Actor Jin Young and ‘Miss Granny’ are inseparable. Following the hit film ‘Miss Granny’ in 2014 that attracted 8.66 million viewers, he also appeared in the remake of the KBS 2TV Wednesday-Thursday drama ‘Miss Granny’, which ends on the 23rd.

Through this, he added to his ‘unique history’ by playing different roles in two works with the same title. In the original, he played the grandson of the main character Na Moon-hee, but this time, he plays the character of producer Daniel Han, who forms a love line with Jung Ji-so, who was transformed from her grandmother to a 20-year-old.

In a finale commemorative interview held at a cafe in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the 21st, Jin Young laughed and said, “It took exactly 10 years to change from the role of grandson to the leading role in a romantic comedy.”

“The character I play was played by senior Lee Jin-wook in the original. I hesitated to take on this role at first because my senior in the movie was so cool. Fortunately, the name and setting were a little different, so I thought I could express it in my own style, so I took on the challenge. I realized the passage of time anew. It was somehow touching to go from the role of a grandson to the main character, and I thought that I had worked hard for 10 years.”

The drama received applause for bringing back the nostalgic name ‘Miss Granny’, but some of the story changed during the remake process, drawing various opinions from fans of the original and viewers. Jinyoung also nodded, saying, “Since I am the ‘Search King,”I looked up all the reactions”.

“It must not have been easy to change a 2-hour movie into a 12-episode drama. Personally, I think the drama told the best story it could. I believe the production team made the right choice. It’s really hard to have an original work, but despite that, I was surprised every day by Ms. Kim Hae-sook and Ms. Jung Ji-so’s wonderful acting. I also reflected on myself while watching them.”

For Jinyoung, this drama was an opportunity to draw a new ‘picture’ for the future. He played Daniel Han, a famous idol member turned producer who produces the girl group that Jung Ji-so is a member of, and said, “I reaffirmed the dream of ‘idol production that was always in my heart.”

“From the past, fans and viewers of idol survival programs where I participated as a judge have left comments asking, ‘Please produce an idol group.’ It’s not something that can be realized right away, but I’m greedy. Sometimes I imagine myself as a producer. I don’t think there’s anything happier than creating the music I imagine and releasing it to the world. I‘m really confident I can do well.“

This year, which started with ”Miss Granny,“ will be a ”busier year than ever for Jinyoung as he will be showing off the results of his preparations from last year.“ On February 21, he will release his first leading role in a movie in six years, ”The Girl We Loved Back Then,“ and he will also be releasing the Taiwanese film ”1977, That Year, That Photo.“

”I really want to share new music this year in the form of at least one album. I told my fans last year that I would release at least one new song, but it got postponed due to filming two movies. My fans gave me one last chance. Haha! I’ll try my best to keep my promise.“


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.