Two new dramas are coming up mid next week, and both of them had their press conference to promote the drama. Since 10asiae posted two excerpts from the Q&A session on both dramas, I just thought it’d be interesting to read them before we see the drama next week. Check this one out from “Personal Taste”!

Q&A with “Personal Taste” cast – Son Ye Jin, Lee Min Ho, Kim Ji Seok, Im Seulong and Wang Ji Hye

Son Ye-jin says relieved Lee Min-ho “not young-looking”

For Son Ye-jin, it is a drama where she will play the most comical character since her debut. For Lee Min-ho, it is a drama he chose after long consideration for his comeback role since KBS TV series “Boys Over Flowers”. For Kim Ji-seok, it is the last drama he will take on before entering the Korean military. For Wang Ji-hea, it is her first step toward creating a new image and for Im Seulong, it is his debut as an adult actor. Will the MBC series [tentatively titled] “Personal Taste” be remembered as a special drama that fulfills the taste of the public, just as it is turning into a special drama for the actors, each for his personal reasons? Below are excerpts from the Q&A session at the press conference for “Personal Taste”.

Q: How did you choose to do “Personal Taste”?
Son Ye-jin (Son): Up till now, I have played characters that were older than my actual age. I don’t really look old, but I had come to choose older parts because I was trying to show my serious, deep side. The film “White Night” was very hard on me psychologically and physically, so I wanted to do a fresh, young drama befitting my age for my next work. So it wasn’t hard to choose “Personal Taste”.
Lee Min-ho (Lee): I wanted to do a masculine drama, so this was actually what I thought about the hardest when trying to choose my next role. I thought hard and I thought about the image that the public had of Lee Min-ho — probably closer to a young man rather than a real man. I think I would do a better job playing heavy and more defined roles when I am older. I think “Personal Taste” was perfect because it is bright, cheerful but you can also laugh and cry over it as well.

Q: Your character Gae-in is similar to the “dried fish girl” in Japanese drama “Hotaru’s Light”.
Son: I heard from the director that the character of Gae-in was close to the actress in “Light”, but I haven’t seen it. I think that around the third or fourth episode, I give off a vibe similar to Nodame in [Japanese drama] “Nodame Cantabile”. She lives in this fantastic Korean-style house called “Sanggojae” but inside there are instant ramen cups rolling around and she is very messy. And when Jin-ho moves into “Sanggojae” later and lives with her, they fight like cats and dogs. I think she will be the most ridiculous and comic-book-ish character I have ever played.

Q: There is probably a lot that you have to worry about as an actress, but you must feel some catharsis when you play Gae-in.
Son: I really like it. Right now I am completely into my character so I keep paying attention to other things besides acting such as my accessories and wardrobe. This is the first time that I’m talk directly to the writer and creating my own ideas. It is the first time in a long time that I have been happy about a role, so even though it is definitely hard on me physically, I am truly happy the moment I become Gae-in.

Q: For Lee Min-ho, this is your first drama in quite a while. There is a thing called the sophomore jinx — do you feel burdened by this?
Lee: I feel less burdened but am more worried than when I did “Boys Over Flowers”. I am not burdened about the drama but had worries over how to express my character. First of all, Son Ye-jin is a great actress and other actors are excellent too, so I do feel the pressure and desire to receive good reviews on my acting as well.

Q: I think there are similarities between Goo Joon-pyo in “Boys Over Flowers” and Jun Jin-ho in “Personal Taste” – how did you try to differentiate the two characters?
Lee: The director wanted to emphasize Jin-ho’s cheeky personality, but I am trying to restrain that side as I build up on my character. I think that Jin-ho should not seem like Goo Joon-pyo.

Q: Are there any difficulties in expressing a character who pretends to be gay?
Lee: I don’t know if he will end up pretending to be gay. He is being misunderstood at the moment. Jin-ho is not gay — he is manly but is misunderstood as being gay for the circumstances he is in. So I am not worried about expressing a gay character.

Q: Ye-jin, do you have a fantasy about having a gay friend like Gae-in does?
Son: I do have a lot of feminine men around me and they are so much fun to talk to and even more sensitive than women. It is not easy to be friends with men, to be honest, but I feel very comfortable around them.

Q: How did you feel when you first saw each other?
Lee: A lot of people told me that Son Ye-jin was very impudent so I was worried, but when I met her, I found her very honest and down-to-earth. I liked her because she is the type of person who wants people to talk to her in a straightforward manner. She has a great personality so I hope other people wouldn’t misunderstand her. (laugh)
Son: Min-ho was cast first in the drama and I thought a guy like Lee Min-ho would be attractive playing such a role. In general, male actors like to play rough, strong characters and do dramas with lots of action but I think Min-ho is very clever in choosing his work.

