[Translation] Lee Dong Wook “For My Dear” photobook interview

Back in 2017, Lee Dong Wook released his first-ever photobook in his career. Titled “For My Dear”, the photobook gave a behind-the-scenes look of his 2017 Asia tour as he journeyed from Seoul to Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan to meet his fans. The photobook is very huge and thick (it has 320 pages and weighs 2kg!) and also includes a DVD. The book is already out of print, so it is a very treasured item for fans today. I was lucky enough to get a second-hand copy. Here is a translation of his interview from the book.

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[Intro by the interviewer]

“An actor who is able to tell more than the lines in the script”, someone said this about Lee Dong Wook, who played the Grim Reaper, who was sometimes mysterious, and sometimes lovable, in the drama “Goblin”. More impressive than his slender build and his white skin are Lee Dong Wook’s deep eyes, which looked at audiences while filled with tiredness, strangeness, grief and innocence, making countless people fall in love with him. Is it a blessing or a talent that his eyes are able to make people imagine a drama even when he is not in a drama? Last October, when he was invited by Givenchy to attend the Paris Fashion Week, several photos of him standing in front of the stairs of Paris’ highest court created a buzz online throughout the day. Because there was a lot of chatter about the face of this man who looked like a sculpture, as he looked indifferently at the cameras under an overcast sky with an ancient building as a backdrop.

But when talking to actor Lee Dong Wook, this man who has natural eyes like those of a melancholic prince, you can sense that he has another pure genuine charm that is different from how he seems. Even though he says that he is annoyed out of habit, he doesn’t leave out any of the things that he has to do, but he is a diligent and passionate worker who works hard in everything. He is embarrassed with praises about himself and brushes them aside like they are unimportant, but he is also someone who doesn’t let go of his interest in the world he lives in and his affection for people around him. Starting off from Korea in the spring of 2017, passing through Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan, and welcoming summer in Taiwan, Lee Dong Wook’s Asia tour was realised because of his sincerity. During the 18 years after his debut, Lee Dong Wook is still, no, he shines even more as time goes by, and perhaps, therein lies the secret to that. Luck and talent, eventually, stays with those who want to move forward steadily.

Q: In a few days time, it will be 1 year since “Goblin” aired. How have you been all this while?

I’ve not had a proper rest ever since “Goblin” ended in January 2017. After the drama ended, I prepared for my Asia tour and it was held until July, and I’ve also been continuously doing shoots for ads and magazines. I’ve never been so busy like that after completing a drama, so this was a new experience. It was tiring but I am very thankful to receive offers from so many places.

Q: You started your Asia tour in Seoul in March 2017 and all 1,500 tickets were sold out in under 1 minute.

When I heard the news, I regretted and thought “Ah, I should have gone for a scale of 3000 seats or 5000 seats from the start…” I was very sad and angry to hear that many of the seats were taken by ticket scalpers. If I had held it in a larger venue, it would have been a little easier for fans to get seats.

Q: Having worked as an actor for a long time, you would have gotten used to the environment on the film set to some extent, but a fan meeting is a solo live stage event. You stand there with 1,500 people staring only at you for 3 hours, do you feel pressured by it?

The stage doesn’t feel greatly unfamiliar to me. But it had been 6 years since I last held a fan meeting in Korea, fans came here to see me so they probably hope to see me on stage for a longer time, that’s why I decided to host the event myself instead of inviting a separate MC, but I also felt a bit pressured at the same time. I had to host the entire event and also lead the various event segments, I wondered, “If no one reacts to the things I say, if it’s not fun, what should I do?” But thanks to the great performance of Gong Yoo hyung, Soyou and Cho Seho who came as guests, I was able to complete it without a hitch. I even had the thought, “If I set my heart at it, I can even do this for 5 hours though?” (laughs)

Q: We heard that you also personally attended several planning meetings and did preparations yourself, what did you consider the most important in this fan meeting?

Fun, most definitely! I’m not good at singing or dancing, so what I can do on stage is to give my fans lots of laughter and fun. Even during the meeting, we wrote stuff like “2017 Lee Dong Wook Show”, “new star of variety!” and we went with the direction that “we must aim to be interesting at all costs”.

Q: With Gong Yoo sshi’s attendance, you were able to stage a meeting between the Goblin and Grim Reaper. Did you invite him personally?

