“Faith” Q&A Part 4
Song Ji-na’s “Faith” Q&A Part 4
Part 1 here.
Part 2 here.
Part 3 here.
48. Where did Manbo ahjusshi go?
Writer Song replied, “ㅜㅜ In the middle he said couldn’t continue because of personal reasons.”
49. Were there any aspects of Choi Young’s role or character that Lee Min-ho personally asked you about or discussed with you?
Writer Song replied, “Before filming started, we met a couple of times to talk about the character. Because at that point about 6-8 scripts were out already, we discussed the dialogue in detail and went over the movements. We started filming after I adjusted Choi Young’s parts to fit the actor.
50. Did Eun-soo really believe that Choi Young came to rescue her in episode 5 because he loved her?
Writer Song replied, “She probably tried hard to pass it off as a joke because if she just left it hanging, it would be awkward. At least that is how I imagine it.”
51. This person wrote that she thinks the relationship between Choi Young and Hwasooin did not go as originally planned. It seems as if this storyline was entirely dropped. Is there anything that Writer Song regrets about this?
Writer Song replied, “There is a lot. Choi Young- Hwasooin- Chun Eumja. I thought this triangle would be fun but because of this and that, it was discarded.
52. This person wrote that she saw on the drama’s official homepage, the background story of Choi Young and Dae-man’s relationship and why the Woodalchi started to followed the leadership of young Choi Young. She was sad that this story did not appear in the drama. Was it because of lack of time?
Writer Song replied, “Hmm…At first, I planned to put in the back-story in the middle…But I had to quickly put it in the beginning after the first episode was edited and they told me that it wasn’t long enough… But it was eventually made in a different manner…And after that, I didn’t know how to continue it…so I gave up.”
The way I understand it is that Writer Song didn’t originally plan to show the back-story of Choi Young and the Woodalchi in the first episode. Then she wrote it into the script, like we saw in the script for episode one, because after the first episode was edited the production team realized it was shorter than the required hour. But eventually in the end, the episode aired without that full back-story anyway. That really sucks on all levels.
53. Another question about the necklace. Again Writer Song replied, “It’s the first time I saw the necklace.”
54. Another question about how long Choi Young waited, how long Eun-soo was in the past-past, and what the fortune-teller meant about the one year.
Writer Song replied, “Choi Young waited four years. Eun-soo was in the past-past for one year. When she first came to Goryeo, she was there around the same amount of time. So it seems the fortune-teller thought in his own terms that if Eun-soo went ‘outside the door,’ it would be a year.”
So I guess Eun-soo was in Goryeo with Choi Young for about a year although to us, it seemed like only a couple of months. Wow, that is a long time.
55. How was the Choi Young character created?
Writer Song replied, “I set up the character, wrote the dialogue, and provide the situation, but it is the actor that really makes the character. Choi Young is someone Lee Min-ho created. ^^ So please ask this question to Lee Min-ho.”
56. This person wrote that she is curious about the scene in episode 17 when Choi Young was pacing back and forth, telling his aunt that he doesn’t know what he has to. What was his reason?
Writer Song replied, “The situation at that time was…Eun-soo had gone off by to do something by herself and Choi Young couldn’t do work for Gongmin because he had lost his position as captain. This was the first time that Choi Young, who always lived his life protecting someone or something, didn’t have something he had to do.”
57. Was there any character that changed from what you originally planned? Which character did you not get the chance to write about the most?
Writer Song replied, “Ki Chul and his pledge siblings. I don’t think I was able to write one-tenth of what I originally planned for them.”
58. Did the director film everything according to the script or were there scenes that he didn’t even shoot?
Writer Song replied, “ㅠㅠㅠ I will buy lottery tickets. If I win and have money, I will go to the actors and ask them, “Will you shoot one more time?”
59. Will the DVD come out?
Writer Song replied, “I don’t know anything about this. If it does, I want to own a set too.”
60. Now that “Faith” has finished, what do you want to say to the actors?
Writer Song replied, “You’ve worked hard. Thank you. I’m sorry.”
61. What did you truthfully think when you saw an episode that was different from the script’s intention?
Writer Song replied, “I wanted to die.”
62. This person asked if Writer Song expected such a strong reaction from female fans for the scene in which Choi Young wipes his blood off before seeing Eun-soo during his rescue from Ki Chul’s house.
Writer Song replied, “While I was writing that scene, I was deep into Choi Young’s character so unconsciously, I wiped the blood off. I found out later that the reaction to that scene was good because that scene came out in every music video I was introduced too.”
