(Following Interview ①) Actor Lee Jeong-ha conveyed the unique aspects of Kim Eui-gyeom in 'ONE', which is different from 'Weak Hero' and 'Study Group'.
On the afternoon of the 11th, an interview with Lee Jeong-ha, the lead actor of the Wavve original drama 'ONE: High School Heroes', was held at the Post Tower in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul.
'ONE: High School Heroes', based on the webtoon 'ONE' by writer Lee Eun-jae, is a high school action drama featuring Eui-gyeom (played by Lee Jeong-ha), the top student suffering from his father's oppression, and Yoon-ki (played by Kim Do-wan), who seeks to utilize his innate fighting talent, as they form the masked 'High School Heroes' to unleash repressed anger and overturn the hierarchy of school violence.
When asked if he had any regrets about the similar school action dramas 'Weak Hero' and 'Study Group' being released while the release date of 'ONE: High School Heroes' was postponed, Lee Jeong-ha said, "I enjoyed watching 'Weak Hero' and 'Study Group' a lot. Didn't those do really well? So I feel grateful that our work could come out around the same time." He continued, "I did watch both, but since I am filming a 'drama' called 'ONE', I thought, 'Ah, so this is how action is done' as I watched it."
Regarding the differences between Kim Eui-gyeom and 'Weak Hero' Yun Si-eun (played by Park Ji-hoon), who is also a top student, Lee Jeong-ha explained, "Yun Si-eun is portrayed as equally intelligent. The settings are similar, but while Yun Si-eun utilized tools, my character's story revolves around the constant frustration of living under his father's oppression."
When asked who would be the strongest among Yun Si-eun from 'Weak Hero', Yoon Ga-min (played by Hwang Min-hyun) from 'Study Group', and Kim Eui-gyeom from 'ONE: High School Heroes', he said, "I liked the original webtoons for 'Weak Hero' and 'Study Group'. I think Yoon Ga-min would be the strongest. When I thought of the image from the webtoon, I felt like Yoon Ga-min would definitely not lose. From the start, he's someone who fights well, so I don't think we can overcome that ability. Ga-min fights well and has talent as well." Then he joked, "I would like to say I come in last. There's no particular reason, but I am not great with tools. I don't think using tools is sly. Winning a fight is all that matters."
'ONE: High School Heroes' is a work that depicts the cycle of violence breeding violence. When asked about his thoughts on violence, Lee Jeong-ha said, "Violence cannot be justified, but for Eui-gyeom, it was all about studying or violence. Studying is the main medium of oppression, so when he can't relieve stress, all that's left is violence, and he finds his dreams while resorting to violence. It can never be justified, but I think it's meaningful as it's a path for Eui-gyeom to find his dreams." He added, "I always try to be a third party when such things happen. As the saying goes, 'When whales fight, the shrimp's back gets broken', it's scary to get involved, and just watching is scary too. If I feel like I have to intervene, I will, but otherwise, I try my best to remain a third party."
Regarding the different experiences he had during his school years, he said, "I did study a bit during my school years. My grades were not bad. Since I was the top student, there were many scenes of solving problems, and I genuinely felt a bit like a top student when a few questions I knew came up. I struggled in subjects like Korean, English, and Math, but I excelled in memorization subjects, receiving top grades. I achieved top marks in Korean history." He recalled, "I got some questions wrong. But it was fun to solve them, and I enjoyed the process. I thought I could do it, but when I couldn't, the teacher explained the solution so I wrote it down and acted it out."
He expressed feeling frustrated at first unable to understand the character of Kim Eui-gyeom, saying, "The director provided many suggestions, and as we discussed, I was able to find the connecting points to perform well." He added, "I tried my best to draw on my passion for studying a little during my school years and my experiences of how to observe when I saw fights around me. I paid close attention to each line while reading the webtoon. As I went through that process, I thought that while Eui-gyeom might seem frustrating, the pattern of living for him is peaceful, so I tried to think, 'This is peace.'" (To be continued in Interview ③.)
[Photo] Wavve
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