Of course. I personally made a request to him. “I’m going to hold a fan meeting, I hope hyung can come as a guest”, I asked him to just answer my question (laughs). Actually, Gong Yoo hyung’s personality is the kind who doesn’t really enjoy standing on stage like that, and he doesn’t even hold his own fan meeting, so if he were to agree to come as a guest, I was also worried if his fans would be upset. That’s why I carefully made a request to him, and he came gladly, and we also had an after party together.

Q: We heard that you personally planned and prepared many things, from the poster to the script and gifts for the fans. Besides being busy with all that, you even practised Twice’s TT dance and performed it.

I did a bit of the TT dance during the “Goblin” special broadcast, and the writers suggested it during the discussion for the fan meeting. I went “Eh~~” (disapproving sound) initially, but later I said “Alright, since we are at it then let’s just do it” and I learnt it from a dance instructor.

Q: Depending on one’s natural ability for dancing, some people are “I seem to be able to do it after practicing” while others are like “I will never be able to make it in this lifetime”. How was it like for you after trying?

I don’t think I can make it within this lifetime (laughs). I was able to dance well up till kindergarten and elementary school. I danced by memorising all the dance moves of Park Nam Jung, Sobangcha and Seo Taiji And Boys. But…I haven’t been using my body so it has gotten stiff.

Q: During the segment where you had a 1:1 conversation with fans, the sight of you taking the lead in setting the mood and helping your nervous fans to feel more relaxed was memorable. In the case of foreign fans, it must’ve been difficult due to the language barrier, so what did you do in such situations?

Firstly, my fans are people who enjoy Korean dramas so they do understand basic Korean, and I also explain to them in short simple English. I will also joke a bit if the fan seems too nervous. This helps in making them relax, and those who are watching will also find it enjoyable. This is my 12th year since I’ve been holding fan meeting overseas, so meeting with foreign fans is not awkward at all.

Q: Tears could be seen in your eyes towards the end of the Taiwan fan meeting, which was the final show, you were probably more flustered than anyone else.

I was never going to do that originally! (laughs) I just, had a sense of relief that several months worth of schedule was completed safely, and the sound of cheers of the fans whom I’ve met during this period came to mind all at once. And at that time, the fans coordinated to hold placards with Sunny’s lines from “Goblin” which went “Let’s meet again with a fate where the wait is short and the meeting is long.” I felt really thankful. So I ended up crying unknowingly, I felt a little embarrassed when I entered the waiting room after coming down from the stage.

Q: Looking back on the entire Asia tour, was there any particularly memorable episode?

Firstly, this is my first time touring so many countries so I paid a lot of attention on controlling my condition. I continued to have other schedules in between during the tour, so I worked hard in maintaining a good physical condition as much as I could, and I also tried hard to think positively. Because it’s most important to show a bright image when I meet my fans. I always did the hi-touch*, the look in the eyes of my fans and their bright expressions which I saw up close were very memorable. What kind of existence am I to them? What is the reason why they like me this much? I was just thankful and thankful yet again. Also, I immediately went to Taiwan to film an ad after finishing the Thailand fan meeting. It was a 7 days 6 nights schedule, I felt like I had become a busy idol singer. I was able to experience a bit of their hard labour. If it was too much, our (agency) CEO would say “Let’s go home now!”… (laughs)

*Hi-touch is an event at the end of the fan meeting where each fan gets to high-five with him

Q: It was possible to hold the Asia tour successfully thanks to the huge popularity of “Goblin”. We are curious how you were able to personally feel the popularity of this show overseas.

During the Asia tour, fans would always show a warm response at the airport or around the hotel, but I was really surprised when I went to Paris last October for the Givenchy collection fashion show. Whether it was at the Louvre or anywhere, whenever I went somewhere where people were gathered, there were many people who were able to recognise me. I also stood at the first photo wall of the show at 10am, the local reporters didn’t know about me of course. But when I entered the venue, there were already 150 to 200 fans who had gathered there since the early morning, and seeing them cheer enthusiastically for me, the reporters probably thought “He must be a famous guy.” When I exited the venue, they wanted to take more photos and kept asking me to pose, and the local TV station also interviewed me. I thought this is truly the power of “Goblin” and the power of fans, I found it interesting and I felt proud.

