[INTERVIEW] Kim Junsu - Part 1

A passage from French writer Alphonse Daudet's novel popped into mind after interviewing Kim Junsu. I was thinking that the most beautiful star had lost its way and fallen asleep on my shoulder. In 2010, Kim Junsu who had always been shining brightly far away, became a shooting star and appeared in front of our eyes with "Mozart!" The songs he sang, instead of the words he spoke, turned into his tears and those tears served foundation to the strong roots he would plant into the ground. Then when the audience finally saw Kim Junsu throw himself 120 percent into his role as Mozart, they finally started to see him for who he is. It took him seven years to find his name and reveal his feelings. If this interview is meaningful for you, it will probably be because he told of those years through his own lips.

<#10LOGO#> You're set to give your first performance for "Elisabeth," somehow already your third musical. Do you feel more at ease with musicals now compared to when you first started on them with no knowledge?
Kim Junsu: I'm done rehearsing but haven't staged it yet so I'm not sure. I felt this for the premiere of "Mozart!" as well but rehearsals are completely different from when you actually stage a show. From how you communicate with the audience to the power that the lights or other stage settings give off. Luckily though, I now have a better idea of what sort of mood certain scenes would give off.

Kim Junsu [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

<#10LOGO#> Well as much as musicals was a new field for you, I'm sure it must have been both exciting and befuddling.
Kim: The genre itself was new to me to the extent that “Mozart!” was the first musical I ever watched. And I was curious of the response the audience or related personnel would have of me because I had heard that many of them didn’t have good opinions of celebrities doing musicals. But the music itself was a new world to me. And what I liked most about it was that it contained a vibe and grandiosity, not felt from pop songs, that would be delivered live. From then on, I went to watch musicals whenever I got the chance to and even this is changing a bit. That I listen to musical numbers so much that it’s influencing me to the point it’s dangerous. [laughs]

<#10LOGO#> How did you feel the first time you watched a musical?
Kim: I watched the premiere starring (Lim) Tae-kyung and although he has a lot of experience, I got all nervous every time Mozart came out. I knew which parts he had gotten wrong when we rehearsed together [laughs] so I’d be antsy for those parts and let out a sigh of relief when he pulls of those parts. I also thought of how I should play those parts when I’m on stage. But really, I should’ve just been worried about myself. [laughs] So I think my nerves were just really on edge back then.

<#10LOGO#> I guess you weren’t able to watch it 100 percent from an audience’s point of view.
Kim: Since it was also when I was having a really hard time. It was my first move in about six to eight months. And it's just hard and nerve-racking to do something alone after having been in a group. Then on top of that, I felt a lot of pressure because I wasn't doing something I was confident with but an entirely new genre.

<#10LOGO#> So how did you get to start on the genre when you had no information nor feelings about it?
Kim: I said no about twice. The first time I got done talking with C.E.O Uhm Hong-hyun, I told him, "I can't do it" as I was saying goodbye to him. [all laughs] Then he contacted me again and told me to just try listening to the music so I watched the DVD. But after watching the performance to one of the songs, I went crazy. I just couldn't believe the music! [laughs] But then I still told him I couldn't do it. It was only after I read its script that I felt the sudden urge to do it.

<#10LOGO#> What about it drew you in?
Kim: A lot of people think of Mozart as a genius composer who made a lot of money and had everything he needed. Yet maybe it was because I do music as well but I saw myself within him in how he felt sorry for himself because he's a genius. The songs to all the lyrics, even those that Mozart didn't sing, were the things that I wanted to say, what I felt. I wasn't in the position to be delivering such stories back then but it felt like people would notice how I felt if I sang those songs. I came to want to sing them and did not want to back off from doing so.

Kim Junsu [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

<#10LOGO#> You had sung so many songs since making your debut but I guess the lyrics to "Mozart!" touched you with great intensity.
Kim: Up till then, I had sung of being hurt from love but I was only 18, 19 back then so what would I have known about love [laughs] although I really did like the lyrics to TVXQ's Japanese songs such as "Forever Love." I think I really liked it when my emotions would get expressed through the songs I sing and I think it was the same with "Mozart!" I choked with tears while looking at the lyrics for "Golden Star."

<#10LOGO#> What was it about?
Kim: The king builds the walls of his castle higher and shuts the door firmly as well because he is worried about the prince. Yet the prince yearns for the world outside the castle's walls and if there is a golden star he truly wants, he needs to go into the world by crossing over the wall. The lyrics said that love is not about restraining, that love is about letting go.

<#10LOGO#> I guess that's what backed up both you and Mozart.
Kim: I was healed while working on the musical. "Golden Star" is actually a song that the baroness sings after recognizing Mozart's talent and all Mozart has to do for that scene is be happy. All he has to do is innocently say, 'Dad, listen to this story.' But I cried all the time. I kept telling myself I won't cry, I won't cry, but I just couldn't when I listened to the lyrics. Even when I sang "Why Don't You Love Me" which was about asking one to love me for who I am, I cried so much that it interfered with my performances. I still feel like crying when I talk about it.

<#10LOGO#> The situation you were in at the time fell in line with with the musical's story and as your sincerity started to stand out, even members of the audience that had been hostile toward idols expanding their careers to musicals started to take interest.
Kim: I didn't get to play the main character after going through a certain number of steps. I became Mozart as an idol star. And that was the reason I wasn't going to do it. I wouldn't have been all that happy about it if I was a musical actor myself. So that's why I hesitated but I worked really hard with the thought that regardless of whether I'm good or bad, people wouldn't at least hate me if I approached the production seriously and with sincerity. Also, the cast tried to teach me all they could so I was able to focus on my work a lot.

<#10LOGO#> What was the response of the rest of the members to your group?
Kim: Yuchun and Jaejoong cried as well wihle watching the show. They were touched by the production but regardless of how well or bad I did, I think it was because they were proud of the fact that I accomplished something. I had been the first one to step back into the spotlight.

<#10LOGO#> It must've been hard to let go of the production because you had said, "'Mozart!' is more than just a musical to me."
Kim: "I am Music" was about one's happiness over expressing what one feels but Mozart sang till the moment he died. And that was what made me really sad. I do think I took on musicals because it was "Mozart!" that I was offered a role in. No matter what role I play till the day I die, I think I'd be able to say that "Mozart!" was the best. And it's because I liked the production but also because it gave me, with no confidence in anything at that time, strength and hope. I used to mention the names of great men in Korean history when someone asked who I respect but I'm sorry but I now say it's Mozart. [laughs]

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10 아시아 Reporter : Choi Ji-Eun five@
10 아시아 Reporter : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
10 아시아 Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@
10 아시아 Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@