Rain or Shine Special Event (Evening Show)
Rain or Shine Special Screening and Talk
This time we have the talk show before the screening. I wondered if it was because Junho had to fly back after the event, but apparently he stayed the night in Japan and flew back the next day. So possibly he had another interview or shoot in the evening? – something we might look forward to, hopefully! (putting aside concerns for Junho’s workload)
F: We had the screening before the talk in the afternoon show, but since we will be having the screening after the talk this time, we will try not to spoil some major points of the drama and thus have a different set of talks in this show. But we hope to have your understanding just in case if we do spoil the drama. Today, we are going to have a chance to appreciate the appeals of the actor Junho. So, are you ready to welcome the star of the show?
I suspect the star himself is the most nervous one right now. (laugh)
Now, let’s welcome our main guest!
Actor Lee Junho, who played the protagonist Lee Kang Doo in the drama Rain or Shine!
Junho appears on stage in a different outfit (see photo) from the afternoon show.
J: Thank you, I’m the “actor” Junho. (laugh)
Good evening, I’m Junho from 2PM!
F: Welcome to the show. So, you were saying it made you feel awkward and tense coming out onto the stage because I called you the “actor” Junho so many times in the afternoon show. But you are okay now, as this is the second time, aren’t you?
J: It was a somewhat depressing atmosphere (in the afternoon). Obviously I have been taking on jobs as an actor, but that was the first time for me to introduce myself as the “actor” Junho. So it made me a bit nervous.
F: I’m sure you are rather more relaxed now, though.
J: Ah, yes. A little. (Making a big “a little” finger sign: a reference to the afternoon show.)
F: So here we have prepared for you a sofa to match the image of the “actor” Junho-sama! (also a reference to the talk in the afternoon show.)
J: The actor image is a bit … I feel awkward … Usually, I sit on a high chair. (He sits down, still looking unconvinced about the “actor” image.) An actor … .
F: You’ve changed your outfit from the afternoon show. I knew you would be like this for the fans, showing a different image! And the song in the background (the soundtrack Junho sings) as you came onto the stage is really a good song, too.
F: 어떤 말이 필요하니 (“True Love”) I think it literally means “what words are needed.”
F: Is singing a song for a drama different from singing as 2PM or a solo artist?
J: Completely different. The composer of the song asked me to sing this song in a new style I haven’t tried before when we recorded the song. So it was very difficult.
F: Since a soundtrack is something that accompanies the picture and gives a dramatic effect to it by enhancing the emotions, it must show a different kind of power of music.
J: Right. The soundtrack is really significant.
F: You’ve shown us a new scope in your potential abilities through singing the soundtrack. And today, we have questions for you as an actor.
Up to this point Junho is speaking in Japanese. When he goes deep into the content of the drama and his stories about the filming, he uses Korean to be more precise. (Short responses are in Japanese.)
F: We will be showing the digest of the drama after this talk in this session, but let me ask you this first. What did you keep in mind the most in playing the character Lee Kang Doo?
J: I tried to be as close as possible to the character Lee Kang Doo. Since most of the characters in this drama are still pained by the building collapse, I thought I shouldn’t act this lightly. I tried to keep in mind that the tone of my acting shouldn’t be light. I was determined to try to understand and reflect the feelings of the victims and the survivors of accidents like this as much as possible.
F: That comment makes it sound like this work is a really heavy drama, but the basic framework is a love story, isn’t it? Isn’t it your first time to be in a love story as authentic as this?
J: This is the first time to be in the leading role as well as an authentic love story.
F: I think you were great in it. Love stories suit you.
J: It’s a drama (fiction).
F: Of course, it should be just in dramas. I won’t allow you to be in love stories any other ways. (laugh)
J: It’s Kang Doo’s love story.
F: Exactly. Kang Doo can have a love story, but not you. I just spoke for your fans right now. (big applause & and Junho gives Furuya-san a thumb-up, which invites more applause)
F: You must have had to change your acting style from your previous works.
F: Although you have been playing various roles, this time you are playing a character who is carrying a heavy burden, but still tries to look forward in the end, which is the significant point. Furthermore, the two characters with the same painful experience are going to develop love. I’m sure it would have been difficult to express this complexity within a single character.
J: Thank you very much. I really appreciate your thorough description. (laugh)
I don’t think this is a trendy drama: The characters do not live mediocre lives, and their pains are not mediocre either. They are ostensibly ordinary people, but each of them is trying to survive, while having complex feelings within. So, I wanted to approach this with sincerity. I really had to act with all my heart. I hoped I could encourage or console, even a little bit, all the people with such pains through the drama. That’s what I had in mind when I was acting for this.
F: You stayed in Busan for 5 months during the shoot. How hard was your life in Busan … having had to focus on your acting and all?
J: I was living alone in Busan, and I had to prepare my own meals myself. I tried to keep the light out by keeping the curtains closed as well. And even when I had time (to cook), I tried not to eat much and kept myself being hungry, as I was on a diet, too. I thought I could understand Lee Kang Doo’s pains better that way. I thought how I live would naturally be reflected in the character. Normally I listen to music in the van when I’m heading to work, being in a good mood, but I didn’t listen to music or talk to anyone during the shoot of this drama. I tried to put myself into a tough situation.
F: Is this the first time you forced yourself into being the character this much?
J: I’m doing it each time.
J: It’s just that I’m taking a slightly different approach to be in the character this time.
F: I didn’t mean you were half-hearted before.
J: I know. It’s OK. (laugh) When I was in Chief Kim, I also tried to corner myself, as I was playing a villain and I wanted to show a new side of me. But I didn’t want to make others uncomfortable by taking my oversensitivity or irritation out on them. So, I tried to spend more time alone, trying to change my character. And this time in Rain or Shine, I was going to play a character in affliction. I had to create an environment where the affliction that I hadn’t felt or experienced before would really sink in. I needed to corner myself that way. This is what I do whenever I take on a new role.
F: Is it something similar to how you work on your songs, composing and writing the lyrics? Though of course I’m sure with your calibre you have no trouble coming up with melodies and lyrics in a snap of fingers …
(Junho pretends to nod with a smile.)
J: It would have been great if that was the case! But in reality writing songs is such a hard work. Of course, I always feel like enjoying the work when I’m writing songs, but it really depends on the song I’m writing at the time because there are emotions and messages I want to convey through the songs. My feelings kind of reflect the songs I’m working on. I get happier writing a happy song, and it hurts more if I’m writing a song about pain or difficulties. I believe my approach is to identify with the feelings (of the songs or the characters) because music and acting are such works that require us to express feelings.
F: These are the words of a creator! So profound!
J: Thank you. I’m a “creator” Junho. (laugh)
F: You are a creator indeed! Now your smile came back a little, too.
F: Now we will be introducing the drama’s highlights on screen again. Since you will be watching the digest after the talk, the choice of scenes is made differently from the afternoon show.
Top 3 scenes of interest (chosen by a staff)
F: This time the writer-planner of the event chose the scenes that she is interested in personally among all those great scenes in the drama.
F: Let’s take a look at them now.
3: Kang Doo helping Moon Soo and Wan-Jin get on a taxi (Ep.3)
J: Mmm. A scene where I look cool.
There! Here comes the handsome!
He even helps her buckle up!
Anybody would say thank you in that situation!
(The way Furuya-san describes the scene makes us laugh.)
2: Kang Doo feeling seasick on the boat (Ep.10)
F: The staff really wanted to show this scene.
J: Thank you. It’s the real sea.
F: This is the scene where Kang Doo takes a job on a fishing boat, trying to run away from Moon Soo.
J: This is filmed in the middle of the real sea.
F: Really? On the boat for the whole time?
J: That’s the real me. (It’s not acting.)