Q: The grim reaper in “Goblin” had a unique character setting and many lines of dialogue with a theatrical vibe, so it must have been difficult to grasp the right tone of acting. What kind of considerations did you have in order to portray this character?

I thought that I mustn’t overdo it. Let’s just try to make it look natural. And I think this was possible because of Kim Eun Sook’s writing. Very unusual situations and seemingly unrealistic stories were made realistic and woven together excellently. I’m a grim reaper but I have to work overtime too, get scolded by Hades, and I have to eat when I’m hungry too. I needed a house so I got a lease, but the goblin turned out to be the owner, and oddly he only eats meat whereas I’m vegetarian, and so on. As long as I don’t carry too much weight into it, the writer has laid everything out so that I can immerse naturally into the story. So after the first few episodes, I seemingly just had fun playing around and I was able to act smoothly like flowing water.

Q: In the process of acting while having fun like that, it seems that it was possible for interesting ad libs to emerge. Whether it was Grim Reaper saving Sunny’s name as “S u n n y not Sun Hee” in his handphone, or the idea of chewing on calming sedatives, we were able to sense the affection you had for the character.

Although the ad libs in itself are not highly important, they received a lot of attention as the show became popular and they became a hot topic. I always tend to give a lot of ideas while filming, the atmosphere on the set of “Goblin” was fun to begin with, and people on set would say “It’s fun, it’s fun” so it was great. When saving Sunny’s name in the phone, I thought “Grim Reaper doesn’t know how to use a handphone so he would make mistakes in the text spacing right? He wouldn’t be familiar with typing ㅆ so he would type ㅅ instead and then skip to the next letter right?” In the scene where he eats sedatives, compared to Goblin who knew about his tragic situation, Grim Reaper wasn’t able to recover his memories yet, and I wanted to express Grim Reaper’s vague feelings of depression differently. Of course, those were vitamin C and not real calming sedatives, but after chewing on them, I couldn’t do it again because they were extremely bitter (laughs).

Q: Your close partnership with Gong Yoo sshi was also a hot topic. Although it would be the same for any kind of work, it must hold special meaning for an actor to meet and work with a good colleague.

Before “Goblin”, I met Gong Yoo hyung in the military as senior and junior, which was a little advantageous. I often chat with hyung over a glass of soju these days, because we started by opening up our hearts to each other. I said I wasn’t trying to compete with hyung in “Goblin”, and hyung embraced me well with a very generous heart. That’s why I felt comfortable, and we know that we both have a similar code (of humour) so we were able to work well together on the set effortlessly.

Q: What does a good colleague mean to you?

I think a good colleague is someone who knows that we are working together towards the same goal. It is really difficult to work with someone who creates unnecessary fights in order to outshine another person. Because the filming environment is already very tough to begin with. We don’t get proper sleep for months and there’s a huge amount of lines to digest. In the midst of all that tiredness and difficulty, fighting a war of nerves with someone whom you have to act and exchange emotions with is very exhausting.

Q: So you are saying that it is important to trust each other and produce a good result together.

That’s right. I think that’s why I am able to talk more actively about acting. Things like “I want to do like this now, are you able to lead more? When I say my line like this, are you able to take it like this?”, we are able to sufficiently discuss depending on the writer’s point of view. Not like “I need to stand out more here, I need to make this scene my own”. But fortunately, I have rarely met anyone like that.

Q: You once said that comedy is a battle against timing so it is a genre that you want to challenge yourself with all the more. Besides “Goblin”, you have been showing comedic acting in various works from time to time, what do you think is needed in order to catch that “timing” accurately?

For that, I think one needs to be born with it. The comedy that I’m ultimately aiming for is not one thing that caught on while trying many times, but you have to strike at the right time and know how to retreat. In order to do that, you not only have to be born with it, it also requires a lot of practice, but overall you can call it a kind of “sense”. If we were to rate a 1 for someone with excellent sense, and a 100 for someone with no sense at all, then I think I should be around a 30 (laughs).

Q: You debuted at a young age and grew up and found your position rather quickly, how do you feel when you look back at the time when you first started acting?

