[Interview] ELLE Japon Feb. 2012
Credits: ELLE Japon
English translation: tenshi_akuma
Jang Keun Suk, he is the very person who has captivated Japanese women’s hearts. He broke through as a star after broadcasting TV drama ‘You Are Beautiful’ and since then he has succeeded in his career as a singer as well as an actor. In fact, he just finished his first performance at Tokyo Dome in November successfully. In his latest movie ‘You’re My Pet (YMP)’ based on Japanese comic, JKS played Kang In Ho, a pet as well as a young prospective dancer, living under the same roof with a career woman, Ji Eun who is not good at love.
JKS came in for ELLE interview with smile which brings out our motherly instincts. The way he spoke Japanese fluently represented his cuteness, and we were sometimes confused if he was In Ho or JKS.
“The role of In Ho is full of JKS. Lol. He is the most similar character to me in all characters I’ve played… no, strictly speaking, In Ho may be completely myself. So that I requested the director to act freely and he approvingly adopted my improvisation,” JKS said. While talking, JKS looked much cuter than his age. He was like a real puppy when he had played in YMP scenes such as he was shivering because of rain and he whined in front of Ji Eun. Besides. JKS himself was a surprisingly open person.
“On the other hand, I also have a sadistic side. Lol. Every human has different colors of personality. I have black side as well as red or white ones. So does In Ho. He hasn’t been only her pet throughout YMP. He has a manly side. The big difference between the original YMP and this movie was our relationship between master and pet. The master halfway came to wait for her pet. In Ho is a man who makes as much efforts as he can to pursue his dream, job and goal.”
What do you think about the love which has been started as the relation between a master and her pet?
“In Korea there are few couples who live under the same roof before their marriage, so it is unlikely to happen to me. However, it may happen if I love her from the beginning…?” This is where he began to use expression ‘to love someone’ many times. That means we glimpsed his manly side. “I believe what the most important thing in life is ‘sincerity’. So I don’t care how old she is when I love her, rather care about her personality more than her age.”
Besides, he added his comment about how he feels about senior women. “As for me, mature women are those who enjoy both jobs and love, and have a lot of experience. They seem to protect junior men like YMP. But I am the man who wants to take initiative about love. As I am a man, I protect my loved one!” He didn’t hesitate to declare that. We wish Japanese ‘herbivorous’ men would follow his manly attitude.
He was very surprised to hear that there are many people who don’t or can’t love someone in Japan. “Why can’t they love? As for me, ‘to love someone’ is the most important thing. It reminds me when I heard that there are many Japanese couples who don’t say ‘I love you’ to each other. I wonder why they don’t say so because I believe couples get married because they love each other. My parents say to each other, ‘I love you’ almost everyday. I’ve found the way they express their love to the other beautiful since my childhood. So I will say to my loved one, ‘I love you’ everyday. Definitely!”
My dream will never finish. I will continue to set a new dream.
After his exclusive interview, we invited Kim Ha-neul to our interview. JKS said to us mischievously, “She taught me how passionate we should kiss.” As soon as she heard his words, she replied, “Don’t play with me. I just accepted your way.” We all laughed out loud at their dialogue. Their relationship looked really like one in YMP!
And we glimpsed the moment when JKS changed into a pet with his arm around her waist. In this way he transforms himself into boyish sex or male sex freely. He must have an excellent command of such transformation though we don’t know if he realized this power. He smiles as if he were an innocent child. On the other hand, he also shows us his coolest eyes as an adult. And we are captivated by him easily. We realize that this is his charm and secret of his popularity.
Kim Ha-neul describes JKS as follows. “He is more energetic than all other Korean actors. So just being with him makes me cheer-up and I feel I can perform better than usual. Even if his schedule is packed, he always enjoys acting. This is also one of his strong points.”
In fact, this interview was held just after he had finished his performance at Tokyo Dome and returned to Korea. In spite of his tight schedule, he attended a university before our interview. By next year he will have worked in showbiz for twenty years. He’s broken through as a star, but he doesn’t change himself at all. And his dreams continue without end. “I can’t still believe that my dream from a child to perform at Tokyo Dome came true. But now I am thinking to set a next dream. I hope that I can translate it into reality in the near future. I will continuously set and tackle my dreams.” JKS will proceed to the new dream with rush of hope and shining eyes. What kind of the new world will he show us next if we follow him? We must see a world beyond our imaginings.
[END]