63. This person asked if the writer and director discussed the scenes that were left out from the script.
Writer Song replied, “My script was very late and the situation on the set was difficult.”
64. This person asked if Writer Song will write the things that she couldn’t show in the drama into the book.
Writer Song replied, “I want to!”
65. Which Choi Young was most like Choi Young? Writer Song’s Choi Young or Lee Min-ho’s Choi Young?
Writer Song replied, “The Choi Young I thought about…hmmm, I don’t even remember it anymore. ㅎㅎ”
66. What would Jang Bin’s role have been if he didn’t have to exit the drama?
Writer Song replied, “Jang Bin would have the been the one to suggest to Eun-soo to treat poison with poison.”
This is interesting because what aired was Jang Bin wrote in his notebook that he would not suggest this to Eun-soo. I guess Writer Song had to write Jang Bin’s character in this way to save time and give more gravity to the situation without him actually being there.
67. This person wrote she was so sad about the ending scene because the epilogue that was in the script did not come out. Did Writer Song know? She should have strongly argued to have it put in.
Writer Song replied that she was sad about this too.
68. This person was curious about Eun-soo’s line in episode 16 when she confessed to Jang Bin that her heart just couldn’t love. What were Eun-soo’s feelings then? Did her heart not open not because she knew she had to leave but because the person she will love was Choi Young of Goryeo?
Writer Song replied, “I considered episode 8 and 16 as the episodes when the season changes. So I thought that in episode 16, Eun-soo should properly admit to her feelings. But because the dialogue was incoherent and there was self-division, I screwed this up. I need to study more on how to write precise dialogue.”
What Writer Song means when she writes “season” is the next act in the story. So the first act of the drama was about Choi Young waking up to become a proper warrior again. In episode 8 he does that. I think the second act was about Choi Young starting to love Eun-soo. The final act should have been about Eun-soo’s feelings and story, as Writer Song mentioned in a previous question, so episode 16 would have started that final part with Eun-soo admitting her feelings for Choi Young.
69. Another question about the third relic. Writer Song replied that she answered it already in other questions.
70. Until when did “Faith” film up to?
Writer Song replied, “I think they filmed up to Tuesday. I got a text message after they finished filming. The director and the staff were like zombies. I felt sorry…”
Yeah, I heard the news that they were filming even on the day the final episode was supposed to air. Goodness, the live-shooting system in Korea sucks. I wonder if that is why we got so many flashback scenes, to fill up the time for the scenes that they couldn’t film.
To be continued in Part 5. Yeah, Writer Song answered a lot more than fifty questions.
Screencapping takes up so much time but sometimes it is the perfect excuse to watch more of Lee Min-ho’s face and rewatch Faith. 😀
Oh, have you guys seen this already? Lee Min-ho and Kim Hee-sun with the assistant director. So adorable. See! Lee Min-ho is still such a boy at heart. Can we please get him to play someone his age?
Scattered Joonni 
Thank yuo so much for this Faith Q&A section, so many questions I had have been answered. I love when Writer Song said, “I set up the character, wrote the dialogue, and provide the situation, but it is the actor that really makes the character. Choi Young is someone Lee Min-ho created. ^^ So please ask this question to Lee Min-ho.”
And, I also like to see him playing a character his age… but his acting skills are impressive for a 25 years old boy so it has to be a very good story to develop both things: his age and his skills.
I agree.
Joonni! Many many thanks to you once again. I am looking forward to Part 5.
Joonni,
Thank you! Writer Song is so funny with some of her answers 😛
Some of my favorites from Part 4:
“ㅠㅠㅠ I will buy lottery tickets. If I win and have money, I will go to the actors and ask them, “Will you shoot one more time?”
“I wanted to die.”
It seems she has a lot of regrets regarding Faith.
I read a little story on her and one of her peers written by Mister X. (are you familiar with his works?). It’s really interesting. His website is vaultofdoom.wordpress.com
I really really want her to write a great story again because she is definitely my favorite Korean script writer. Her story, even if it is very flawed, feels very sincere and realistic.
Are you talking the recent article about Song’s pupil? I read it too.
I love the subjects that Writer Song takes on and always find them interesting so I also wish that she writes something incredibly amazing again like Sandglass.
Yeah, that one! The site’s owner can be an unforgiving critic 😀
P.S. This is off-topic– do you know where I can get my hands on Eyes of Dawn? I’m dying to watch this show and I’ve looked everywhere. I’ve found a few sites that might have it, but I have to make a donation before gaining access to those sites, which is not good because I want to know for sure they have the show before making my donation. Then I’ve found the show uploaded on Youku but only for mainland people 😦
Let me search. I’ll email you.