J: The knit cap is not mine though.
1: Kang Doo getting into a fight with one of the bereaved (Ep.8)
F: So our writer chose this scene where a bereaved family member cusses out Kang Doo’s father’s wrongdoings, which leads to a fight.
F: What do you think about the choices?
(Furuya-san asked this question because the choices in the afternoon show seemed questionable to Junho.)
F: I’m glad to hear that.
J: These scenes were so hard to film.
F: That’s what the writer thought in choosing these scenes.
F: So shall we take a look at each scene? First, the third one. It’s the scene with the wheelchair. You are very chivalrous in that scene.
J: When we were filming the scene, the only thing I had in my mind was how I can put the wheelchair in the car boot in a cool manner. (laugh)
Really, at that time, I wasn’t even thinking about acting. (laugh) I opened the boot, only thinking about the coolest way to put the wheelchair in, but it didn’t go in. Not even close. The wheelchair was too big to fit in the boot. So, I tried to put it in the car, but it was still too big. If you look at the scene closely again, you might notice that after I opened the boot, I only pretended to put the wheelchair in, but actually it’s still on the ground. (laugh)
F: It sure looked light (when you were supposedly lifting the wheelchair)!
J: Ah … that’s … well I did close the boot lightly. At the time of the shoot, nobody expected that the wheelchair would be too big, and so I just had to pretend to put it in. And when the taxi drove away, we could see the wheelchair left on the road.
F: It would have been a blunder if it was filmed!
J: That’s why we have “editing.”
F: Now, about the scene in the sea.
J: Mmm. I don’t remember exactly if it was on the first day or the second, but maybe the first. We went out to the sea in the early morning and started to film. And that’s when I started to feel seasick. I was on a meal a day diet then, and so there wasn’t anything much in my stomach. But still I got so seasick that I even had to take medicine for it. I think that made the expression on my face very natural. (laugh)
F: So it looks hard because it was really hard for you.
J: Yes, it was really a natural expression. On top of that, it was the time when a deep freeze was spreading across Korea. Of all days, we had to film on the boat in the middle of the sea on the coldest days.
F: I sure feel it just from looking at it.
J: You can see my ears gotten so red at times in the drama. That’s when it’s so cold I can’t feel my ears at all! That’s how cold it was. The thing is, the couple in this drama always meet outside. (laugh) So, I just had to ask the director, “Don’t these two go to a café or something, somewhere inside?” (laugh)
F: That’s understandable.
J: That’s what was really happening behind these romantic scenes.
F: But that’s why we could enjoy such beautiful scenes. Of course, it has partly do with that expensive lens! (again, a reference to the afternoon talk) You could say the hard work payed off.
F: Shall we go on to the first one then?
F: What I would like to know the most is, you know, at one point he scatters the cement all over the place. Was it done in one take? Or, was there an NG take?
J: It was done in one take, originally . . . (Junho sighs as if even remembering it tires him out.)
It took two days to film this scene. On the first day, we had a rehearsal, checking how each actor moves and acts, and we were ready to do the take. But the communication between the actors and the staff somehow went wrong, and the actors thought we were going to film the scene, while the staff thought we were going to act out the scene once again without filming. So what happened was, the actors did the scene, scattering the cement and everything, believing that the camera was rolling. It turned out none of it was filmed by that expensive lens. (laugh)
F: Does that mean you had to do it again?
J: In fact, it was supposed to be the last scene to film on that day for me. And if we were to film the next scene, I would have to change and wash, and all the set had to be cleared and re-organised, too. So, we couldn’t just go to the next scene anyway. We decided to film this scene the next day all over again, but this time we could do it in one take.
F: Speaking of the scene where you have a fight, didn’t you get really angry and would want to punch the person for real – especially since you are always driving yourself into a corner to be in the character?
J: (After a moment of hesitation) I did.