Q: It has been a long time since you worked with an actor around your age.
Son: I don’t have a younger brother and have always worked with men who were older than me. When I met Min-ho, I started thinking it would be great to have a younger brother like him. I am worried that I might look like his older sister in the drama, but I’m relieved that Min-ho doesn’t look young. (laugh)

Q: For Kim Ji-seok, there must be pressure that you have to continue the popularity that you achieved with “The Slave Hunters”.
Kim: I was actually exhausted because the final shooting for “The Slave Hunters” and initial shoots for “Personal Taste” overlapped. But I don’t feel burdened because I am just going to trust and follow Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ho. Actually, even in “The Slave Hunters”, I was only responsible for about three percent of the ratings. So [for "Personal Taste"] ten percent for Son Ye-jin, ten percent for Lee Min-ho and three percent for me, and then a bit higher rating overall with the help of the rest of the cast.

Q: This will be the last role you take on before you enter the Korean military. How do you feel about working on the drama?
Kim: It is my posthumous work. (laugh) I really am acting thinking that this is my final drama. It would be my last drama as a person who has not completed his military duty and the first one of my thirties. And “The Slave Hunters” was a drama that I did while I was crossing over to my thirties from my twenties. I think I am working harder and doing my best because I realize that there isn’t much time. Jang Hyuk told me a lot about the military while we were filming “The Slave Hunters”. What scares you the most before going to the military is your fear of a new world, but I heard so much about the place that I feel like I have already become a corporal in my mind.

Q: If you were to compare your character [in "Personal Taste"] with Wang-son from “The Slave Hunters”?
Kim: First of all, the two are different genres and the two are different characters. If Wang-son was the youngest character who was comic and provided fun to the drama, Chang-ryeol is a main character who has to lead the story. And he is also different from Wang-son in terms of appearance, so people might feel like they are seeing a little of Wang-son in the character, I expect viewers to quickly fall in love with Han Chang-ryeol. Han Chang-ryoel is the most luxurious character that I have ever played. What is crafty about a person’s mind is that, when I was working on “The Slave Hunters,” I wanted to do a modern drama. But now, with so many things to worry about including my appearance, I’ve come to think that dramas are all the same.

Q: You will be going up against Han Jeong-su, your co-star from “The Slave Hunters,” who will appear in SBS TV series “Princess Prosecutor.”
Kim: I read Han Jeong-su’s interview and he said that we practiced the script together which is true. I still have the script for “Princess Prosecutor.” He asked many questions on the set of “The Slave Hunters”, so I gave him a lot of my opinions, but he told me he shot the scene he asked about the following day and messed it up. It was actually all part of my detailed plan. (all laughs) We don’t see each other as much as we used to but we root for each other although I want my drama to see higher ratings. Just to be nice, I hope “Princess Prosecutor” comes in second?

Q: Im Seulong, you will be competing against Taecyeon who appears in “Cinderella’s Sister”.
Im: Taecyeon and I are actually very close, so we have both been encouraging each other by saying, “Let’s work hard, let’s do it well.” I read the interview he did for “Cinderella’s Sister” yesterday, where he said he would beat me, and I told myself that I won’t let him win.

Q: What has the response been by the members of your group 2AM?
Im: I want them to ask me about the acting but they only ask questions like, “Is Son Ye-jin pretty,’ or ‘Is Lee Min-ho handsome?” But they told me to show my serious side at the press conference today.

Q: I heard that you used to be a child actor, so does that help toward your acting now? What is the biggest difference between singing and acting?
Im: There is nothing from my childhood acting days that helps me directly. But I think I should say I received early education in acting so the experience of having been in front of the camera helps. They say singing is different from acting, but it’s also different singing and doing variety shows. If I had to make a connection, my character from “Personal Taste” overlaps with the character I portray in variety shows. I didn’t intend on finding a character with the same style but he’s cheerful, funny and a little idiotic too so I think they’re similar in that sense.

Q: If you had to score yourself on how your acting has been — the first time since your childhood acting days?
Im: Three or four points out of ten? It’s my first acting gig so I don’t really know how well I can do. Actually, I could give myself a lower grade. When I was shooting my first scene, I was super sensitive because I was so worried, but I was able to wrap it up well because everyone took such great care of me. I had originally been very interested in acting and I’ve been given this opportunity, so all I can think about is that I have to work hard.

