Ready to take on the World, Lee Jun Ki

Lee Jun Ki captivated audiences and received critical acclaim for his role as the homosexual Gongkil in the 2005 Korean period drama, ‘The King and the Clown’. The role also won him many fans both in Korea and overseas. Lee was even invited to a birthday celebration for the Thai King last December and he has also been appointed as Korea-China public relations ambassador in Beijing.

Lee graduated from the Seoul Arts College with a major in Acting, and has 1st degree in both Hapkido and Taekyon, and 3rd degree in Taekwondo. Besides Korean, Lee also speaks some Japanese and English. As of 2007, Lee is one of the top screen stars in South Korea.

In 2005, his first major acting role came in The King and the Clown, where he took on the role of a feminine-appearing entertainer forced to satisfy King Yeonsan’s sexual and emotional cravings taking place in the late 15th century. The film became one of the highest grossing South Korean-made movies in South Korea.
Whether it’s his almost feminine looks or his great acting, there is something captivating about Lee Jun Ki! KOZINE chatted with the attractive Lee to try and unravel his interesting personality.

“I hope it’s because my fans appreciate the hard work I put into my every role and love me as an actor”

K: Have you been to Singapore?
L: No, I haven’t but I’d love to visit one day be it for work or a holiday.

K: Last December, Singaporean fans donated $3,788.98 to the Singapore Children’s Cancer Foundation in the name of Lee Jun Ki fan club. How did you feel when you first found out about this?
L: I was really surprised to hear that my fans in Singapore got together to make a donation to a patient with poliomyelitis. My first thought was that they did something good and kind and something that I should be doing myself. I’m really very appreciative of my fans for the kind gesture.

K: You have many fans overseas and you are appointed as a Korea-China goodwill ambassador. What do you think is the reason that you have so many overseas fans?
L: (Laughs heartily) I’m not too sure why either. If I had to guess, then I hope it’s because my fans appreciate the hard work I put into my every role and love me as an actor.

K: You are currently in the midst of filming a period TV drama which will be showing from April. What’s the most difficult part of this role?
L: Besides the heavy period costumes and the traditional way of speaking, I think the most difficult part is probably understanding the character I play, ‘Il ji mae’ and potraying it accurately and perfectly.

K: You had to shed some weight for the role and you lost 8 kg from a tofu diet recently. Could you share with us the most difficult part of that diet?
L: As you know, I started on that diet because I needed to fit into the role which called for the character to have sharp features. As with any diet, the most difficult part was that I couldn’t eat what I wanted. During that time, I had bad cravings for pizza and beef (laughs).

K: Anything you want to say to your fans in Asia?
L: From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all my fans who love and care for me both as an individual as well as an actor. If I could, I would love to meet with all my Asian fans. Unfortunately, circumstances don’t allow me to do so that at the moment. I want all of them to know that although I’m physically far away, all of them are always in my heart and mind. Thank you so much!

To read a copy of the magazine Kozine’s March issue,
http://www.mykozine.com/magazine/kozine_mar08_s.pdf

MBC’s Il-Ji-Mae: Trading one regret for the other

Source: JavaBeans

MBC’s Iljimae, formerly known as Lee Seung-gi’s Iljimae, has got its work cut out for it, following SBS’s recent hit with Lee Junki’s Iljimae. And that was even before Lee Seung-gi dropped out of the titular hero role in a move that had many disappointed with his replacement, teen heartthrob Jung Il-woo, who had shot to fame playing a rebellious, silently brooding teenager in the family sitcom Unstoppable High Kick.

He did follow that with a part opposite Lee Yeon-hee in the “omnibus” (multi-vignette) film My Love, but then Jung Il-woo’s star kinda sputtered and he faded from the limelight, so this news came while his popularity was on the wane.

On July 30, he resurfaced on his own homepage with a post titled “Already been a year” and talked about his upcoming Iljimae role.

“It’s already been a year since High Kick ended… Since then, many projects have been canceled and I’ve struggled and worried a lot, so I think it’s better to do a project and regret it than to not do a project and regret it.”

…which, actually, makes some sense.

“I’ll be seeing you possibly in November, or at the latest, January. It’s true that there have been a lot of worries and discussion about it, but any project is bound to have burdens and concerns. I’ve taken a break for a long while, and I’ll come back that much more grown-up and mature.”

I’m not all that excited about seeing Jung Il-woo as Iljimae, but I’ve gotta give him props for recognizing (and admitting) that the drama’s got a rocky road ahead of it. Some might say it’s better to not admit your faults lest you draw attention to them, but I’m pretty sure everyone was aware of theirs. Plus, it’s worse when people brag about disasters in the making as though they live in some alternate-reality bubble, willfully ignoring the opinions of the public they hope to attract.

MBC’s Iljimae is scheduled (for now) to begin in November, and co-stars Kim Min-jong (Woman of Matchless Beauty Park Jung-geum, Hyena) and new actress Yoon Jin-seo.

credit kdramafanusa @soompi

The Return Of Seo Tae Ji Special

["Asia Kyung Jae News" ~ Reporter Kang Sung Hoon] Seo Tae Ji and Lee Jun Ki became like brothers in just one day, making the upcoming special show be full of fun entertainment.

