“Writer Lee Soo-yeon really does her work as plainly as Hwang Si-mok”

Actor Lee Joon-hyuk said that writer Lee Soo-yeon, who wrote ‘Good or Bad Dongjae’, is a ‘true professional’.

Recently, Lee Joon-hyuk conducted an interview for the TVING original series ‘Good or Bad Dongjae’ at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

On that day, Lee Joon-hyuk began by saying that he was grateful for the many favors his fellow artists gave him. Lee Joon-hyuk said, “Out of all the works I‘ve done, the artists in particular have said a lot of good things about me. I think they cheered me on so that I could do other works with conviction and be unique”, expressing his gratitude.

Lee Joon-hyuk then said, “I’m also grateful to the fans who liked Dongjae. In a way, it‘s a work of mania and unique taste, but I’m excited because it seems to match my taste well. There are people in the world who have similar tastes to me. I think it‘s a unique drama, but I’m glad that there were many people who liked it,“ he said, expressing his gratitude to the fans.

Many directors liked and watched Dongjae, good or bad. Which director‘s compliment was the most memorable for Lee Joon-hyuk? He mentioned Director Kim Sung-soo, with whom he had a relationship through the movie ’Spring of Seoul‘.

Lee Joon-hyuk said, ”Director Kim Sung-soo told me that it was so much fun to watch. To receive compliments for a drama from the director of the legend of legends. This is a huge honor. It was so nice. We met by chance in Busan and he bought me a meal. I also heard a lot of compliments while eating with the director of ’The Square‘. It was awkward, but fun,“ he said with a smile.

Lee Joon-hyuk continued, ”Spring of Seoul felt different because I did it with the legends from my childhood. Meeting senior Jung Woo-sung and director Kim Sung-soo, it really felt like I was in a movie. I watched it with a friend saying that I would go see ‘Musa’ first. Senior Jung Woo-sung’s voice was also my coloring. The spring scene in Seoul was completely romantic. That‘s why I said I would do any role,“ he said, expressing his respect.



When asked how he felt when he first saw the script for ‘Good or Bad Dong-jae’, Lee Joon-hyuk said, “The script went through several versions. We all had meetings and came out. It was important to think, ‘It had to be new from the beginning’. There are also spin-offs in the Marvel series. I thought that if the genre itself doesn’t change like ‘WandaVision’, it wouldn‘t have any meaning as a standalone work. I’m glad that it came out like this, riding on the popularity of ‘Bisoop’ and making it popular like ‘Bisoop. He said, ”I‘m so grateful for writer Lee Soo-yeon’s wonderful power.“

Lee Jun-hyuk also said that he felt that writer Lee Soo-yeon, who wrote ‘Secret Forest 1·2’ and ‘Good or Bad Dong-jae’, was a real professional. He said, ”Writer Lee Soo-yeon is really like Hwang Si-mok when it comes to writing. She has no ups and downs. She accepts all opinions and has a good sense of humor. I feel really solid and healthy. She doesn‘t waver at all even in difficult situations.“

Then how was it acting with Park Sung-woong? Lee Jun-hyuk said, ”It was really good. At first, I was worried that he’d be too scared, but he accepted all my ad-libs and actually liked them. He‘s really sincere about his acting. He’s flexible and really open. If it weren‘t for Sung-woong, I don’t think I would have been able to portray the strong character of Dong-jae. He said, “Thank you so much.”

Meanwhile, the tvN drama ‘Good or Bad Dongjae’, a spin-off of the ‘Secret Forest’ series, is a story of the passionate survival of prosecutor ‘Seo Dongjae’, who wants to escape his past as a sponsored prosecutor and be recognized in the present.

‘Good or Bad Dongjae’ was the first full-length spin-off attempted in Korea and was a success. It proved to be a hot topic from the start, recording the highest number of paid subscribers in the first week of its release among TVING original series. It also ended on the 12th in first place among Monday-Tuesday dramas in its time slot, ending on a high note.

Reporter Seunghyun Kim tmdgus@donga.com
Photo provided by | Ace Factory·TVING