Q: The director said that he was going to try to win by having the male actors bare some skin. And they all have great physiques so there must be some competition about revealing your bodies.
Im: There is no competition at all but there is some pressure. I hope all the actors work out together and become much better friends.
Kim: When I was working on “The Slave Hunters”, I felt pressured with everyone calling Jang Hyuk, Oh Ji-ho and Han Jeong-su ‘animal guys.’ I’m just relieved and glad that Seulong is on board with me.
Lee: There is one scene that I am topless in, but I don’t know how many more there will be. I want to be left out of the competition. I don’t want be an animal, I want to remain human. (laugh)

Q: Wang Ji-Hye, you play a character who steals someone’s lover. Did you face any difficulties in portraying a villain?
Wang: They say that you have to be really mean when you play a villain in order to become famous. I would like viewers to take a lot of interest in me, even if means they are going to hate me. I am playing the part like everything is up to me, so I hope viewers will adore me. I cut my hair when I got the part of In-hee because there was a part of me that hoped people would not recognize me at first as Wang Ji-Hye but realize that it is me later on.

Q: The female characters Gae-in and In-hee are so different and unique that they could be called polar opposites. Which character do you prefer?
Lee: I actually don’t like types like Gae-in in reality. I don’t think she is a character that you can easily become attracted to as a woman. In reality, I find characters like In-hee more appealing. But it is possible to grow fond of a person when you spend much time with them so I think Gae-in could also turn out alright in the long run.
Kim: It is hard to choose because they are extremely different. In-hee is so intense that I feel overwhelmed by her. But I am also someone who is quite passive so she does seem attractive. Gae-in is so naive and nice that I think I will become complacent. If I had to choose one character, I would like to pick In-hee.

Q: What if those characters existed in person?
Kim: If it’s alright with the two actresses, I would like to say that I would be grateful. I was always hanging around with men for “The Slave Hunters” but I now get to talk to and interact physically with these beautiful actresses so I am happy every day.

Q: What is your prediction for the viewership rating of “Personal Taste”?
Son: I don’t expect high ratings from the start. I used to love watching “Pasta” and I think it would be great if our ratings kept climbing like “Pasta”. And I hope it eventually does better than “Pasta”.

Reporter: Yoonina, TV critic
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@10asia.co.kr
Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr, Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr

InStyle Korea, fashion magazine, got together with Korean actors, actresses, and singers to raise some money to help victims of Haiti earthquake. Found some of their vibrant pictures, and they look amazing. Love what they’re doing to help others!

Yoon Jung Hoon

33 Korean celebrities pose for InStyle pictorial “Hun Hun”, funds for Haiti disaster relief

Fashion magazine ‘InStyle’ put together a charity campaign “Help For Haiti” along with top stars and idol groups such as Kim Ji Soo, Kim Ji Seok, Nam Sang Mi, Han Ji Hye, Yoon Jung Hoon, Yoo Ji Tae, Ha Ji Won, Han Chae Young, Song Ji Hyo, Yoo Seon, Song Joong Ki, idol group SHINee and many more. These celebrities gathered together and finished the pictorial shooting yesterday, March 11.

These special pictorial aims for a fundraising pointed towards the Disaster Relief Fund for Haiti, along with InStyle magazine as sponsors and participating brands. ‘InStyle-Help For Haiti’, also celebrates the magazine 7 years establishment for the March edition. And on March 6, they’ve released an iPhone application through AppStore. “InStyle” readers can purchase pictures through the iPhone apps and the profits will go towards the “Help For Haiti” funding.

(Photos by InStyle Korea)

Kim Ji Soo

Kim Ji Seok

Nam Sang Mi

Han Ji Hye

Ha Ji Won

Yoo Ji Tae

Han Chae Young

Song Ji Hyo

Yoo Seon

SHINee

And…
SONG JOONG KI <3

*eeeekz. what happened to him? heavy make-up. weird hairdo. >_>

Kim Ji Seok may seems to be this funny, goofy guy who likes to play around with gisaeng in “Chuno”, he’ll be transformed into a different look in CeCi magazine next month.

Kim Ji Seok completes his “Bad Guy” transformation

Actor Kim Ji Seok, whose drama currently rank in ratings, “The Slave Hungers” (Chuno) showed his ‘wild’ side through CeCi fashion magazine pictorial shoot for February edition. In the drama, his character loves to play around with gisaeng and has that wild romantic, naughty-guy kinda look, but was transformed into something else for this pictorial.

With smokey make-up and hairstyle, Kim Ji Seok showed off his intense eyes to charm CeCi readers to be captured in his nice smile and charming look. According to the staff during the photoshoot, Kim Ji Seok really embrace the pictorial concept and acted like a professional model throughout the shoot.