[INTERVIEW] SBS TV Series “SIGN”

Actor Park Shin-yang passed out a bottle of wine to the drama's crew and reporters saying it was recently his birthday. The wine, which Park explained as tasting similar to the kind he had always wanted to make, bore Park's name and photograph. He then also passed out coffee cups bearing his photo, after explaining he was just looking for something to make people laugh. One thing is for sure -- he sure knows how to lighten up the workplace for as long as possible.

Actress Kim A-joong, who showed up at the scene as the vivacious character Ko Da-kyung, also seemed to know the fun of carving out a good drama. The mood of the press conference for the drama “Sign” was overflowing with pride and excitement of one doing a drama of a completely new genre and subject in Korea. Below is the summarized interview with Park and Kim who are playing the senior and junior medical examiners so dedicated to their task that both are willing to endure demotion and even suspension from for the sake of truth and justice.

Actor Park Shin-yang

Q: You must be very busy with filming your show these days.
Kim:We just came from the show even now. Today we shot the scenes where we visit former director Jung Byung-do's house and digging up a grave on a hill. Then we shot again on the drama's set.
Park: I think everybody slept four hours in total yesterday and today. It’s not good for your health and I’m dying to sleep. (laugh)

Q: Director Kim Hyung-sik recently arrived as your new producer after existing director Jang Hang-joon decided to focus solely on writing the script. With the entire schedule as tight as it is, it must be very important to get used to each other as soon as possible.
Park: Everybody has different styles so when the producer changes mid-way, we do face such challenge. But director Kim is very composed, soft-mannered and hard-working. He has shown excellent leadership on the set as well. We have about half of the show left but I believe he’ll do well.
Kim: Director Jang told us beforehand that this would happen. He said he wanted to go back to writing the script to make the story more solid and the actors had all agreed to it since we had all become quite used to working with rest of the crew by then. Us junior actors didn't worry too much since we have lots of veteran actors on this drama.

Q: It must also be very important for the two of you, as the main leads, to have good chemistry.
Kim: While working with actor Park who is my senior, it occurred to me that I've never conversed this much with other actors I worked opposite in the past. Park enjoys discussing about things in detail including on his approach on the drama and how to act. Since I don’t have much acting experience for my age and the weight of the role I play, I’m glad I got this opportunity to work with Park since I feel like I'm getting to learn of the various perspectives that can be taken to understanding a story. Since I always address him as “seon-saeng-nim” (teacher) in the drama, it seems like he has really become one for me, although it would have been nicer to appear in a show with him where I can call him “darling” or “honey.” (laugh) That's why I feel that we click without having to rehearse several times.
Park: I believe the relationship between Yoon Ji-hoon (played by Park) and Ko Da-kyung (Kim) has reached the point where they could even fall in love and that's because they have both been faithful to their goals. Anything is possible between them since they now understand each other and share the same goal.

Q: Back when Park starred in TV series “Money War,” (SBS, 2007) there used to be a crew that focused solely on directing Park’s acting. Does that system exist in this drama too?
Park: It's an actor’s duty to be fully prepared to communicate with the actor he's working opposite and to try to do his best. As you can see, things get hectic when we pull all-nighters to shoot the drama so I need people to tell me so aggressively when it happens. That’s why I had a crew that directs my acting. Of course we have many acting experts on set but they don't have enough time to focus solely on me every time. This is not an issue of what the system is -- it's my intense effort aimed at doing my best.

Q: How much did your experience observing several autopsies influence your acting?
Park: It influenced my acting a lot. No matter what the situation is and what kind of dialogue goes on, I gained the confidence that I am a medical examiner and this really is my workplace -- almost a reckless belief that I, as a medical examiner, could see through any situation. I think I gained the perspective to see cases and people in the way a medical examiner does.

Actress Kim A-joong

Q: At a previous press conference you said this is a story that “needs to be made.” Now that the drama has reached half-way into the story, do you think it is keeping up well with its early initiative?
Park: I believe the drama is showing a bold, conscientious and well-directed story as expected. Since we still have lots of stories to tell I’m glad we don’t have to resort to trying to force anything out. The creators of this show must have felt uneasy and worried at first since we're treading on new waters both in terms of genre and subject, so I'm happy that we're seeing good results.
Kim: I think the fact that this drama talks about such stories is why it received such favorable responses. Since we had no other TV series to be compared to, we got compared with American series “C.S.I.” but "Sign" was one of a kind since the moment it was in its planning stages since it focused on 'why' as much as on 'how' to resolve a case.

Q: Various incidents have occurred in the drama, each of them being serious issues. Which has been the most memorable for you?
Kim: It’s not easy to single out one incident since each was urgent and contained strong social messages. I think the incident that received the most response was the one about a serial killer played by Choi Jae-hwan.
Park: I shed a lot of tears in the episodes set to show this week (Ep.11, 12) becaue there was the case from the past related to the death of main lead Yoon's father followed by the recent death of Jung Byung-do. This week's episodes in particular will contain more sad and tragic scenes.

Q: The show is into its latter half now. Do you have any determinations or thoughts you'd like to share?
Kim: I would prefer to see this series become a drama of high quality than one that becomes a smash hit. I'm taking on the task with a sense of pride in taking part in something that has ever been tried before in Korea. I will do all I can till the very end to make this drama the best it can be instead of letting it end up something that was exciting only in the beginning.
Park: We now have exactly half the series left but frankly speaking, I am not the one responsible for the story. It's up to the script writer. (laugh) I'm just hoping for them to keep up with their good work with a conviction of their own till the end and I will root for them.

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Reporter: Lee Seung-Han fourteen@
Editor : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
Editor : Heidi Kim heidikim@