"I think the younger siblings Lee Shin-young, Kim Taek, Jeong Geon-ju, Kim Min, and Ahn Ji-ho, who were together in 'Rebound', made it possible for the age gap to disappear. To be honest, the first day of training was difficult. I was worried that if I said something, I would be called an old man for no reason. “Taek and Geon-ju created the atmosphere and Shin-young played around, breaking down the boundaries.”
Group 2AM member and actor Jeong Jin-woon is the only player in his 30s who plays the field, except for Ahn Jae-hong, who played the role of coach during the filming of the movie 'Rebound'. Although he was 13 years older than the youngest Ahn Jae-ho, he joked that he was worried that his younger siblings would call him an old man. He praised his fellow actors, saying that enjoyable filming was possible thanks to his younger siblings.
'Rebound' (Director Jang Hang-jun) is a miraculous story of the 8 days of the 2012 National High School Basketball Tournament in which the new coach and 6 players of the weakest basketball team that no one paid attention to ran tirelessly. It was created based on the true story of Busan Jungang High School's success in the 2012 Korea Basketball Association National Middle and High School Basketball Tournament.
In the play, Jeong Jin-woon plays the role of Gyu-hyuk. Gyu-hyuk was a talented player, but due to an ankle injury, he quit basketball and played street basketball. He joins the Busan Jungang High School basketball team under Coach Kang (played by Ahn Jae-hong) and takes on the role of leading the team.
Jinwoon Jeong actually likes basketball. He is active as a member of a celebrity basketball team. This is why he says the movie ‘Rebound’ is destiny for him. He said, "Of course, I cannot judge whether it was fate or destiny. The funny thing is that 6 years ago, the real-life character I played, Gyu-hyuk, said he wanted me to do it when he was preparing for 'Rebound'. I am a member of a celebrity basketball team, and I am in Busan. “I was invited once. At that time, I went to Busan Jungang High School to play basketball, and I heard that I took a picture with Gyu-hyuk. I didn’t know it at the time, but I thought that if you want to be in a relationship, it has to be like this.”
Director Jang Hang-jun said that he auditioned 500 people to cast 'Rebound'. For Jinwoon Jeong, it was a casting, not an audition. Even though 500 people were auditioned, the person closest to Gyu-hyuk was Jeong Jin-woon. He said, "It wasn't an audition. It started when I received the script from the company. Even before I could say, 'I want to try it' or 'I don't think so,' the company said, 'You will do it, so you will know that you do it,' and let me proceed." explained.
Jeong Jin-woon devised a strategy to ensure that the director gave him the role of Gyu-hyeok. I prepared by assuming as many different situations as possible so that you would think, ‘It has to be this friend.’ “You can’t become a character in just a few days. But it was effective to prepare so much that the director felt burdened. It was a strategy to hook the director,” said actor Jeong Jin-woon.
He said, "Director Jang Hang-jun actually felt burdened. He asked if he really had to ask questions like this. Including character analysis, hair style, how much tanning I would do, what shoes I would wear, etc., I couldn't refuse even though it wasn't confirmed. “I did it so badly. I really wanted to do it. My mindset after reading the script was really different from my mindset before reading it,” he said.
Jeong Jin-woon expressed his affection, saying, "Director Jang Hang-jun is a person who has the ability to lead people with just a few words. It can be said that he can be seen through. He has great charisma."
‘Rebound’ is Jinwoon Jeong’s fourth film. It is also the largest scale of any work I have done so far. He said, "You may think that the mindset is different, but from an acting perspective, it is not different. No matter what scenario, what director, or what budget is involved, for me it is a precious time to act. Whether it is a low-budget movie or a web drama, it is all the same to me. This character is the same for me." “It’s because I want people to see me as a character and not 2AM’s Jeong Jin-woon and actor Jeong Jin-woon when they see me,” he emphasized.
Jinwoon Jeong speaks the Busan dialect in the play. It turned out that Jeong Jin-woon was a person who spoke the Jeolla-do dialect. He said, "I am basically a person who is comfortable with the Jeolla-do dialect. Since everyone in my family is from Jeolla-do except me, I was also comfortable with the Jeolla-do dialect. So, when I first learned the Gyeongsang-do dialect, I felt it was foreign. Isn't there a curriculum for normal languages? That's it. “The moment I started to fall apart, it was difficult,” he said honestly.
Not only that, "I've listened to Shinyoung speak a lot. A person similar to Shinyoung was the audio director. Aren't Shinyoung and the audio director the first to listen to Gyuhyuk's words? Feedback from the dialect teacher, Shinyoung, and the audio director. It was Gyu-hyuk's dialect that he made with . While watching the movie, I personally thought, 'Still, for someone who uses the Jeolla-do dialect, I made an effort to use the Gyeongsang-do dialect,'" he said, expressing satisfaction.
Jinwoon Jeong said, “I am the type of person who hates losing.” He was the only actor in his 30s who played a role in 'Rebound'. Jeong Jin-woon said, "When I usually exercise, I don't want to say out loud what my seniors and my brother said, 'I won't be able to do it when I'm in my 30s.' “I think so,” he said, laughing. He continued, "It was difficult, but I didn't want to show it during the filming. I didn't like the words from my younger siblings, 'You said you were having a hard time' or 'Jinwoon said you were having a hard time.' I never heard that. The only thing I said was that it was difficult. (Ahn) Jaehong said, “It’s in front of my brother.”
Jinwoon Jeong said, "The reason I felt that he didn't like those words was because he said, 'Jinwoon, there are going to be difficult times too.' I also felt like I couldn't do it without taping. I felt like the coat was pulling me down. So Jaehong and hyung. The two of us drank beer and talked. My brother said to me, 'I'm having a hard day too.' For a moment, my pride was hurt, but what should I do? In fact, my brother was like a coach. When I heard that story, I thought I hated it." He said.
Regarding the meaning of 'rebound', Jinwoon Jeong said, "While filming, I thought carefully about what point I would be in my life. I have been active a lot since debuting with 2AM in 2008, so I guess I have already thrown a lot of shots. Even now, there are shots that bounce back. "I think it's the point where I'm looking at the ball. I think I'm looking at it thinking, 'How can I box out well and catch that 'rebound'?"' he said.
Lastly, Jeong Jin-woon said, "That's why the movie 'Rebound' is fun because it's a starting point. If you catch a rebound, it will be a second chance, but you don't even know if you caught the rebound or not. You have to fight fiercely to catch the ball and trust your teammates and run. "I still don't know who that team member is. I'm at the point where I think I'll have to put in a lot of effort to catch that ball."
Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr