Musical actress Jeong Young-joo reflected on her 31-year acting career.
On the 19th, Jeong appeared as a guest on KBS1's "Morning Yard" Tuesday guest segment.
That day, Jeong looked back at the moment she first started her musical career. She opened up, saying, "I didn't want to become a musical actress; I just thought the guy putting up flyers at the subway station looked really cool, and even though he wasn't a celebrity on TV, I wondered where I could meet someone like him. When I checked what he was putting up, it was a poster for recruiting members for a theater school. At first, I had no interest and thought that such guys were not for me, but that night, I had a dream about it."
She continued, "The next day, when I went, half of the poster was torn down. Fortunately, it had a number, so I called and asked how to get there, and they simply said in a curt voice, 'Just come in comfortable clothes if you have dance, singing, and acting skills.' I thought, 'This is strange, isn't it?' but I went half in doubt and somehow ended up auditioning and getting in, starting training without really planning for it, and now I have been doing musicals for 31 years."
The person who was putting up the flyers at that time was actress Seo Young-joo, who played the role of Daewongun in the musical "The Last Empress." Announcer Eom Ji-in said, "It's fascinating. No matter how cool the guy putting up flyers is, didn't he say you need to have talent in dance, singing, and acting? It seems he probably had a lot of innate ability," and Jeong responded, "I had no fear. I used to be an aerobics instructor, so I thought, I can just show some kicking. I used to sing in a choir. Acting? I didn't know, I just thought I would take a chance. I went in with that boldness."
Originally, her dream was to travel around the world. Jeong said, "I never found the idea of becoming something prominent attractive since I was a child. I just focused on the thought of wanting to travel around the world, so I worked hard at part-time jobs. I worked as an aerobics instructor and part-time in orchards. Working at a gas station was a given, and back then, I worked at a refrigerated warehouse. Working in the cold storage helped me lose weight, which was great. But that was for only that time. I ended up gaining weight back. After that, I folded boxes," she elaborated. Announcer Eom Ji-in asked curiously, "Did you really travel around the world?" and Jeong replied, "I couldn't travel much. I went to five countries in Europe, but though I couldn't go extensively, those trips in my early twenties still nourish me today."
Announcer Park Cheol-kyu said, "Since you have collected various experiences, I wonder if it helps in your acting. It might be reflected in your performances too," and Jeong replied, "Experience is an immensely valuable resource for an actor. There is nothing more beneficial for acting than meeting a variety of people from different backgrounds. I didn't work part-time to gather experiences, but ultimately it greatly helped my acting career. It seems I learned social skills back then. I am grateful that I got to experience early on that there are various types of people and situations in the world."
When asked if her parents were worried, Jeong replied, "Honestly, they raised me in a free-range manner. They encouraged me to try and experience whatever I wanted, but there was a period when a comedy program featuring the question, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' was popular, and when I heard those words, it felt pressing. It was the line I heard the most. Since they were free-range, whenever I went and came back, they would just say, 'Really? Good job.' However, since I had a curious nature in my childhood, whenever I finished one thing, I would jump to the next. From an adult's perspective, I probably seemed to lack persistence, but I was just challenging myself to new things, and since it was short-lived, they would probably think, 'What can she do when she's so unsteady?"
She did not even tell anyone when she passed the musical auditions. Jeong explained, "I couldn't say anything and just kept quiet. My father opposed it. I could not show him anything. Those older generations thought of it as foolishness, so I only revealed to my mom that I passed the auditions for my first work after training. When I told my father that I was going to perform 'The Last Empress' on Broadway, he couldn't come to the performance but came to the airport to see me off, saying he would give me strength. He said something like, 'Come home after glorifying the country!' while wearing traditional clothing, and I had to turn my head, and the other actors treated him like their own father, saying, 'Goodbye, sir.' As I boarded the plane, I muttered to myself, 'Why did you oppose me if you were going to do that?" and the story brought laughter.
However, while engaged in musical activities, she also fell into a deep slump due to a vocal cord rupture. Jeong said, "I thought about whether I should give up my dream or change it; I wondered if I could not stand on stage. This happened during a performance, where I played a role that required constant laughter. It was a noisy character that was often loud and boisterous, but the performance opened at the tail end of a cold, and it was a 4-month run. Even though it was double cast, during the performance I felt a sensation like a toothpick snapping in my throat, and there was no exit during the 2-hour show. If you exited, you would be busy changing in the backstage without time to rest, but something felt wrong. Since I couldn't sing during the performance, I went to the hospital, and they diagnosed me with a rupture, so I underwent a difficult surgery to sew it back together. After the surgery, my vocal cords were left one shorter like a crutch, giving it an uneven muscle form. They told me not to speak at all, so I just took medication for four months and suffered from depression. It was really tough," she shared.
