Jo Hyun Jae

The Japanese magazine* on the historical dramas of Director Lee Byung-Hoon features each and every one of the lead characters in “Seo Dong Yo”.  The very first is of course our Jo Hyun-Jae as Seo Dong.  Others include Lee Bo-Young as Princess Sunhwa, Ryu-Jin as Giroo, Lee Chang-Hoon as Mokrasu, Heo Young-Ran as Princess Woo Young, and Kim Young-Ho as Buyeo-Seon.  (*Please see our 2010.03.05 post “‘Seo Dong Yo’ in historical drama magazine” and 2010.03.18 post “Director Lee talks about JHJ” under Category “JHJ magazine”.)

[Editor: All quotations are JHJ's except otherwise stated.]

Seo Dong – Jang (later King Mu)

“To let all citizens live in bliss — isn’t that enough?”

The lead actor of the 2003 MBC drama “Love Letter”, Jo Hyun-Jae, is elevated to a star at the centre of attention.  JHJ possesses a soulful face and a pensive expression, a deep resonant voice, and has such an aura that he has been called “Korea’s aristocrat.”

JHJ’s name first came to public attention in the 2002 SBS drama “Great Ambition” (DaeMang) in which he plays the role of the Crown Prince who has to go through trials and tribulations before he could ascend the throne.  “Who is that charming actor who plays the prince?” became the hot topic among fans of TV drama.  Director Lee Byung-Hoon also began to take notice of him at this time:

“JHJ can play the role of the prince, not only because he possesses the aura, but also because he himself has been through a lot in his own life.  This is the quality that someone who becomes king must possess.  So far he has been in 5 TV dramas; with each role he has shown how dynamic he can be in tackling a character.  So, with “Seo Dong Yo” JHJ will definitely become a shining star!” 

As for JHJ himself, he said: “I feel honoured to take part in a production of the #1 director in Korea.  Very few actors have the chance to play a prince twice in a row; I feel doubly honoured.”  And: “Everybody around me expects great things of me.  I feel the stress.  If I fall short, I will try harder.  I think this is part of growing up.” 

But filming “Seo Dong Yo” is certainly not a piece of cake.  The hardest parts are lack of sleep and the script.  Every day at 3 p.m. the script arrives and rehearsal takes place three hours later.  Filming starts at 9 p.m. and continues overnight till noon of the next day.  As the male lead, JHJ has to appear in most scenes and his lines are also more and much longer than other actors’.  It is rumoured that memorizing his lines has given him some white hair.

There are more difficulties in other areas.  The fight scenes require a lot of energy over many hours – this is one of the hardest parts of filming.

“During filming life is like prison life.  Everybody must listen to filming orders.  Everybody jokes this is not ‘Seo Dong Yo’ but ‘Slave Labour Yo’”.

Whenever he felt he could not take it anymore, JHJ would think: “If it had been Jang, he would be able to do this,” so he would grit his teeth and carry on.  On the set every time he thought about Jang’s endurance and perseverance, JHJ would continue to work hard.

“Jang is a remarkable person: he could let every citizen live in peace and prosperity – this is no mean feat.  Jang lives in a world of pure idealism.  What will he do if he really becomes king?  This is not an easy thing; researching science and technology and developing culture and art are not simple.”  When he says these things, JHJ sounds very much like Jang himself.

JHJ also has had his differences with the director.  The director’s dictate was: “Jang must beat his chest to show his fury.”  At first he could not grasp this.  He thought about how Jang would behave in the funeral and then went to discuss with the director.  He asked the director to think in terms of the whole drama, and finally the director changed his mind and followed JHJ’s suggestions.

“I was utterly exhausted during the post-production party of ‘Seo Dong Yo’, so much so that I even seriously contemplated not attending.”

His cooperation with Director Lee in “Seo Dong Yo” taught JHJ a lot and he gained invaluable experience.  Even though filming was very tough, he had to memorize many long lines, and he was seriously sleep-deprived, finally he was able to satisfactorily complete his task.  Since then he has become full of confidence about tackling whatever role that comes after.  And the fact that he ”hopes to become a sincere and honest person with a heart full of love like Jang ” also shows JHJ has indeed grown up.

After “Seo Dong Yo” JHJ worked in “G.P.506″ and the 2008 KBS drama “3 Dads 1 Mom” before entering the army in August 2008.  At the fan meetings just before his enlistment, he sang the song ”See you again after today” for his fans in a very moving atmosphere.  “The most meaningful thing before my enlistment is to be with you, my fans.  Thank you so much!   Military life will not be easy, but I will work hard.  I will never forget you.  Thank you all!”  That was how he expressed his gratitude to his fans inside and outside Korea.

Looking forward to after June 2010 — to a more mature and fresher and brighter JHJ!

(Credit: English translation based on Chinese translation in johyunjae.hk. Photos from everjohyunjae.co.kr and cafe.daum.net/hyunjaelove. Thanks!)