Jo Hyun Jae

JO HYUN JAE had 50 NGs in “SEO DONG YO”  (3/22/2006)

I came here to re-post the translated article and additional comments I gathered about the “Seo Dong Yo” shooting system… what the Korean fans call “Noh Dong Yoh” (Slave Labor Camp!)

I’m still ‘mourning’ the ending SDY right now, but meanwhile, thought of doing something else. It’s an interview with Rujin [Editor's note: Rujin plays Giroo in SDY], but he talks so much about JHJ… who hates interviews BTW, that I figured I’d translate this instead. 

To let you know how much all the cast suffered after the shooting of this drama… In an interview with Lee Bo-Yong, she said that she didn’t even have time to change her make- up… so she had to run everywhere with it… And then, she said she wouldn’t do period dramas for, like… 3 years…? (she thought it might take her this long to forget this one.)

Rujin said the same thing… no period dramas for a while. JHJ, in another interview, mentioned he wanted to give up so many times during the shooting, but he’s proud he didn’t!  And that he couldn’t go to the bathroom. Then, he said he didn’t want to do a period drama for a while too!

His management also said he hasn’t decided on his [next] project yet, but that he just wants to rest for at least 2 months… (he didn’t have time to rest after ONLY YOU, since he had to jump into the 8 months shooting of SDY right after) and that he’ll most probably do a movie. Now, the fans want to know: Will he be in next week’s Seo Dong Yo SPECIAL?

[Editor's note: JHJ did appear on the SDY Special.  Please see our 6/23-6/28/09 posts "SDY Special, Parts 1-6.)

Oh well... here's the article...

Rujin, “Jo Hyun Jae acts as if nothing, even after making 50 NGs!”
*Translated by Priscilla

Actor Rujin (Sataek-Giroo in “The Ballad Of Seo Dong,” (SDY)  describes his colleague Jo Hyun Jae as an actor who can make 50 NGs and continue acting as if nothing happened.

However, “I can understand [how that happened].” He added that Jo Hyun Jae doesn’t need to apologize after making 50 NGs because the fault lies in the abusive Seo Dong Yo shooting-system they worked in.

For example, he would get a 200 page-script full of his scenes to be shot on the same day, with extensive dialogues he had to memorize.

Rujin’s older colleague Jung Wook commented to him before that “Seo Dong Yo” is a joint effort made up of many talented and outstanding artists. A prominent writer and a prominent producer, and actors who are able to internalize the extensive script in just a day. If we want to fix the shooting system, I think we must get rid off all these people!” (Laughter)

For the “Seo Dong Yo” team, getting the scripts felt like getting their criminal records. After receiving the script for the day, Rujin would hear Jo Hyun Jae grumble that it was too long, but at the end of the day, he would be laughing to himself and murmuring strange things. (Laughter) “We can all understand why he’d make constant NGs.”

Then, he added: “Jo Hyun Jae’s a genius. I’d like to applaud him and all the rest of the cast for giving lives to their characters under such strong pressures. I myself am very proud of this.” “In fact, I think the shooting system was easier during my debut years. I’d get the script earlier, so I’d have enough time to practice before shooting. Nowadays, the scale of shooting dramas increased so much, and we have improved in so many other ways, but the working system for the actors did not improve much.”

Regarding the working conditions of the dramas, Rujin added laughingly that “the acting skills and the speedy ways of adapting of the Korean actors should be recognized worldwide.”

To the younger Jo Hyun Jae, who has to worry about enlisting  in the army, Rujin advised him: “The army’s a piece of cake. It will be easier than filming ‘Seo Dong Yo.’”

[Editor's note: JHJ enlisted in the army on August 5, 2008.]

In addition, Rujin did not forget to thank all the Jo Hyun Jae’s fans who sent lunch boxes for 6 people faithfully on every shooting day.

Photo/ reported Choi Eun Hee
Reported Lee Yang Ae (lya@epg.co.kr)

(Credit: Translated from Korean into English by Priscilla (priscilla4U).  Thanks!  Edited by wulijohyunjae.)