Great, thank you!
I figured she would have a lot of regrets because I know she is/was capable of better. I’m glad she got the chance to write the novel for Faith herself. I think for most of her dramas that were later novelized, she didn’t do them herself. I read she really wanted to do Faith herself so I’m excited to see what she has in store for us.
People at Faith Soompi said the first novel will be out mid December (I forgot the exact date). Yes, she’s definitely capable of writing a better story. Even in Faith, there are flashes something really beautiful. My favorite part of Faith has always been the dialogue, especially ones relating to Gongmin and Choi Young. Something about them seem very authentic and timeless.
Mmm, me too. There was a lot of poignant and revealing dialogue between Young and Gongmin, questions and debates that remain relevant even to this day. Questions about leadership, politics, loyalty, and citizenship. I wish she went along with more of that storyline. It was very present in the first 8 eps.
You are amazing Joonni! Thank you, thank you! More in part 5? WOW~~
I like that the writer admits making some reflection on some of her own writing/dialogues. Makes me look forward to her work with more time.
As for LMH…. I also will like to see him also in a project that he acts fun, silly and his age and/or a player LOL. I think he can act well enough now to get any role work well but those deep characters have to be very tiring emotionally too. Besides I read somewhere he wants to play something like that too and want to see a wider range of his acting.
This Q&A is so great to read because while she doesn’t go too much deep into the writing process, we get a few hints here and there.
Thanks mucho!! 😉
I’m starting to wonder what kind of a 25yo-character LMH should portray next… What do good-looking 25yo S. Korean young men usually do?? That’s apart from doing boy band and/or acting. So far he’s done his fave sports soccer and portrayed a chaebol, a yuppie-architect and a historical figure. He’s even done twins w/ opposite traits in a CF. But the latter will be good to explore some more in a drama. Hmmm…
He could do a drama where he goes into the military. There seem to be a number of celebrities there now. Most seem to do basic training, then a public service position.
It could be a comedy. It could be a number of celebrities teaming up to do something, perhaps not always getting along, or vying for top billing, or the girl.
I want him to do something with no romance. This is LMH’s strong point and I want him to flex other acting muscles. He needs something more challenging so he up his acting level another step.
I could see him in a movie similar to “Man of Honour” starring Cuba Gooding Jr, Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron. It would definitely show more of his talents and potential. What do you think, Joonni? I do feel he will shine in this sort of genre.
I haven’t watch Man of Honor so I can’t say. All I can say is that Lee Min-ho has more potential than what he is showing right now and needs a role that really taps deep into it.
Yes, he is only scratching the surface at the moment. I am looking forward to his next project. Hopefully it’s something he has never done before. 🙂
But a K-drama without romance is not a K-drama. Maybe that’s possible in a movie or a drama w/ shorter episodes only like 10 or 12 only. Hope his agency is reading your blog and will consider suggestions for his next role(s). Cheers!! 😉
I agree, LMH should do a non-romantic drama, something dark, maybe a psychological thriller or horror as a detective or cop. OR darker, be a villain like a serial killer or drug dealer…LOL! I doubt his agency would allow him to tarnish his image but since he admires Leonardo Dicaprio, he should emulate him and star in a range of different roles to stretch his acting repertoire.
Hello, Imja Joonni ! our soulmate in translating all the happenings at the Goryeo Dynasty. Your are not alone missing FAITH, and everything in it, however we all regret all the flaws that happened in the course of filming and broadcasting it til the very end 🙂
After reading here, I can feel how writer Song Ji-na felt sorry, too, for her story. Aaaw, I love when she said- “You’ve worked hard. Thank you. I’m sorry.”
“I think they filmed up to Tuesday. I got a text message after they finished filming. The director and the staff were like zombies. I felt sorry…” Yeah, I heard the news that they were filming even on the day the final episode was supposed to air. Goodness, the live-shooting system in Korea sucks.
– haha, Korea is not alone. In Philippines, they do the same. Like they literally make the actors and the people behind the scenes donated their lives in the shooting itself.
