[INTERVIEW] Actor Yeo Jin-goo Pt. 1

Actor Yeo Jin-goo [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Standing against the dark wall, Yeo Jin-goo stared at the camera blankly. Without a doubt, he is the same boy wearing a blue trench coat on the terrace; but something was different between those two. Maybe it was the different vibe that crown prince Hwon from MBC’s “The Moon Embracing the Sun” and the 16-year-old boy from “I’m Real Yeo Jin-goo in Italy” gave off. From playing the heartbroken crown prince Hwon, he came back to a normal ninth grade kid who finds his joy with something as little as a gelato ice-cream. “When I played in ‘The Moon Embracing the Sun,’ I told myself that I should be humble, like a rookie actor,” Yeo said, as he laughed about the drama’s episodes. “I don’t know what having a first crush feels like yet, but I just want to be no more or less than a manly guy when I grow up.” The followings are excerpts from an interview with actor Yeo Jin-goo. We heard that you chose the travel destinations for the program, “I’m Real Yeo Jin-koo” in Italy.” Why did you want to go to Italy?Yeo Jin-goo (Yeo): When I was in elementary school, historical sites in Italy, such as the Colosseum, were always included when studying about historical sites in the world. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. And because I hear people talking about Italy a lot, it made me feel familiar with the country. Though it felt good to go to the country I wanted to travel, Italy was not as close as I thought. Have you ever imagined that you’d be traveling alone at the age of 16?Yeo: No way. I thought I’d be traveling alone at least over 20. I didn’t know that it’d be this fast. Hahaha“I don’t look like a student in middle school.”

Actor Yeo Jin-goo [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

In the show you appeared recently, you didn’t look like an actor but looked like any other 16-year-old kid. You were wandering the street alone and almost lost your bag (laugh).Yeo: I didn’t realize that I was that bad in finding directions. My mom and my manager are with me all the time when I’m in Korea, so I had no idea that finding directions was going to be that hard. I thought the producers were going to do some magic on the video and make me look like a mature kid traveling alone. But when I watched myself in the video before it aired, I was constantly asking myself, ‘Where am I? Huh?’ Having a map was no use. Didn’t you worry about losing your cool image gained by playing Lee Hwon from “The Moon Embracing the Sun”?Yeo: People have fantasies about celebrities on TV. I thought just being myself on the show would lessen such burden as a TV star. The viewers would think that I’m still young and I that’s exactly what I wanted. It was a chance to show who I am in real. What kind of fantasies do you think people have about you?Yeo: People tell me that I look smart (laugh), or that I look like I’m talented in everything. But I’m not. I have things that I’m not good at and I make mistakes too. Whenever people compliment on the things I do, I get worried because I’m not as good as they think. Haha. Maybe your mature image makes you look professional.Yeo: I’m aware that I don’t look like a boy in my age. I don’t look like a student in middle school. Maybe 10th or 11th grade? Adding to that, I have a low voice and people see me older than my real age. My friends ask me if I’m making my voice like this in purpose, but this is my normal voice. Director Kim Do-hoon, from “The Moon,” said that he wanted the viewers to ask themselves ‘is it okay to feel attracted to a young man?’ by casting you to play the role. Yeo: I didn’t know his intentions when we were together at the script reading session. There were scenes where I wasn’t so sure if I’m doing right but the director kept telling me that it was okay. I would just go on by trusting his insight. I’m glad that people liked my acting in the drama. You said you were really immersed into crying scenes in the drama. Yeo: It was my first time for the tears to just run down my face. Few years ago, I had to imagine horrible things happening to my family to stimulate my emotions. But this time, the script itself was enough to make me cry. So now I feel less guilty towards my parents (laugh). I think I’ve grown in terms of acting through the drama. ※ Any copying, republication or redistribution of 10Asia's content is expressly prohibited without prior consent of 10Asia. Copyright infringement is subject to criminal and civil penalties.10 아시아 Reporter : Lee Ga-on 10 아시아 Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@10 아시아 Editor : Monica Suk monicasuk@10 아시아 Editor : Lee Ji-Hye seven@<ⓒ즐거움의 공장 "10 아시아" (10.asiae.co.kr) 무단전재 배포금지>