Jung Jin-woon revealed behind-the-scenes stories of The King's Warden and his future plans.
The King's Warden is a work that depicts the story of the exiled young former king Danjong Lee Hong-wi (Park Jihoon) and village head Um Heung-do (Yoo Hai Jin), set in Cheongryongpo in 1457. As of the 6th, it surpassed a cumulative 9.77 million viewers, enjoying a long-running box office success, and as of the 7th it succeeded in surpassing 10 million viewers.
Amid attention focused on the many actors who gave powerful performances, especially Jung Jin-woon's portrayal as 'Dongjijungchuwonsa' captured the audience's attention, and Jung Jin-woon himself spoke about The King's Warden in an interview with OSEN.
Having gained his first 10 million-viewer appearance with The King's Warden, Jung Jin-woon laughed and said, "When I first received the offer to appear, what I thought about was not at all whether it would be a hit or how many viewers it might attract, but rather I was only worried about things like 'will a beard suit me?'" and explained, "The director jokingly suggested, 'Still, why don't you attach a beard and try acting once?'"
Jang Hang-jun and I also worked together on the previous film Rebound. Regarding that, Jung Jin-woon burst into laughter and said, "Master filmmaker Jang Hang-jun of Korea's film industry first sent me the screenplay and asked, 'Is there anything here you want to do?' Of course, there was no role I could do."
He went on, "So when I said 'no,' he entrusted me with the role of Dongjijungchuwonsa. At the time the role was even less defined than now, but I accepted the offer very gratefully, and later he created a very good character for me," expressing his gratitude.
In the work, Jung Jin-woon expressed the character's determination with unwavering eyes and rough breaths, convincingly completing the loyal heart in action and firmly supporting the message the work carried. Some viewers did not immediately recognize Jung Jin-woon because of the new atmosphere that had not been seen before.
Regarding this acting transformation, Jung Jin-woon recalled, "(The director) wanted riding and action and wanted me to use my body well," and added, "(Personally) because many know my voice tone as a light voice, I wanted to be more charismatic, and I remember the director also talked about my voice during filming. In makeup, I wanted to perform with rougher makeup and a sturdier physique so that the previous soft image would not remain."
About Lee Jun-hyuk, who played Geumsungdaegun and worked closely with him, he said, "The atmosphere on set was so good that I lost track of time enjoying watching and listening to the performances of senior actors. In particular, in the scene where he falls into Han Myeong-hoe's trap, I couldn't help but be impressed," he added.
Especially, Jung Jin-woon noted that both the recently released The Divine Orchestra and The King's Warden surpassed their break-even points and succeeded at the box office. Grateful for the many congratulations around him, he said, "Honestly, rather than thinking this and that after reading a screenplay, I just go if it's fun. If I can imagine the scene in my head or imagine myself as the character, I think I take on the challenge without hesitation," he said, revealing his thoughts as an actor.
Jung Jin-woon is also scheduled to open a duo exhibition in which he participated as a writer with Philduk starting on the 28th. He hinted, "I'm exhibiting with the desire to move beyond being just a singing singer or an acting actor, to understand life more closely, to boast and share beautiful things, and to share and understand what is lacking so that we can be happy together."
Active in various areas including music, acting and creative work, he said, "I want to be recognized as someone of whom people can say, 'The actor Jung Jin-woon truly fits the word artist.' I ask for much expectation, interest and support for the future path of this one person, Jung Jin-woon," urging anticipation for his future moves.
Meanwhile, the exhibition "The Instant Fireworks Bloom," featuring Jung Jin-woon and Philduk, will continue at Seobo Art Space from Mar. 28 to May 3, 2026.<
[photo] OSEN DB / SHOWBOX provided / SNS capture
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