I started attending acting school proper during the winter break just before my third year of high school, I debuted as a model in September, and my debut work was aired in November. The best thing at that time was that all the male students needed to have short hair like a buzz cut or crew cut, but I was the only one allowed to have longer hair, much to the envy of others. I was in the broadcasting club, and during our school’s festival, female students from other schools would come over; they see me being the only person with long hair, and they will whisper “He must be a model”. We were kids at that time, so that was really a lot of fun (laughs). My teenage years went by like that, and when I entered my 20s, I didn’t know anything and just went “uh uh uh” (okay okay okay) and 10 years went by in a flash. And then one day, it was time to go to the army.

Q: You started your career earlier than other people, so you must have experienced confusion or stress also.

I always ponder. How should I act this scene? How should my next piece of work be? How should I live? Actually, I’m not sure if I secured my position faster than others. In my teens and in my 20s, I merely played my role in society and characters that were befitting of those times, and I continue to grow while doing what I can in the same way in my 30s. But if I think about it now, I was fortunate to be able to make it all the way here. If I had quit acting midway, what would I be doing now? I even wonder what guts did I have in the past that pushed me forward. It seemed like anything was possible because I was young.

Q: You once said that after completing a piece of work, you will choose something that doesn’t overlap with your previous character for your next project. Although it’s obviously a meaningful choice, rather than maintaining the image you earned from “My Girl” or “Scent of a Woman” for a long time, from a practical point of view, isn’t it disadvantageous to start from zero again every time?

It’s very disadvantageous, but I had a great desire to experience diverse genres and characters. For instance, I’ve played a second-generation chaebol in “My Girl” and “Scent of a Woman”, it was just two times only. But it so happens that both shows were the most popular, so there were many people who perceived me with that kind of image before “Goblin”. But I really dislike selling just one fixed image of myself, so I think I gave up on certain shortcuts and came back full circle.

Q: Between this principle and reality, have you ever pondered or regretted before?

I have, I’m only human (laughs). Would I have been more successful if I had done that instead of this? But I can’t do anything about things that have passed, whether a piece of work gets high viewership ratings or not, instead I end up working even harder if the show seems to be getting poor viewership or not popular enough. What should I do to do better? How will I look like in such a genre? How will it be if I were to play that character? I’m just continuing to seek (answers).

Q: You seem to be giving yourself a new piece of homework continuously.

It’s also helpful as motivation. Actually, continuously digging through the script itself and having to create something new again from there is extremely painful. Not long ago, I had a conversation with actress Bae Jong Ok noona about acting, and even noona who has been acting for 33 years said, “Yes, I don’t know. Acting is always hard. It always feels like I’m doing it for the first time.” It’s really like that. But that feeling when you break free from that agony, there is a feeling of joy you get when you seem to overcome such a huge wall. That’s how you get motivation.

Q: I think acting is a field that you cannot bring it over entirely as your own if you learn it from someone else, that’s why it is even harder.

I really thought I was going to die when I was acting in “A Bittersweet Life”. Because it was so tough. It made me feel like hating the director and everything. Once that was completed, I felt like I had climbed over a huge mountain. Of course, when I look back again at any moment, the mountain which I had climbed seemed a bit slippery, and it seemed like I was being surrounded by new walls. It was endless, and lonely. But all the emotions and situations I’ve experienced through acting all this while are accumulated as know-how within me, so I try to make it possible for me to take them out again and use them. But even so, the first script reading, the first filming, and first broadcast are always painful.

Q: Facing the “first moment” is always the most frightening and suffocating, what do you do when you feel at a loss?

The hardest thing is catching the first tone of the line in the script. But what’s important is that the result is definitely different when I look at the script 10 times versus when I look at it 50 times. The tone is uneven initially. I’m reading the lines of this character, but sometimes it’s just Lee Dong Wook that comes out, or sometimes it’s some other character that I’ve played before in the the past that comes out. So I will go “Oh, this isn’t right? How did I do it earlier?” and look at the script again. After going through that process for 20 times, 30 times, I become more familiar with the character. I will practise until it becomes muscle memory.

Q: We heard that after “Scent of a Woman”, several of your works weren’t as successful so you experienced a slump. But through “Bubblegum”, you realised that viewership ratings aren’t everything, and you also thought of it as a process of growing up.

