“Looking at my career, it‘s full of weirdos. I think it’s a big change.“

Actor Lee Joon-hyuk shared his thoughts on taking on a romance drama.

On the 15th, Lee Joon-hyuk was interviewed for the TVING original series ‘Good or Bad Dong-jae’ at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

When asked if he had a goal for Good or Bad Dong-jae, Lee Joon-hyuk began by saying, “I thought it would be nice if it were a drama like a restaurant that maniacs visit.” He continued, “It‘s like a strong spiced feeling, like cilantro rice bowl or durian. Isn’t it hard to see that on regular broadcasts? I‘m glad that I’ve gained maniacs. I‘m glad that there are people in the world who have the same taste as me. I feel a little bit of relief.”

Was there anything you tried to express differently about Dong-jae in Good or Bad Dong-jae and Dong-jae in Secret Forest? Lee Joon-hyuk said, “Dong-jae in season 1 should have played the role of a villain. In fact, Dong-jae in Secret Forest is hidden. However, Dong-jae in the good and bad Dong-jae is all revealed. I can even hear the voice in my heart. This time, I liked that Dong-jae could react to the other person’s acting like jazz.”

When asked whether Dong-jae, who joined the FT team, would have investigated Hwang Si-mok as he investigated Jo Byung-geon, Lee Joon-hyuk said, “I don‘t think Dong-jae investigated Hwang Si-mok. What would Hwang Si-mok do? Byung-geon would have done it for fun. If Byung-geon had appeared even this much, how much would he have tried to bully others? The character of Byung-geon is really charming. I’m glad that people like him. If it weren‘t for Dong-jae, I would have tried to play Jo Byung-geon. But I don’t think he could do it as well as Bong-sik. He suits him so well,” praising Hyun Bong-sik, who plays Jo Byung-geon.

Lee Joon-hyuk also said that he recently sent a text message to Jo Seung-woo after seeing the play ‘Hamlet’. He said, “(with Nam Joo-hyuk) I went separately but we ran into each other by chance. I texted Seung-woo saying, ‘I enjoyed the performance. How can you act so well?’. Seung-woo said he couldn‘t see ‘Good or Bad Dong-jae’ because he was busy. He said he’d see it after the play was over. I bought the tickets and went”, showing their continued friendship.


Lee Joon-hyuk has recently filmed many works in a row, including SBS‘s ‘My Perfect Secretary’, Netflix’s ‘The Square’, ‘Lady Doo-ah’, the movie ‘Firefighter’, and ‘The Man Who Lives with the King‘. Wasn‘t he stressed? He said, “First of all, I do get stressed because my body is overworked. So my new hobby is rehabilitation. I have a bad shoulder and I am getting shoulder treatment and it is really fun. Isn’t it hard to get applause in society? But this time, if I just raise my shoulder, people say, “You did a good job, member,” and applaud. I really recommend it. It‘s fun because it’s exercise for my body. I am a rehabilitation believer now,“ he said with a smile.

When asked about what to expect from the upcoming SBS Friday-Saturday drama ”My Perfect Secretary,“ which will premiere in January next year, Lee Joon-hyuk said, ”My fans will know that my career is full of weirdos. I think this drama is a big change.“

He added, ”I like unique things, so I do unique things, but my filmography isn‘t unique. On the contrary, “My Perfect Secretary” felt like a very unique world to me because there are no corpses or blood. It felt really strange. There is no murder or violence in the script. He added, “Suddenly, it was really interesting,” making everyone laugh.

Lee Joon-hyuk’s next work, SBS‘s Friday-Saturday drama ’My Perfect Secretary’, is an intimate care romance between Ji-yoon, the CEO of a headhunting company who is only good at ‘work’, and Eun-ho, a secretary who is also ’perfect at ’ work. It is a romance starring Han Ji-min, and will first air on January 3.

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

‘Good or Bad Dong-jae’, the first full-length spin-off attempted in Korea, was a successful case. 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. Here, it ended on a high note, ranking first among the same-time Monday-Tuesday dramas on the 12th.

Reporter Seunghyun Kim, Donga.com tmdgus@donga.com
Photo courtesy of | Ace Factory·Tving