J: It’s not that I really wanted to punch him per se, but there were times when I got overwhelmed with anger. But I could even enjoy this flood of emotion because this anger was akin to Kang Doo’s anger.
F: I see. Well, just watching these three scenes makes me realise how hard it must have been to film the drama. I’m sure all of you here (in the audience) want to watch the drama in depth. (Then Furuya-san goes on with the obligatory promotion of the DVD box sets and the special rerun of the drama on the cable channel which sponsored the event.)
F: Now, it’s time for you to play the game which is themed after the drama.
J: What kind of game could it be this time?
F: Here we go! It’s a Giant Jenga Showdown!
J: Is there a reason for choosing Jenga?
F: It looks like a piece of architecture … and so …
F: Because you have to build it.
This time Junho chooses two fans from the audience to play against Junho.
F: You won’t have this kind of opportunity so much, you know! To play Jenga with Junho!
J: That’s right. This would be the last time! I won’t play Jenga ever.
J: I mean, a giant Jenga. Maybe I’ll play the normal one.
While they play the game, Junho becomes so focused and absorbed (as you know, he always plays games seriously!) he forgets the rule of using only one hand. When Furuya-san points that out, he slaps his own left hand a few times as if he’s punishing it. (So cute!)
When a fan tries to remove a piece rather carelessly, the tower starts to shake, and Junho instantly comes in to help! But the fan insists on a fair play while appreciating Junho’s kindness. As expected, the tower falls and Junho again comes in to block the pieces from hitting the fan!
F: This was supposed to be won by the fans, to whom we can give nice presents from Junho. (laugh)
J: What’s the prize for me? Can I get anything?
F: For you? Hottests’ love. (applause)
J: That’s the only thing I want.
F: Can we still give them something?
J: Can I get something? Since I won … I want something so I can give it to them.
The fans get autographed posters.
Now we play a scene from the drama again. (But a different scene from the afternoon show.)
It’s the scene where Moon Soo comes to Ma-Ri’s club, looking for Kang Doo, and when a drunken man almost bumps into her, Kang Doo comes to her rescue.
F: I will play the drunk.
J: Then is my interpreter going to play the girl?
F: That might cause a bit of a problem, so I’ll play the drunk alone, and she can just come in the end (playing Ma-Ri).
J: Okay. But is this “kabe-don”? (“kabe-don” is a cliché move of a man slamming his hand against the wall, thus pinning a girl against it.)
F: Let’s just suppose there is a wall.
Furuya-san lets the chosen fan practice “ani-yo” a few times, but Junho reads the line in Japanese to our surprise! Furuya-san and the interpreter do a very good job in their roles, making the act quite entertaining. Junho and Furuya-san both praise the interpreter’s acting, too.
J: Yes, it was. It was fun even though I was nervous all day.
J: Yes. The whole day. Since Furuya-san introduced me as “Actor” Junho, things have been somewhat difficult for me. But it was an experience as an actor. How did you all like it? (applause)
F: And you still have lots to do this summer, don’t you?
J: Yes, I still have things left: My last … Budokan and Osaka-jo finales.
F: Congratulations again for topping the Oricon weekly chart!
J: Thank you very much. (Junho makes a bow a few times to the audience, and then he also bows to Furuya-san and the interpreter.)
F: I thought this album was a piece of art.
J: You know how to say it.
F: I’m not just saying it. I really thought so. It’s really a wonderful work. I hope you all enjoy the image presented by the songs at the concerts, too.
F: I’m afraid it’s time to say goodbye.
(the fans yell “noooooooo” and Junho enjoys it as usual)
J: This is nice, isn’t it? I don’t want to finish this yet. This really makes me sad.
F: But we are going to have a screening after this.
F: So, Junho-san, your message for your fans here please?
J: Thank you very much for coming here today. I really worked hard filming this drama for 5 months. Please enjoy the show till the last moment. Thank you very much. I hope to meet you all again at Budokan as a singer.
Junho makes a big heart with his arms and leaves.