She expressed, "I felt depressed thinking that I couldn't finish the performance and couldn't use my voice. For someone whose life revolves around their voice, it feels like the whole world is collapsing, doesn't it? Just the slightest cold worried me. At that time, it was so tough that I took antidepressants and tried to seek counseling. My family tried their best not to overwhelm me. My son was about 6 or 7 years old at that time, and one day, he brought me a dirty rag and wiped my eyes while saying, 'Mom, you didn't wash your face,' and I felt like I had been hit with a hammer. I came to my senses when I saw how messy the house was, and that day, in a daze, I started a big cleaning session. I took my son out for the first time, holding a shopping basket. After shopping and coming home, I prepared dinner and bathed him. While lying down, he asked me to sing him a lullaby. It was the first time he had spoken. I couldn't sing; only air came out, but after hearing that, my 6-year-old son hugged me tightly and said, 'I love you, Mom,' which brought me back to reality," she revealed, moving the audience to tears.
In particular, Jeong revealed that she has done dubbing for 400 animation projects, which surprised everyone. She said, "The most recent one was 'The Little Mermaid.' I also worked on 'Frozen,' 'Moana,' 'The LEGO Movie,' and 'Shrek.' For a while, voice actors would handle the singing, while musical actors would take on the acting. Recently, this has changed, and we now do both lines and singing together," she stated.
He began with dubbing for animation before musicals, stating, "By chance, there was an opportunity for a commercial voice, so I auditioned and got it. I initially did ads for credit cards, department stores, and telecommunications companies. Then, during a time when a ton of ads for shoes and casual wear came out, I did those. Then an audition came up for animation song dubbing, and my first was 'The Little Mermaid' in 1992. I auditioned for Ursula at that time but got turned down. The role went to Jeong Jung-ja, but I heard it's being remade into a live-action version 30 years later, and I prepared thoroughly for auditions again because I really wanted to do it," she expressed her enthusiasm.
Currently, she is meeting audiences through the musical '42nd Street.' She said, "So many people come to see it, and these days, what excites me is that the audience spans three generations. It's delightful. At one time, there were preferences among specific age groups, but now it has become a family-oriented performance, which is heartwarming to see." She added, "In the show, I play Dorothy Brock, a character that was a successful star in her heyday but fell into a 10-year hiatus while transitioning from a showcase musical to a dramatic musical. I appear after 10 years, looking fabulous, and in the character's journey throughout the 2.5-hour performance, a character's growth unfolds. The show runs until September 14 at the Charlotte Theater. Come and watch!"
When asked who opened the door to her acting life, Jeong replied, "There's a saying that it was the comedian Shim Hyung-rae who did that." She recalled, "There was a sister who was studying vocal music with whom I trained. She got cast in a movie, where she played the role of the 2nd in command of a gang. This sister was really petite and always dressed like a princess in dresses, but it seemed odd for her to have a gangster role. At that time, I happened to be working part-time as a coordinator. When she asked for help, I accompanied her to Dongdaemun Market to buy costumes and helped her on-site."
Jeong continued, "Because my sister was short, the camera angle didn't fit both the boss and the second-in-command in the same frame. At that time, director Shim Hyung-rae was present with the cinematographer, who was a well-known martial arts director of the time. He called me over and asked me to turn around, and I did a full 360 degrees. I happened to be wearing black jeans and a leather vest. He said, 'You do it,' and I asked, 'Do what?' and he told me to play the role of number three. I was scared thinking that if this comes out, my father would kill me. The man said, 'Does your father watch Shim Hyung-rae's movies?' I took that to heart and ended up doing it unexpectedly," describing how she ended up appearing in the movie on a whim.
She mentioned that she experienced stress due to her Western-style physique. She said, "I developed secondary sexual characteristics late, during my first year of high school. I wasn't prepared. Until then, I looked like a boy, having no hips or chest, and it was suddenly overwhelming for both me and my mom when secondary sexual characteristics came in. The boys hardly called me by name; they called me things like 'Fatty' or 'Flower Pig.' My physique was sturdy and large, which made it tough among those aspiring to be actors at that time," she recalled.
However, she reflected, "What I'm grateful for is that thanks to that, I have gained a fun nickname now: the female Ma Dong-seok. Because of that, I ended up getting a character that fits that description and am thankful I can do the action I wanted to do. I've even said it myself. Whenever I have an interview and they ask what character I would like to play, I mention my interest in action, and since I am confident in movement, it wouldn't be far-fetched to think a character like the female Ma Dong-seok could appear, right?"
Finally, announcer Park Cheol-kyu asked, "What moment do you remember most? What do you think was the highlight of your life?" Jeong responded immediately, saying, "Right now." She continued, "Looking back, every moment was good, but now is when I'm putting in the most effort. I think it's the shiniest time. Of course, when I was younger, there were times when I was bouncy and lively, but I feel that right now is my peak, and every day is wonderful."
[Photo] KBS1
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