[Interview] Nam Myeong-ryeol: "Focusing on the Present Me is the First Step to Happiness"

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"People often bring unhappiness upon themselves by obsessing over the past or worrying about the future. True happiness comes from valuing the present self. Living well in the moment and recognizing what kind of happiness I feel right now is perhaps the most important thing."

Actor Nam Myeong-ryeol. [Photo by Lotte Cultural Foundation]

Nam Myeong-ryeol (64), a veteran actor with 31 years since his debut, answers questions from reporters about happiness by saying that we must cherish the present moment. Having recently appeared in plays such as 'Burnt Love,' 'Orphans,' and 'The Two Popes,' showcasing a variety of characters, he will ask and convey to the audience what true happiness is through the musical drama 'Finding Myself,' which will be held at Lotte Concert Hall on the 14th of next month.

"Having the opportunity to perform on stage in any form is a joyful thing." 'Finding Myself,' where classical music meets theater, tells a story about happiness through the various stages of the protagonist Jay’s life, from childhood to old age. Nam Myeong-ryeol, who plays the adult Jay, calmly observes happiness and hope symbolized by the bluebird on stage. He says, "In the end, I missed the bluebird, but just having that happy memory means I lost nothing. In childhood, there are pure happy memories of liking something; in youth, one wants to possess and confine that happiness; and in adulthood, whether it is love or possessions, realizing that simply letting those things be is itself happiness."

So, what does he think happiness is? "These days, people tend not to cherish their present selves because they anticipate a future that hasn't come or obsess over the past. Especially in a society as unstable as ours, people live constantly worrying about the future, but if you don't live the present faithfully, there can be no happy life in the future," he emphasizes. He adds, "Looking at the book 'The Burnout Society' by the German philosopher Byung-Chul Han, it points out self-exploitation?pushing oneself to the limit. To escape from this, I think we need to pay more attention to our present selves. In that sense, this work will be an opportunity to reflect on life as a whole through music."

Actor Nam Myeong-ryeol. [Photo by Lotte Cultural Foundation]

Although he has performed extensively on theater stages ranging from small to large venues, the concert hall stage is somewhat unfamiliar to him. He shares, "When I first heard about the venue, my first thought was, 'Oh, what should I do?' In theater, the play starts when the actor appears on stage, but in music, the start is determined regardless of the performer's entrance. Also, in music, applause comes after each piece, but in theater, applause happens after the entire play ends during the curtain call. I thought managing these differences well would be key."

'Finding Myself' was planned as part of the Maeil Classic 20th Anniversary concert series. When the protagonist Jay recalls his happy childhood chasing the bluebird, Bach's 'Goldberg Variations' aria plays. When Jay experiences the growing pains of youth and the loss that comes after adulthood, letting go of the bluebird and facing happiness again, Arvo P?rt's 'Fratres' plays. Behind the middle-aged Jay, who realizes that time as himself just as it is is true happiness, Francesco Seminiani's 'La Folia,' Mozart's 'Divertimento,' Ian Clarke's 'Orange Dawn,' and Dvo??k's 'Serenade' will be performed to enhance the emotional impact of the play.

He says he feels happiest when sitting in his study reading books, and he cites reading comprehension as an essential quality for actors. "The first thing I do when starting a new work is to read and understand the script. The ability to accurately understand and interpret the text is necessary to then expand the imagination about the character."

Actor Nam Myeong-ryeol. [Photo by Lotte Cultural Foundation]

Is there any profession that pushes oneself to the extreme and 'exploits' oneself as much as acting? But he quickly finds the answer through relaxed self-objectification. "I try hard to give a good performance on stage, but I don't think it amounts to self-exploitation. I try to do everything within my capacity, and I am someone who has good self-objectification about how far I can go (laughs). If it's a place I can't reach, I simply don't go." He recalls when he first challenged acting in media after theater, saying, "When I first did media acting, rather than expecting to be treated like in the theater world, I thought it was important to invest time, show more of myself, and work harder since I was a newcomer in this industry. I think that effort and mindset are also part of self-objectification."

Like Jay in the play, was there an effort to possess happiness in his 20s? He says he "doesn't remember well" about his 20s. He explains, "Because I didn't make decisions on my own back then. Although there are no 'what ifs,' if I could go back to my 20s, I would want to live making decisions independently." He recalls, "I studied to avoid disappointing my parents, entered university according to my grades, then after graduation worked at a pharmaceutical company. One day, I felt I couldn't continue that life anymore, so I quit and at 33 finally became a full-time actor." He adds, "I wonder how my life would be different if I had started acting a bit earlier, but if that had happened, I might not have had the deep perspective on acting and life that I have now."