Ji Hyun Woo: “I’m a Regular Person Who Likes Analog.”

Ji Hyun Woo: “I’m a Regular Person Who Likes Analog.”

*Analog refers to the analog signal that transmits sound and images to television and radio, in contrast to the digital system that powers most entertainment these days. Used in the context to describe someone, it means that the person is someone who likes old things or belongs to an older era.

Ji Hyun Woo once said in an interview that he viewed acting as his way to make a living. I thought it was a bold thing to say. Most actors would want to have their profession viewed as an artistic expression or something that they are very passionate about without consideration of money. I considered Ji Hyun Woo’s answer as a healthy view of his profession, except I did wonder about his passion for acting. As someone who knew nothing about Ji Hyun Woo except what was seen in dramas when I first saw that interview, I didn’t understand how and why he chose acting, and what made him continue to pursue it. Thanks to a request for the translation of October 2011 interview with Economy Today, I learned a little bit more about the actor Ji Hyun Woo and began to understand his position regarding acting.

The interview was a promotional interview for his movie Mr. Idol so of course he was asked about it. Ji Hyun Woo did not initially want to do Mr. Idol because he thought it was a predictable story. But he finally decided to take on the role as the idol group leader, Eugene, because he wanted to work with the young director of the movie, Rah Hee Chan. Ji Hyun Woo had always wanted to work with a young director so that they can converse and collaborate on a project together more freely than he could with an older director.

Ji Hyun Woo saw a bit of himself in the Eugene character. Like Eugene whose financial concerns were an obstacle to his music career, Ji Hyun Woo also faced a similar situation. Growing up surrounded by music because of his parents, Ji Hyun Woo was seen as someone with a promising career as a guitarist by the time he was in high school. But because he didn’t have the money to pay, he gave up college and took up acting. Ji Hyun Woo, on reflecting back on the time when he  focused solely on music said, “I don’t know how I survived living off the unpredictable income. I must have really liked music.”

Starting with the 2004 KBS sitcom, Old Miss Diary, Ji Hyun Woo has consistently been cast as the “younger male” counterpart in the older female-younger male romance stories. Regarding this image Ji Hyun Woo revealed that he did not mind it at all; rather, he saw it as an opportunity to work with more experienced actors whom he can learn from.

In the interview, Ji Hyun Woo also revealed that he hand-writes the script for a drama to memorize and understand the mindset of the writer. He also remembers excitedly waiting for and watching dramas like Huh Joon, Feelings, and Star in My Heart when he was in elementary school. (I’m happy to find out that he grew up watching the same dramas I did. :D)

The reporter who did this interview described Ji Hyun Woo as a positive thinker who seemed more suitable to the analog age rather than the digital age. A lot of people seem to describe as Ji Hyun Woo as someone who is very mature and acts older than his age. I suppose that has something to do with his upbringing and working with older actors at a young and impressionable age. I think Ji Hyun Woo has a good head on his shoulders and doesn’t take his profession as an actor too seriously. Not to say that he doesn’t care about it; I think what he meant about acting being his way to make a living was that he is content to be an actor rather than a celebrity.

Source: Economy Today (1) (2)