Actually, regardless of the response from the public, I’ve always had the thought that it is the people I work with who remain. But after “Scent of a Woman”, the stress of results became so huge in my heart, so I had forgotten about it. “Bubblegum” was not a piece of work that had very high viewership ratings either. But despite that, the atmosphere on the set was very good so I still talk to the staff and actors in a group chat even now, and we meet up once a year. Because such great people continue to remain with me, I was able to see anew that it is possible to find such reward that is separate from the show’s success. I think after realising that, I was able to meet a good opportunity called “Goblin”.

Q: In between, you made your debut as a talk show emcee through “Strong Heart” and you also appeared on the reality show “Roommate”. Meeting this new world of variety shows, how was your experience like?

The natural Lee Dong Wook in variety shows gave a lot of encouragement to the actor Lee Dong Wook. It was a new challenge, I had to do my part there, all the people I met there were new, and the work environment is completely different from acting, so I was able to gradually forget the stress caused by the slump. And there are many fun people in variety shows all the time. I gained lots of good energy from those people, and being able to laugh while at work is a very enjoyable thing in itself.

Q: You started “Lee Dong Wook’s On the Air” V Live since March 2017, and you wrote the opening introduction yourself. Expressing your thoughts in writing must be another type of homework that is different from acting.

Initially, I said “I’ll write the opening” at first, but I think I shouldn’t have said that (laughs). I did V Live because I received lots of love through “Goblin”, but I don’t use stuff like social media so I wanted to have a channel where I could communicate with fans. That’s why I did the writing myself, and I also personally selected the songs. When I write, I will first open a memo on my handphone and stare at it for a long time. Sometimes I will write whatever that comes to my mind and delete everything, sometimes I can finish within 30 minutes when I can write well. I always do the closing in advance.

Q: In your opening intro during last July’s broadcast, you said “In just 3 days, I was totally immersed in comfort. Oversleeping, overeating, drinking…If I let my guard down, my body will change in no time within just a few days.” Please tell us if you have any secret or driving force that helps you maintain a regulated lifestyle.

I think it’s inevitable that humans become lazy. If I have no schedules, I will exercise daily from Monday till Saturday. But from Saturday evening till Sunday, if I rest for just 1 and a half days, I will really hate going to exercise on Monday. But it can’t be helped, because my job requires me to present myself in front of people. There has always been one answer only. I need to do it. I have no choice but to do it. I just have to do it.

Q: Even though a hundred different excuses not to do it comes to mind, you will just do it first.

What can I do? I wrote that line because I felt I had been slacking off when I put on a few kilograms of weight after staying a few days in Japan after the fan meeting. My body’s condition becomes totally different from normal after resting like that. Exercise becomes more tiring and my muscles become more painful. But I always say this. “It can’t be helped. It will be fine once I do a round of full-body workout for a week.” It’s the same for everything. I can do it because I said I will do it.

Q: Last April, when you appeared on “Superman Returns” for the first time, you painfully experienced the difficulty of raising kids. You even said “Parenting is 500 times more difficult than dieting.” We are curious, as someone who doesn’t know when you will become a parent, what kind of learnings did you gain?

You can’t do everything that the kids ask you to do! (laughs) That’s what Lee Dong Gook hyung, whom I got closer with through that programme, said. “There’s no end to it if you do everything that the kids ask you to do. Clearly letting them know that no is no is also teaching them.” And most importantly, I realised that this involves listening well to what the kids say. For example, supposing if the kid is asking for the water bottle, and you are in a situation where you are not able to look for it immediately. But if you make eye contact, listen well and relate emotionally with each other, it will be resolved to some extent even if you don’t give it to them. It’s a fascinating thing. Anyway, getting to experience raising a kid even for just a short while, I think it will be very invaluable to me in life. I even learnt how to change diapers thanks to that.

Q: Among the stereotypes that people have about celebrities, they are usually thought to be ignorant about the world, or they don’t seem to be good at settling daily affairs such as banking matters. But what you said in an interview was impressive, that “It is very important to live according to the common sense of the world.” 

Although the work I do may be a special job in certain aspects, I try hard not to think of it as “special”. My job is an actor, but I was not born with any kind of status from the start. Outside of that, I live just like other people. I obey the law, I cast my vote (in elections), but for banking matters, actually it has only been a few years since I did it myself. Before that, my parents would manage it for me. But if I just go and sit at the counter, the staff will know how to advise and explain to me on their own though? (laughs)

Q: After living on your own separately from your parents, it seems there are more things that you have to do yourself.

