Park Ji Hoon on how his 'Weak Hero Class 2' character is quite similar to him
The Netflix original When Life Gives You Tangerines has recently concluded, and praises are pouring in for IU's stellar performance. Delving deep into her character and the K-drama, the singer and actress sits down for an interview with Cine21 to share her thoughts. Here is an excerpt from the interview.
How does it feel to say goodbye to something you've loved so fervently?
I guess it's all apparent on the outside too? (laughs) That's right. This time, I feel more regretful than usual. Over the past 18 years of my career, there have been times when I unexpectedly received a lot of attention, and there have been times that passed by more quietly than I expected. I thought I had experienced a wide range of emotions and situations up until now, but after When Life Gives You Tangerines was released, I've received so many messages from friends. I feel like I've received more support for this than anything since 'Good Day' in both my singing and acting career. I can really feel that everyone is enjoying it, and I'm so grateful for that. It almost feels like a month went by so quickly. The year-long wait for the release of When Life Gives You Tangerines felt so long, but March just flew by, like spring.
How was it reading the script of When Life Gives You Tangerines?
It was my first collaboration with writer Im Sang Choon, so that in itself could have been more surprising, but I was really taken aback. Every scene description was so precise and detailed. Not just the dialogue, but the way it conveyed how to fill in the spaces beyond words made it so vivid, like I could see it right in front of me. It was so detailed, it felt almost like direction itself. Director Kim Won Seok also said the same thing — how it was both exciting and challenging. I think every actor [who has worked with the writer] felt the same way. I wanted to bring every bit of it to life just as it was imagined.
You played a mother for the first time in the film Broker, but this time, you got to portray the emotional journey of becoming a mother — pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. How was it for you, experiencing becoming a mother? I'm curious how you imagined the 'mom' version of a young Ae Soon.
Ae Soon had her first child at 18. They say it wasn't an uncommon thing at the time, but it's true that she became a mother at a very young age. She also lost her parents at a very young age. There's this line in Part 4, 'I was worried that I couldn't be a good mom because I had no experience [receiving a mother's love].' I think this line gives a lot of clues about Ae Soon as a mother. She worries, 'What if I can't be a good mom? What if I can't give my child the love they deserve?' The reason Ae Soon raised Geum Myeong with such care likely stems from these worries. And since Geum Myeong was a daughter, Ae Soon probably saw a reflection of herself in her. I think Ae Soon's core resolve was shaped by the desire to not let her daughter feel a lack of love, [ensuring that her own experience wouldn't be passed on].
In the scene where the elderly landlady tells the young tenant, 'Let's go together. If we go together, even a hundred-mile journey feels like ten', Ae Soon's tears fall not anywhere else but onto her pregnant belly.
The script clearly indicated the exact timing for when the tears should fall. It said that when the grandmother speaks those words, Ae Soon's tears should drop onto her belly. By the time we filmed this scene, I had gotten so used to timing the emotions that, quite amazingly, the tears came right on cue. It just happened naturally. The moment I heard the grandmother's words, the tears came right away. I've even thought to myself that maybe the writer also cried while writing this scene. Maybe that's why she knew exactly when the tears would come when this line was spoken.
One of the challenges in this project was playing two roles. You portrayed both young Ae Soon and Geum Myeong. The approach to the characters of Ae Soon and Geum Myeong is similar to the unique dynamics of a mother-daughter relationship. Although they are mother and daughter and share similarities, Geum Myeong, as the next generation, must carry her own set of unique problems.
When Life Gives You Tangerines is a work centered around Ae Soon and Gwan Sik, so it wasn't too difficult to follow Ae Soon's emotions since everything was detailed. On the other hand, Geum Myeong is a character that requires a bit of imagination. Because we've followed the entire history of Ae Soon and Gwan Sik, we know how loving and wonderful parents they are. But Geum Myeong grumbles at them, and I wondered, who does she resemble? I really wanted to understand that. It took me a while to figure this out. Even though I was born to my mom and dad, there are moments when I don't feel like I'm like either of them. So, I believe Geum Myeong must have her own sorrow that isn't like Ae Soon's or Gwan Sik's, a sorrow unique to her life. This is my imagination, but from a thematic perspective, I think the sadness of losing Dong Myeong left a gap in her heart. Even if she doesn't show it outwardly, Geum Myeong likely carries a deep, unspoken sense of guilt, believing that her younger sibling died because of her.
Then one day, when Geum Myeong, now a middle schooler, grumbles, 'I got one question wrong,' and hands over her report card. At that moment, Ae Soon's face brightens. The script also expresses it like that — 'A brief moment of brightness passes over her.' Geum Myeong finds her own way of comforting her parents. Up until the moment she received her acceptance letter to Seoul National University, she had been bright and able to carry out her goals smoothly. But once she moves to Seoul, that's when the real challenges she has to face on her own start to appear, and I think that's when she begins to feel a void inside her. The contrast between her life so far and the new life in a big city, the sense of distance caused by the starkly different economic circumstances of her and her partner, and the loneliness of living away from home… As the eldest daughter, she had carried a burden that piled up layer by layer, maturing early under its weight. In Part 4, she ultimately breaks down the emotional barriers she built. Yet, the reason she wants to live well is rooted in her love for her family. This reveals a lot about Geum Myeong's life, and that's how I began to understand her.
Shall we dive deeper into some of the scenes? Ae Soon, who has just bought a new boat with her grandmother's savings and given birth to her second child, starts receiving different treatment from her in-laws. In response to Gwan Sik's request for them not to torment Ae Soon, she retorts, but in a way that subtly targets her mother-in-law: 'Mother-in-law likes me! I'm the daughter-in-law with the son, the grandson, the captain, and the silver spoon… How could she hate me? Wouldn't it be really strange if she hates me?' Ae Soon's cute, cheerful, and cheeky nature — how did it form?
