[Current Drama 2022 & 2024] Pachinko, 파친코 - Lee Min Ho, Youn Yuh Jung, Jin Ha, Anna Sawai, Minha Kim, Soji Arai, Kaho Minami - Streaming on Apple TV+ | Season 1 & 2 (2024)

[Interview] Pachinko Lee Min Ho, "After 13 years of listening to 'Flower Boy', I feel like I've been born again"

Enter 2022.03.30
Reporter Yang So Yeon

Actor Lee Min Ho (35) said he felt free because of the experience he gained through the global Pachinko project.

In the Apple TV+ original series Pachinko, Lee Min Ho took on the role of the mysterious and charismatic Han Soo, who changes his trajectory as he enters the life of a teenager. Based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name, Pachinko is a story that begins with forbidden love and paints an unforgettable chronicle of war and peace, love and separation, victory and judgment as it travels back and forth between Korea. , Japan and USA. It tenderly and warmly reflects the hopes and dreams of Korean immigrant families.

Lee Min Ho joined 'Pachinko' through an audition for the first time in 13 years since 'Boys Over Flowers'. He said, “After 13 years, I forgot about the audition. The audition was more than just watching the game, it was a job to get a deep understanding of the person's values and inclinations and fit the character. So I thought about auditioning again. I thought that such a system could be reasonable and good. It was good for me personally because it wasn't a job where the face was known or famous or fit the existing image.

When asked if he chose "pachinko" for his makeover, Lee Min Ho, who has been called the "King of Rock", replied, "I never chose a job because I wanted to look cool in the romantic comedy genre." many images were created,” he said.

He continued, “I chose this work because there is a part of it that resonates with the story of this character. I was more attracted to the character than the concept of image change. At the same time, if I showed you a cool male character with a lot of fantasy elements in a thoughtful frame, this time it's a more realistic and desperate character than any other character, so he attracted me in that regard. . I didn't approach it because I wanted to change my image," he stressed.

Regarding Hansoo's ambitious character, he said, "I wanted to express a person who is the polar opposite, where a person who is expressed as absolute good lives as absolute evil. Hans' sympathy arose from the moment he first saw the script. I wondered what it would have been like in that era, and I wondered if I, too, would have made a choice like Hans. To survive, I had to be desperate, sometimes I had to step on someone, but in this respect I felt sympathy and affection.”

Also, regarding the songja's romance in the play, "I hoped it wouldn't be a simple romance or a melodrama. "I tried to show that Hansoo wanted something for the first time, and when I got this object, I tried to focus on his own path."

Was there any burden and responsibility associated with historical facts? He said, "Because this is a character with a real historical background, I had the idea to explore more in terms of authenticity and express it in a line that doesn't deviate as much as possible. I thought a lot about that moment where I could feel like a human being," - he said.

Regarding the human rights of Zainichi (Koreans or Koreans living in Japan): “This is a very difficult issue. When I came across a number of historical events or records, I felt the feelings or human rights of those who were not even recorded. While there are things that can be recorded around the world, there are also stories of victims who didn't. I think knowing and empathizing with the stories of those who are marginalized in today's busy society is something we should be striving for for the better and for the next generation."

Regarding the dialogue in Korean, English and Japanese in the play, he said, “I felt a lot of language difficulties. It was not easy to act expressing emotions in lines in a language other than communication, and I thought I should try harder in the future.” “Mostly everyone spoke English. It was a new experience for me to communicate with someone who speaks English and someone who speaks Japanese together in their mother tongue,” he said.

"Pachinko" was well received by local media in the US even before its release. Rolling Stone said: "He touches on the subject in an artistic and elegant way. The density of the original novel and the video's unique strengths were perfectly combined." The Hollywood Reporter called it "a timeless story that shakes the heart."

He said, “Many national reporters watched it and they all said they liked it. I was surprised that there were only such high praises that I doubted it. The best reaction was that it was "this is a must see". The reason I wanted to be involved in this work was so that I could understand this story, because it is about people living outside of time, and I think they liked it.”

He also mentioned the global popularity of K-content along with the popularity of the films "Parasite" and "Minari" and the drama "Squid Game".

He said, “I interviewed in different countries for two days and I seem to have realized the attention and popularity of K content. I didn't start with the dream of becoming a Hallyu star when I had the dream of becoming an actor, but I think I'm doing my best in this situation where I have to keep quiet. In that regard, Pachinko seems to have been able to garner positive reviews by focusing on the strength and credibility of the story rather than the fact that it is a masterpiece and has a global scope."

About Pachinko, Lee Min Ho said, "It was a job that gave me freedom." Of course, this is also a work that I worked on with a new approach after listening. I felt freer than ever. I tried to concentrate as much as possible on the meaning of the work, and it was work free from the burden that I personally carried. It was a job that could be a fresh start for the next 10 years of my acting career."

"Pachinko" consists of 8 episodes, starting with 3 episodes on the 25th and releasing one episode every Friday until April 29th.

Translation from Korean google
https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/009/0004942033