Everything. Although I do get help from my manager, basically I have no choice but to do everything myself. Whether it’s cleaning the house or laundry, and my parents don’t come to my house often. I’m not young anymore so they told me to live on my own, and occasionally they will ask to have a meal together.

Q: How is your experience like leading life on your own and doing household chores?

It’s a bit tiring when I do it, but there is a feeling of delight after completing it. I feel satisfied whenever I see the taps and the sink gleaming after cleaning the bathroom after a long time, then I will end up using them more carefully afterwards. On days where I set my heart at it and clean all the glass, I will feel so proud, it’s crazy (laughs). My best friend at home is the wireless vacuum cleaner. I will use it once a day. I also like the soft and fluffy feeling of clean blankets, and when I try to wash it, just running the washing machine and the day is over. When my mum did it for me last time, I took it for granted, but doing it myself now, I came to realise that it is not easy.

Q: We are curious about your cooking skills.

As long as there is a recipe, I can manage to get a similar taste. I cook Korean cuisine the most, and I also cook things like pasta. What my parents liked the most was the soy sauce marinated crab. I happened to see how it was cooked on TV, and I thought, “I should be able to do it too if I do it that way?”. It happened to be the season for crabs, so I bought the ingredients from the fish market and made it, and they said it was tastier than expected.

Q: We heard that you usually enjoy watching the news or politics and current affairs programmes.

The reason why I like the news is because they are like living things. I find it very interesting how the perspectives and judgement of the people who watch the daily news issues are all different. And because I’m a citizen of Korea and someone who lives in this country, I think it is good that I know how this country works. That’s why I try to watch whenever I have time.

Q: 2017 is about to come to an end. You got off to a great start this year and have been equally busy, how has the year been when you look back at it?

I walked past the front of a shopping mall not long ago and was so surprised when I saw a Christmas tree. I’ve been spending 2017 by continuously checking my schedule next week and my monthly schedule, and it suddenly struck me that the year is ending soon. Although I’ve been really busy, I had some time to rest occasionally so it has been a good year. Perhaps, next year might be busier than this year. I haven’t decided on my next project yet, but fans are waiting to see me act so I’m continuously thinking about it.

Q: Before your self as an actor, we are curious about what kind of person that Lee Dong Wook as an individual hopes to live as in the future.

Hmm…I don’t have any immediate plans, but I will get married some day and have a family. Because I’m not someone who is against marriage, so maybe when I’m around 45? (laughs) I’m curious about how my life will be at that time, and it has always been my dream to be a good father and good husband. Both of my parents were working, so I did not get to spend much time with my father because he was busy with work. Comparatively, my job has more freedom when it comes to time, so I hope I can get to spend more time with my children, I hope we have a lot to talk about also. And as a spouse, I hope we can rely on each other. I hope to give a sense of reassurance that this person is definitely on my side.

Q: You must have felt this while working for such a long time, what do your fans mean to you?

They are my beginning and my end. I always think this is why I’m able to work until now. I’m someone who holds a job where I have to be always selected and evaluated, it will be very lonely, difficult and tough for me if I had no dependable fans. While having a final dinner together with all the staff upon wrapping up my Asia tour, we also discussed “What should we do next time?” If I don’t seek them out like this, how and when will I be able to meet my fans again?

[Closing words by the interviewer]

An actor’s life may be long, but sustaining a career as an actor for a long time and developing it is not that easy. As much as he seems like a glamourous person, there are times where he may lose his footing, become stereotyped, or collapse in exhaustion at some point in time. But Lee Dong Wook who stands firmly in the world he lives in, doesn’t lose his balance as a star and actor, and has lived half his life while crossing the boundaries of reality and fiction.  And to him, fans are “the beginning and the end”, the gaze in his eyes when he said that without hesitation is filled with faith and also seemed like a determination he has towards himself.

Letter from Lee Dong Wook to fans (click to expand):

English translation

Original scan

 

Korean to English translations and scans by Gabby. Please give credit if sharing or translating the contents. Please do not duplicate my entire translation elsewhere without permission.