: Having struggled alone, without any company or team managing you, helping you to take care of your matters, the process of finding a path out alone, was it exhausting? How did you get through that period of time?
Ryu: When I was not under any company, my workload was not that much. With a management company now, a lot of people are helping me and it leads to higher work efficiency and quality. Now, I just need to concentrate on working. As the staff arrange my schedule, I can meet more people now and can even accept an interview from Singapore media.
UW: After you shot to fame, you had the chance to be in <Youth Over Flowers>, we saw your leadership skills and the ability to speak English fluently, it was domineering (in a good way) and caring. As the usual you, are you that caring towards the people around you? When you were with Ahn Jae Hong, Park Bo Gum and Go Kyung Pyo in Africa, what was the most important thing you have learned?
Ryu: I am the type who is passionate and considerate to others, I treat them alike, in <Youth Over Flowers>, I look like I know how to take care of people around me, but I just did what I am supposed to do. I will be happy and even thank them if they think I am taking good care of them.
Good vibes when travelling
UW: Through <Youth Over Flowers>, we knew that you like travelling, can you share with everyone some of your travel experiences?
Ryu: Travelling can change the mindset of people, if you are prejudiced against a matter or if you are experiencing stress in life, after travelling, you will feel pleasured. My first overseas trip was in Japan. I went to Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and other places with my friends, my favourite was the small town of Chiba. Tokyo is just a big city but in Chiba you can see the habits and customs of the Japanese, giving off a very “Japanese feeling.”
UW: The trip that left you the deepest impression is…?
Ryu: It will be the Africa trip while shooting <Youth Over Flowers>. As it is a place that I went recently, it left the deepest impression. We took around 17 hours to reach Namibia through plane, with my good friends accompanying me, I felt very elated. A lot of people describe Namibia as a “hidden gem”. The nature scenery is so beautiful there, there’s grassland, desert and even sea, only if you have visited Namibia then you can say that you walked the whole Africa, it feels like I received the “big gift of Africa.”
UW: What kind of actor do you want to become?
Ryu: Because of my role as “Kim Jung Hwan” in <Reply 1988>, many people have a good impression of me, and I hope I can maintain that. I hope to become an actor that the audience trust, an actor that the audience want to continue watching. I cannot choose one role model, like seniors; I want to act for a long time and meet my audience.
From UWeekly: Seeing Ryu Jun Yeol in real life, I realized that he was much thinner than he was in <Reply 1988>. He said he lost 5kg. He is tall, has long legs and every outfit he wore looked stylish. Ryu Jun Yeol is very polite, although he didn’t have very long answers for the questions, it can be felt that this is his personality. Whenever I (the reporter) asked him something, he said “Thank you” after every answer, it was very modest.
On the day he was interviewed, there was around 10 staff who accompanied him. A reporter from Korea said that the number of staff an artist has can prove how popular this artist is in Korea, and out of all the artists I have interviewed, this is the most number of staff I’ve seen, we can see how popular he is in Korea now! Currently, he is working with Hwang Jung Eum in MBC drama <Lucky Romance>, and will act in the upcoming movies <The King> and <Taxi Driver>, I hope that his acting career will continue to boom!
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