During the MBC “Return of Suh Tae Ji Special,” which will be aired on August 6th, at 11:05 p.m. Suh Tae Ji will reveal himself honestly as he travels around the country with Lee Jun Ki.

According to what is on tape, Lee Jun Ki drove while Seo Tae Ji sat at the passenger’s seat, engaged in a comfortable conversation. They started at Kyung Ki Do’s Hwasung, and drove all the way to Ahn Myon Do, sight-seeing the beautiful landscape.

Lee Jun Ki is a super fan of Seo Tae Ji. Even after he became an actor, he attended all Seo Tae Ji’s ETPFEST, and live concerts, standing in the front rows. Therefore on this day, he was excited for finally meeting his idol and his source of inspiration.

They spent many hours traveling, sharing meals, drinking tea together and talking about old times, when Seo Tae Ji was still part of a music group. They also talked about the present times, both sharing about their lives as a musician and as an actor, and about the new album that Seo Tae Ji will launch, among other things. As the conversation continued, the initial shyness disappeared and they started to feel comfortable with each other, even while engaged in deep conversation. Slowly, the big idol felt more like a kind old brother and he started to treat him as such. By the time they were finished, Lee Jun Ki felt sorry it was over.

Likewise, Seo Tae Ji felt that Lee Jun Ki was very humble and thoughtful, and that they shared many things in common. He was proud that one of his teenage fans has grown up and matured so well, he couldn’t stop praising him. After the interview was over, he gave Lee Jun Ki a very warm brotherly hug, regretting that it ended so soon.

Comedian Yoo Sae Yoon is well known for being another devout fan who attended the “15th Anniversary Concert of Seo Tae Ji” on December of last year. During the road-interview, he was hiding inside the car, and suddenly surprised them with his presence, clearing the atmosphere. Although he had a previous engagement, he changed his schedule in order to meet Seo Tae Ji. Hiding himself, he joined them by surprise, although for a short time. Shaking Seo Tae Ji’s hands brought lots of fun and healthy laughter, making his ‘daring sin’ forgivable.

After hearing that Seo Tae Ji used to enjoy Yoo Sae Yoon’s old comedy program “Nan Arayo” (name of STJ’s first song & album) and the HwaeOhRi Dance, the comedian replayed the dance movements he used to show during his old program “Love Counselor,” making their meeting fun and entertaining.

As the night drew deeper, Seo Tae Ji and Lee Jun Ki sat around a camp fire by the countryside, eating baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, among other things. Lee Jun Ki, being a fan himself, started asking serious questions most fans wanted to know. Seo Tae Ji responded in like manner, talking about many things his fans had wondered for long, things he could not say before. They talked long and deep, without any hindrances, staying up all night. All about their conversation will be aired at MBC, on August 6th.

In order to shoot one scene of a car departing from one destination to another, a helicopter was needed. In order to film the car with Seo Tae Ji and Lee Jun Ki on the road, another huge car had to obviously follow them from behind. And every time one scene was shot, more than 8 cameras were filming from different angles.

More than 80 staff members were involved in filming this whole day interview. Therefore, we can expect great quality when this is finally aired.

["Asia Kyung Jae News" ~ Reporter Kang Sung Hoon]

Credit Priscilla @ soompi

Lee Jun Ki kept telling himself that traditional dramas suited him

Actor Lee Jun Ki came back from hero Iljimae to a city guy.

On SBS “Live TV Entertainment” which was aired on the 30th, the reporter met Lee Jun Ki changed to a city guy from shooting a traditional drama for a long time.

Lee Jun Ki participated in SBS “Iljimae” and the last episode (aired on the 24th) ended with the highest viewing rate.

Lee Jun Ki had to participate in a photographing pictorial the day after the last episode was
aired, (on the 25th). He seemed awkward with his short hair and said, “It was really hard and kind of tiring so I changed my hair”. He also added, “It feels like I lost everything from my high school days”.

On the topic of whether or not Iljimae died at the end, Lee Jun Ki said, “According to the script, Iljimae is alive. Iljimae carries a sword that doesn’t kill and while Iljimae was fighting with Sa-chun, his sword was taken away and eventually Sa-chun sliced Iljimae’s back (with Iljimae’s sword)” therefore emphasizing the fact that Iljimae is alive.

From acting in the movie “The King and the Clown” (aka King’s Man) as well as drama “Iljimae”, actor Lee Jun Ki is known to be a suitable actor for traditional dramas. His answer to this was, “I kept telling myself that I looked good with traditional dramas. However, I would like to do well with contemporary dramas”.

When Lee Jun Ki was asked about his ideal-girlfriend, he said, “I used to like short and cute girls but now I like someone who can control me”. Moreover, he hopes that she is wise, has her own strong beliefs, and a job. While he was saying this, he added that someone who is older than him is more ideal.

Source: Newsen
Korean to English Translations by: nahsun of Lee Jun-ki Crunchyroll Fan Group

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