I think Ae Soon would have become more relaxed and cheeky after having two kids and as time passed (laughs). So, I suggested this approach, and the director said, 'Let's try filming two versions — one cheeky and one less so.' Since Ae Soon is such a literary and delicate character, I think the director felt that making her too different from that side wouldn't suit the role.
The scene where Ae Soon tells the haenyeo aunts, 'If you have the will, you can even raise six children in a single-room house,' also had two versions. When I watched it later, I noticed that the scene with her mother-in-law was the cheekier version, while the one with the haenyeo aunts was the less cheeky version. I think the director really balanced Ae Soon's character. It may not be that great of a scene, but I wanted to convey that Ae Soon has let go of all the feelings she had for Gwan Sik's mother Gye Ok (Oh Min Ae).
The scene where Ae Soon's grief reaches its peak, after losing her third child, Dong Myeong, was a moment of intense, condensed emotion. At the same time, she had to battle through the fierce storm. It must have been physically demanding for you, right?
We filmed this scene over several days, and both the actors and the staff had a very hard time. The heavy wind and rain, created with high-powered fans, were almost like a torrential downpour. I think I was a little dazed by it all. For that scenario, the director and writer emphasized the contrast between Ae Soon and Gwan Sik. Ae Soon, who is usually a crybaby, doesn't shed a single tear. Instead, Ae Soon's steel heart completely crumbles. Whenever my eyes even started to redden a little, the director would say, 'Ae Soon isn't crying right now' to help me stay focused. I think Park Bo Gum had a really tough time with this scene too, constantly having to fall over. He even wore knee pads. But Sae Byeok, who played Dong Myeong, was really professional. He's playful in real life, but when the camera rolled, he completely transformed. The scene where he appears to be lying down, with his hand dropping lifelessly and his neck twisting, was harder than it seemed. We discussed it a lot together. We were really good co-stars.
Looking at your filmography, there are indeed many works centered around narrative-driven stories. Surprisingly, there are fewer works that focus on problem-solving within professional or occupational settings. Does this reflect your personal preference or taste?
I don't place any particular restrictions on characters or genres. But I think timing is much more important in the working process. There are times when a script comes in just as I start to take an interest in a certain mood of a work or a character setting. My interests and state of mind also constantly change. And sometimes, great works come along that align perfectly with them at the right moment. Of course, character setting is important, and so is assessing how deeply I can understand the character.
No matter how great a work is, if I have difficulty connecting with it, it's hard to produce good results. On the other hand, there are characters that I feel I can deeply understand — characters I want to understand and portray so badly that I become impatient with excitement. Those are the ones I never let slip away.
In 2022, the film Broker was released, and you visited the Cannes Film Festival. It was the year you told your fans you would take a break, but it was a turning point for you as an actress.
I received an offer from director Koreeda Hirokazu! I love his works. And I was especially curious about how he would express Korean sentiment in his work. The shooting set wasn't noisy at all. It was calm and composed. In such an atmosphere, there are many things to learn. How to not lose your cool, how to coordinate opinions with others. I learned a lot as an observer. Going to the Cannes Film Festival felt like a dream. (She shows a hand heart) Oh, right. When would I ever make a hand heart at Cannes? (laughs) If there weren't any photos of me there, if there was no proof left in this world, I still wouldn't believe I was there.
If you were to gift a song to the characters you've portrayed so far, what songs would they be? What kind of songs should they be?
Kim Pil Suk from Dream High
I want to give Kim Pil Suk a cute song. 'Unlucky'. Pil Suk is like a roly-poly toy. She has her share of sadness and setbacks, but she overcomes them without letting them weigh her down. 'Unlucky' is a song that tells you that a good life doesn't only come from having luck. It deflects all misfortune. 'Even without luck, I can do just fine!'
Cindy from The Producers
Cindy… It's difficult, isn't it? I want to give Cindy 'Twenty-three'. It's actually a work I acted in when I was 23, and Cindy was also 23 years old. Cindy has ambition, but she also longs for affection. She shouts, 'Kill them all!' but she still has scars in her heart. It seems like this kind of confusion suits her well.
Jang Man Wol from Hotel del Luna
Jang Man Wol is the most difficult... (long silence) What's a song that's glamorous but has sorrow in it… Ah! I think 'Shopper' would suit her well. Man Wol is very greedy and wants to have everything in the world. She's also quite unabashed. I'll give her 'Shopper' as a gift so she can be even more unabashed and greedy.
So Young from Broker
If So Young has Ji An [My Mister] next to her, I'd like to give them 'Knees' as a gift. Or the song 'Next Stop' would be good as well. Both of them need something to lean on, but at the same time, they want to live independently. So, I wish they had a knee they could lean and sleep on. So that they can peacefully fall asleep. Ji An also says something like that. She asks how she can fall asleep when she's not tired. I hope these two can sleep without any worries.
Ae Soon from When Life Gives You Tangerines
I want to give so many songs to the lovely Ae Soon, but I remember the song that Park Bo Gum suggested. It's 'Daydream', which I sang with Yang Hee Eun. I've never thought about it that way, but after Bo Gum said it to me, it really does seem like a song for Ae Soon and Gwan Sik. They ask if there's anyone they can lean on, but they're the ones there for each other. They're the people who can sleep soundly like dreaming in the middle of the day. Especially after the Dong Myeong incident, in a state where they understand each other's sorrow the best, it seems that the lyric from the song 'Live Accepting It' fits even more perfectly.
