“Dong-jae is the funniest when he‘s serious. Dong-jae probably thinks he’s seriously going to the Supreme Prosecutors‘ Office.”

Actor Lee Joon-hyuk shared his attitude toward the character of ‘Seo Dong-jae’.”

During an interview for the finale of the TVING original series ‘Good or Bad Dong-jae’, Lee Joon-hyuk said, “I’m not the type to be confident when I‘m working on a project.”He doesn’t think, “‘This will definitely go well, everything will go well as long as Dong-jae is present.’In fact, it was created with Dong-jae in mind, but ‘Good or Bad Dong-jae’ is strictly speaking a different project. Just like how ‘Loki’ in the Marvel drama isn‘t the existing Loki, it was necessary to destroy existing things. I couldn’t just show Dong-jae as an evil character, but I couldn‘t just go with an office drama. In some ways, it was too difficult. He confessed, “I wanted to put on a new genre.”

Comedy is an essential element of Seo Dong-jae. It’s fun to watch, but you have to be serious when acting out the character of Seo Dong-jae. Wasn’t it difficult to act out? Lee Joon-hyuk said, “Actually, Dong-jae is the funniest when you’re serious. Dong-jae is a serious actor. I didn’t try to make him funny at all. Dong-jae is serious even when he jumps. When he runs, I imagined the T-1000 from the ‘Terminator’ and acted out the way. The Dong-jae I act out is really serious and immersed, but if you look at it from the outside, it’s funny. Dong-jae will think he’s seriously going to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.”

When asked if he finds acting fun, Lee Joon-hyuk said, “Everyone is curious about that part. I don’t think there’s anyone who has fun when they work. I think it’s more about achieving than having fun. However, as time passes, I think, ‘You did well despite all this pain. And you keep talking about this. Then maybe I find this fun.’ Simple fun is more fun when playing games at home. In fact, our job itself comes with a sense of accomplishment. It’s not like soccer where you score a goal and see the results clearly. There are also the trends of the times, and sometimes a project comes out a few years after it‘s finished, so it doesn’t seem clear,“ he answered honestly.


In Secret Forest 1, Lee Joon-hyuk once asked to kill Dong-jae. At first glance, it seems like he doesn‘t like Dong-jae. However, if he had affection for the character Seo Dong-jae, there would be a spin-off, so how much does Lee Joon-hyuk love Dong-jae? He said, “It seems like it’s more affection for Secret Forest as a whole than affection for Dong-jae. In fact, Dong-jae, good or bad, was too burdensome a project. He said, “It was burdensome for me to bring back the work that Seungwoo hyung had wrapped up well and go back to the character of Dongjae,” drawing attention.

He continued, “But when I heard that many people watched Secret Forest again after watching Good or Bad Dongjae, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I think this is what a spin-off is. When I watch Avengers, I also wanted to see Iron Man in the end. I think the ending of Good or Bad Dongjae is ultimately Hwang Si-mok’s big picture. When you watch this drama and Secret Forest, I hope you’ll think, “Oh, so that’s why they let Dongjae go? Because he’s a recycled character?”

Why do people like the character Seo Dong-jae? Lee Joon-hyuk said, “Most of the characters I liked in movies were unlikable characters. In fact, people seem to like unlikable characters. When I watch it in a movie or play, I feel a sense of satisfaction, and it’s even more so because it’s not obvious.”

He then said, “When I was doing Secret Forest 1, I wanted to play Dong-jae, so I fought with the company while doing it. At that time, the company told me not to do it because it was an unlikable character, but I liked Dong-jae because it wasn’t obvious. At that time, there were many characters who had to reflect on themselves. I did it because I thought there was something new to try. But this time, the company said to do Dong-jae, whether it was good or bad.”

Lee Jun-hyuk also said that Seo Dong-jae is a character he is thankful for because he allowed him to share his unique tastes with people. What if Dong-jae were to return? He said, “Dong-jae has too many lines. It would be really fun if Dong-jae, who is Dong-jae, could come out. Then, in the last episode, he says one very important line,” causing the set to burst into laughter.

He continued, “This time, it came out completely different from Secret Forest. If it comes out with the same base as now, it won‘t be fun, but if it really comes out with something new, I think we can do a season 2. It could suddenly become a horror or melodrama. If it’s a new attempt, it would be meaningful. However, the viewers‘ wishes are the most important, and I need writer Lee Soo-yeon’s permission as well,” he answered honestly.

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

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

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