Actor Cho Jun-young proved his growth by even mastering dialect acting.
Cho Jun-young gave a finale interview for the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama Spring Fever (written by Kim Ah-jeong, directed by Park Won-guk, planned by CJ ENM STUDIOS, produced by Bon Factory) on the 9th at the OSEN building in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul.
Spring Fever is a drama that depicts a hot-pink romance of spring that will melt the frozen hearts of teacher Yoon Bom (Lee Joo-been), who feels the cold wind, and the man with a burning heart Seon Jae-gyu (Ahn Bo-hyun). By the fourth week of airing it recorded a cumulative 410 million views, achieving one of the highest levels among tvN Monday-Tuesday dramas aired since 2025, and episode 12 recorded an average nationwide rating of 5.7% on paid platforms combining cable, IPTV and satellite (based on paid platforms combining cable, IPTV and satellite, provided by Nielsen Korea).
Spring Fever concluded its run after episode 16, which aired on the 9th, and Cho Jun-young gave a passionate performance as Seon Han-gyeol. From his debut, Cho Jun-young drew attention with his tall stature, deer-like eyes and unique visuals like a shojo manga protagonist, appearing in Live On, Crushology 101, Spirit FingerS! and others. In Spring Fever he not only achieved synchronization that surpassed the original work but, despite being a newcomer, showed a stable mid-to-low vocal tone, precise diction and emotional acting, marking himself as an icon of youth dramas.
Ahead of the finale, Cho Jun-young met and said, "I feel both relieved and sad, and since this was my first dialect performance I was very worried, but people around me said, 'It looks like you prepared a lot,' so I am sending it off with gratitude," expressing his overwhelming feelings.
The biggest challenge given to Cho Jun-young in this work was undoubtedly the 'dialect.' As someone who spent his school years in Seoul and is a 'Seoul native,' internalizing the subtle nuances and intonations of the Gyeongsang dialect was by no means easy. Cho Jun-young confessed, "It was harder to pay attention to both the emotions and the lines at the same time because the intonation itself wasn't ingrained in my mouth more than individual words."
Because of his perfectionist tendencies, Cho Jun-young said he was mentally distressed when the prepared tone got confused on set. He said, "One of the happiest moments during filming was when, on a day the director hadn't said much, he casually said, 'Han-gyeol's dialect is good today,'" he said.
Emotional acting was also a new challenge for Cho Jun-young because Seon Han-gyeol is a static character who suppresses his emotions. To portray Han-gyeol, who appears calm on the outside but has painful wounds inside, Cho Jun-young explained, "I tried to convey emotion through my eyes, smile and breathing rather than big facial expressions or volume." Especially regarding scenes with large emotional swings, such as the scene where he vents his anger at his mother, he said, "I learned to tightly contain and express inner wounds, and as an actor I feel my emotional understanding has broadened, which is meaningful."
He also revealed the behind-the-scenes fact that even though the work has an original, he intentionally did not read the original this time. He said, "If I looked at the original, I thought I would be trapped by the external synchronization. I wanted to focus on the script's 'Seon Han-gyeol' itself and put my own color on him," showing his sense of responsibility as a lead actor. Defining the character as "a friend who is much more mature and steady than the actual Cho Jun-young," he added that he tried throughout the filming period to resemble Han-gyeol's maturity.
Spring Fever was praised as a 'clean drama' that drives the plot through the relationships between characters without a clear villain. Cho Jun-young also cited this as the drama's biggest charm. He analyzed, "It felt comfortable because there was no villain, and the process of characters' deficiencies healing each other seemed to give viewers healing."
As he parts with Han-gyeol, who gave him pleasant memories and growth, Cho Jun-young offered a warm farewell, "I hope Han-gyeol no longer suffers alone, but leans on his uncle or Se-jin and is happy."
[OSEN]