Hey, Joonni- your wish is the same as Lee Min Ho- for him to portray a role that is his age, light and not so heavy as his characters in City Hunter and Faith 🙂
Thank you for all your updates. Keeps us all warmed up while slowly breaking away 😉
I just watched LMH in “Personal Taste” and I loved it. I think it was a fun and young role for him to play. I would like to see him in another period drama or even an action movie like “Mission Impossible” or “James Bond” kind of character.
thank you Joonni!
time will heal (almost) everything. I start to accept all those lacking scenes that i was hope for *esp the ending. but oh well, faith is a sure one of a drama that i would remember and i had fun with. 🙂
Ssshhhh Don’t tell anyone I was here~ I ish secretly sneaking in here during a short break. Thankies so much for these, Unnie, I never get to tell you how grateful I am for these oases in the desert (that my life has turned into due to finals etc.) <333
"I wanted to die." Poor writer-nim. I really hope she gets to write a saga where she can write in each and everything she wanted to *hugs*
That piccie *giggle*
Eun Soo: *smirk* I sooo have him wrapped around my finger
Choi Young: Th-th-this wench
PD-nim: This is what I have to deal with everyday -__-ll
Also: To all my awesome Unnies that I bailed on: I am so sorry. Further apologies and explanations can be found here: http://rockharlequin.livejournal.com/17723.html
I shalt be back on the 12th for good <333
I just read your post on lj. Commented there too. *bear hug*
You’re welcome girlie. I’ll see you soon then!
Hi, Nutella! Hope your hand is recovering and that you survive finals week. See you back here soon. *Hugs*
A special thank you ***bows to Daejang Joonni** for this continuance of the Q&A. Love it!
“I set up the character, wrote the dialogue, and provide the situation, but it is the actor that really makes the character. Choi Young is someone Lee Min-ho created. ^^ So please ask this question to Lee Min-ho.”
It’s amazing to see how much LMH have grown since BOF. So far, he has a track record for choosing good roles, so I can’t wait for his next project.
Thanks again Joonni and looking forward to part 5!
Thanks Joonni…
Writer Song is refreshingly honest about her work and her thoughts.
Like when she admitted that she didn’t think she dug deep enough for Eun Soo in ep 16. And needed to work on more precise dialogue. Eun Soo’s feelings were kinda hazy throughout until that ep, but from ep 17.. she was awesome.
Hope the book will come out soon! Can’t wait!
Hi everyone~(^ㅇ^☆♪
I heard that Faith novels probably will be four books.
The first book will be out at 10th Dec.
Here is the link:
http://www.yes24.com/24/goods/8096256?scode=032&OzSrank=2
http://book.interpark.com/product/BookDisplay.do?_method=detail&sc.shopNo=0000400000&sc.prdNo=211571830&bid1=search&bid2=product&bid3=title&bid4=001
Great news! Thanks so much for sharing. So it seems like the first part of the novel comes out on 12/10/2012 encompassing 300 pages. Does this site ship international? Do you know if the novel is available in English? Google translated the site, but it doesn’t tell me much.
Perhaps, Daejang Joonni can take a look at the site and tell us more.
Calling at Daejang Joonni – Please help! Thank you, in advance, for looking into this site for us 🙂
ooh and I love the cover of the novel…it’s distinctly that of Daejang’s silhoutte and holding his sword…***SWOOOOOONS***
thx again, ゆうゆ☆ (@Izarkkia)
Ok I’m in this..please..”Daejang Joonni “, kindly find out any information on this book/novel…no pressure!! Thanks
I took a look at those two sites. You have to register to order, first. I registered at Yes24 as international but they don’t ship Faith novel internationally. As for Interpark, they don’t have any option for individual international customers.
Disappointing.
Disappointed!! Thanks for trying Joonni..
what a bummer, how do we get it?
Awh….shucks. Your efforts are appreciated, Daejang Joonni!
Now what ***heavy sighing and facepalm***
I hope LMH would play his age in his next drama, maybe something lighter or a comedy but definitely with a touch of romance or if he chooses another heavy drama i hope (if you have seen) the Taiwanese drama Autumn Concerto starring vaness wu, wherein he will play a young dad.
Thanks Joonni for all your hard work & dedication of “Faith”. This will relieve most of my unanswered question. Looking forward to any news on Writer Song’s book! I’ll elaborate more later, when I’m done w/ work.
Love, love, love these Q & A with writer Song. It gives so much depth and shades to Faith and reminds me why I love Faith so much.
Poor writer Song, when the actual episodes differed from her script, she felt like dying. I’m sure a lot of writers feel this way. It’s so nice to see her passionate about her work and it shows. Can’t wait to read her book on Faith!
I felt that KC’s pledge siblings had so much charisma and I would have liked to know their back story. I also felt that Eum and Hwa’s character development got the shaft when it initially started out strong.
It seems that writer Song is kind of disappointed about how Choi Young was portrayed. In these Q&A sessions, she’s always explaining that CY’s character, although she set it up, it was mainly all LMH’s doing, she was not in love with CY (from a previous Q&A), and now she can’t even remember how she originally wanted to portray Choi Young? Yes, he did seem like a one dimensional character, but I can’t picture our daejang being cutesy (previous Q&A), so maybe the director and editors made a good decision.
