Yook Jun-seo, known for 'Steel Troops' and 'Solo Hell 4', is officially starting his acting career.
On the morning of the 28th, a production presentation for the Wavve original 'ONE: High School Heroes' took place at Lotte Cinema in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Actors Lee Jung-ha, Kim Do-wan, Kim Sang-ho, Kim Joo-ryeong, Yoo Hee-je, Yook Jun-seo, Lim Sung-kyun, and director Lee Seong-tae attended the presentation.
'ONE: High School Heroes' is a high school action drama about the top student Ui-gyeom (played by Lee Jung-ha) suffering under the oppression of his father and Yoon-ki (played by Kim Do-wan), who wants to utilize his natural fighting talent, forming a masked group called 'High School Heroes' to explode their repressed anger and topple the hierarchy of school violence.
In particular, 'ONE: High School Heroes' is based on the hit webtoon 'ONE', which recorded a cumulative view count of 65 million on Kakao Webtoon and won the '2020 Today's Comic Award'. Director Lee Seong-tae noted, "The original work is a remarkable piece. The main characters, Ui-gyeom and Yoon-ki, are hiding deep pains in their hearts. The two friends decide to become High School Heroes to punish the bullies engaged in school violence and bad deeds."
He added, "The original work is great. Personally, I cannot simply express it as a school action genre. It is a work that provides a profound emotional impact. Therefore, I made many efforts to implement the narrative of the original as closely as possible. It has a storytelling that is almost identical to the original. In adapting it for drama, I had to elaborate on a part that wasn't well expressed in the original involving the protagonist's mother and grandfather, thereby inserting small devices to enhance the protagonist's trauma stemming from his family's history of violence and oppression from his father's era."
He continued, "I modified the character of Yoon-ki slightly. In the original, he is a cold and serious character. While there may be many fans who like that aspect, I decided that to lead the story more flexibly, it would be better to modify Yoon-ki's character, as well as Ui-gyeom's, to make them relatable to the audience when their hidden pasts are revealed. Besides that, I tried to reproduce the original as closely as possible."
Amid this, Yook Jun-seo is set to officially begin his acting career through 'ONE: High School Heroes'. Formerly a member of the Republic of Korea Navy Special Warfare Force (UDT), Yook Jun-seo gained recognition as a UDT member participating in Channel A's reality show 'Steel Troops', which aired in 2021. Afterward, he has participated in various entertainment programs like MBC's 'Omniscient Interfering View', 'Family Mate', and SBS's 'The Law of Coexistence', and stirred attention by becoming the final couple with Lee Shi-an in Netflix's 'Solo Hell 4', which premiered in January.
He has challenged acting, relying on the recognition he built through broadcasting. Previously, having appeared in Netflix's 'Sweet Home Seasons 2 and 3' as Corporal Bang Jin-ho of the Crow Unit, Yook Jun-seo will formally begin his acting career as the mysterious transfer student Lee Geol-jae in 'ONE: High School Heroes'.
Regarding his character Lee Geol-jae, Yook Jun-seo said, "He is a character who had an impact in the connected series before 'ONE.' There is an existing fan base, and he is a character with remarkable features and individuality." He shared, "I focused on preserving and reproducing as much of the original as possible, collaborating closely with the director. It was somewhat embarrassing to be in this position as I auditioned without a solid identity as an actor, and I ended up getting the role. The director probably had many concerns. Though the dialogue is limited, we spent a lot of time trying to make those aspects feel more authentic to me, and the director was very attentive to this."
As it is a work focused on action, he mentioned, "There were far more scenes that involved action rather than dialogue. Uniquely, I trained for about 2-3 months at a Taekkyeon facility. Geol-jae needs to use his body actively and must execute a unique style of action that is hard to pinpoint." He emphasized, "Poses are critical in action scenes, so I did my best."
He added, "With the importance of action, I focused on amplifying my history from 'Steel Troops' and UDT powerfully and intensely. In reality, I feel I have somewhat approached that aspect."
When asked about the reason for casting Yook Jun-seo, who has yet to establish his identity as an actor, director Lee Seong-tae explained, "I struggled a lot when casting. Geol-jae is an attractive character in the original work and is portrayed as a legendary character in writer Lee Eun-jae's previous work 'Ten.' This is the challenge of a work with a fan base. If we can't create a satisfying character for the fans, it could become difficult, so we deeply contemplated who to cast."
He explained, "The specific concerns were that the actor needed to express the feeling and aura of Geol-jae, but if the actor came off as one-dimensional, it could turn out disastrous and risky. While pondering that, when I met Yook Jun-seo and had several discussions about character development, I discovered he could embody it without trying too hard, producing it as he felt. I consistently required that from Jun-seo, who also put in rigorous training on set to portray that along with martial arts, and I think he did splendidly."
Meanwhile, fellow 'Solo Hell' alum Dex and Shin Seul-ki have also embarked on new beginnings as actors, actively participating in various works. When asked if Yook Jun-seo plans to continue his acting career, he replied, "Before I started acting, there was 'Steel Troops' and UDT, but prior to that, art was the voice I utilized. The most important aspect in art is to express oneself freely without being conscious of others. Having tried acting, I find it seems to follow a similar trajectory as art. I see no reason to decline acting opportunities, and I wish to find any chance to fully commit to my acting career."
Director Lee Seong-tae emphasized the distinctive aspects of 'ONE: High School Heroes' compared to similar themed works like 'Weak Hero' and 'Study Group', stating, "The mere existence of many dramas dealing with school violence suggests that it is a significant issue in Korean society. Our work also addresses this aspect, so we cannot escape the points that other works have addressed. However, the discourse around violence presented in the original work does not remain simplistic. Not only the protagonists but also the father, mother, and every villain appearing possess their own wounds and pains. I had to film grand-scale action scenes each week. I perceived that not as action but rather emotional scenes. So I believe the audience will feel a more emotionally intense experience rather than glamorizing or wrapping action in a violent aesthetic."
He continued, "Every episode introduces new characters, unfolding a feast of action. Essentially, the concept is like a dojang breaking ceremony, where the action adapts to various unique personalities of new villain characters. Additionally, it does not stop at school violence as depicted in the original; it encompasses domestic violence and societal violence that prioritizes and pressures sexual values. It includes a profound examination of the multiple layers of violence, providing a heavy emotional impact."
'ONE: High School Heroes', produced in eight episodes, will have four episodes first released on Wavve on the 30th. Two episodes will follow on June 6 and 8, respectively.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Lee Dae-sun
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