Thanks for translating, Joonni.
I don’t think she was disappointed in Lee Min-ho himself but rather how those silly parts of Choi Young were taken out both by the decisions of the director and actor.
I wrote that Writer Song didn’t seem to “love” Choi Young because of the way Choi Young didn’t get all of the writer’s attention. You get that feeling in a lot of Kim Eun-sook’s dramas like Secret Garden or Lovers in Paris when all the writer’s energy is devoted to the hero and the heroine takes the role of being the female viewers perspective. I didn’t see this happening with Faith.
I really can’t wait to read the novel! Let’s hope it will be translated into English!
Myria, I second you! Let´s raise our hopes and make that Christmas wish 😉
I guess, I’ll be waiting like everyone else here!! I’m wishing that for Christmas??!!
Dear Daejang Joonni, many, many thanks for translating this for us, I don’t know Korean, even though I LOVE it so much, nowdays, I just play faith in background, as it is a music, while I work. One day I will know the entire dialgoue by heart without knowing what I am saying ha ha ha. This is so beautiful.
I love how Faith turned out, and your writing and all the fan fiction has now created a new Faith so to speak, full of all of those details. I just watched episode 10 yesterday, and the music, acting, costumes, it still all takes my breath away, literally. Incredibly beautiful. Many thanks
many thanks joonie for this Q&A site…i love reading all of it…i miss our imja couple really.
soooo happy and excited that she is really gonna write the book! but can someone please beg her to make arrangements for an english translation. if i know how to get in touch with her i would beg/nag her myself! just reading the things we missed and the things she planned for the story line, i can telll that the book willl be AWESOME!
THANK YOU JOONNI FOR TRANSLATING THE Q&A!!!!!.IT’S MUCH APPRECIATED!
Thanks for continuing to give us glimpses of the inner workings of the writer’s mind. I should have realized this before, but not until I read the writer’s answers, did I realize that sometimes they, too are constrained by circumstances.
The books would be great, but I just realized it will probably be only in Korean and I can read may be at a kindergarten level ! 😦
Your still better then anyone who doesn’t speak/write the language..but still trying!! Most of us will just manage thru the dramas that we’ve watched!!?? I wouldn’t worry about it!! Take your time!!
I finally caught up on all 4 of your Q&A. You are amazing. Thank you so much, and now is also good time for me to thank you for all of your awesome recaps of Faith. I would read your recaps, then watch episode without English translation, then watch again reading English captions, then watch a 3rd time, knowing what was coming up. I am so disappointed after reading this Q & A because it seems the write just gave up. I hope I am not being out of line here, but they were doing the shooting without her even being there. Did she not show up? I would think it would be the writer’s job to see that her vision was being manifested. The actors basically saved her lack of affection for this drama. I hope the actors are not regretting attaching their stars to a ship that all but died in the water. I understand that the litigation must have left a sour taste in her mouth, but she still had a job to do. Didn’t she get paid? If she did, she should have done better. There were some key moments, but story lines were never developed and there was time to develop some of these story lines. Too many loose ends and story lines that were just left dangling from the very beginning. Oh well, it’s over. I loved this drama because of the actors. Thank you, Jooni, for all of your wonderfully hard work.
I don’t think Song Ji-na could show up because she was busy writing the script. As far as I know, the schedule was really tight and with so many changes and budget cuts, the script had to be changed often.
I think Writer Song loved Faith, but it was really a difficult process because she had to work on a story already set up before by another writer, and she had to work around budget cuts and a short timeline. It’s hard to just blame her, even though she could have done better. I don’t think Writer Song will deny that either. She blames herself as much as she tries to explain other reasons why.
thanks Joonni 🙂
Geez korean drama is fabulous,how i wish to see lee min ho live,he’s kind of awesome…He is so admirable ,famous and honoured actor here in my country,we all wish to see him.
Hello Jooni,
It’s been a long time since reading you… I hope you are all right. I am sorry to bother you with this, but as a hardcore fan of Faith I was just wondering if you will be able to give us the 5th part of this Q&A… it is so interesting reading Song Ji-Na input about it. I guess I am just missing Faith so much .. I am rewatching it now and started looking for info and I recall about this..
Anyway, thanks for the great help and keep up the good work.
Gabylee from Mexico
Hello again, sorry, I was referring to part 6th… can not edit my message… thank you again!
Gabylee
The account presumption is very intimately detailed, got
so much cognition hither. Thanks!