“My sister Lim Ji-yeon said she was really like Myung-oh, and she still calls me Myung-oh. People around me also asked me if I actually had a dark past. I have no integrity when it comes to school violence. Haha.”
Actor Kim Geon-woo of the Netflix series ‘The Glory’ said this when we met at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 23rd.
'The Glory' is a work that depicts the story of a woman whose soul was broken by violence in her childhood, who risks her entire life to carefully prepare for revenge, and of those who fall into the vortex. In the play, Kim Geon-woo played Son Myeong-oh, one of the perpetrators of school violence.
When asked if he felt his popularity, Kim Geon-woo said, "I feel it because a lot of people recognize me and I get a lot of requests for photos and autographs. When I go to a restaurant, they give me a lot of service. When I go to a samgyetang place, they give me a few abalones." He said, "They approach me more friendly than I thought. I smile like this." “Some people said they didn’t know he could do it,” he said.
Kim Geon-woo said of Son Myung-oh's character, "To put it in a good way, he is a pure character. Even if he does evil, he does not know that it is wrong, and if he does something good, he does not know that it is good." He added, "I focused on innocence because I had to understand the character's good points and act them out. “I’ve never done anything good,” he said, laughing.
He continued, "The actual evil deeds are concentrated on child actors. I get so upset that I wonder if I'm just an idiot. I keep getting caught in the obvious trap set by Dong-eun (played by Song Hye-kyo)," and "I thought it wouldn't have been easier for child actors to act." He added.
Regarding his co-star Song Hye-kyo, Kim Geon-woo said, "That's not an empty remark; she's more than just a senior, she's like an adult. If it's an important scene for you, you're bound to get greedy, and you might want the other person to follow what you've prepared, so I hope she can do whatever she wants comfortably." "They treated me with respect. I filmed with Hye-kyo without a single problem. Now, I feel comfortable talking to her. All the members have become close friends," he said.
Kim Geon-woo, who showed off his revealing scenes while fitting clothes in 'The Glory'. He said, “I decided on the brand and color of the panties,” and “The color candidates were red, blue, and black, but red was a bit eye-catching, so I lost about 3kg from my usual body. My exercise teacher saw the work and said, “We designed the design together, but he told me that my current body was not Son Myeong-oh’s body, that Yangachi’s body should not be good, and that I should do aerobic exercise hard.”
He continued, "If I were bigger, I would feel like I could beat Jeon Jae-jun (played by Park Seong-hoon) in one hit. I tried to create a skinny body so that it wouldn't be strange if I died at any time. If I take it off, there's something there, right?" “I practiced hanging a lot. I wanted to give the feeling of wanting to avoid or interact with someone,” he added.
“Even when I walked around on days when I wasn’t filming, I ended up walking like Son Myung-oh. Even back then, my hair was really long. It reached my chest. I didn’t shave and walked around with my hair down, so he started avoiding me. I guess he thought I was a person who only lives for today.”
Previously, Lim Ji-yeon drew attention by saying that Kim Geon-woo had a ‘legendary physique’. In response, Kim Geon-woo laughed and said, "I admit it to a certain extent," and embarrassedly said, "It's not like I have a legendary body. Jiyeon-nim made it up."
Son Myung-oh chose the scene where he confesses to Hye-jeong (Cha Joo-young) over the phone as his character's best scene and laughed, saying, "They say it's a confession attack."
When Myung-o asked if he really loved Hye-jeong, Kim Geon-woo replied, "Yes. It's underground love." Regarding his feelings after watching Hyejeong's reaction scene, he said, "I wondered if she would do something like that. She screamed and threw her cell phone. This was the first time I knew how much she hated it."
As it is a drama about school violence, he must have thought about his own school days. Kim Geon-woo said, "I was a student who was cheerful and cheerful, liked to joke around, and liked sports. We were an equal group with no hierarchy. I was also a vocalist in the band for 6 years in middle school and high school. I was a free student. I suffered from school bullying. “I am confident in my integrity and innocence.”
Kim Geon-woo said, "I'm really sorry" for being called a 'Kim Woo-bin look-a-like.' He added, "If I actually meet senior Kim Woo-bin, I'd like to apologize. I'm sorry for saying I look like him. Of course, I'm very grateful and honored, but senior Kim Woo-bin is much cooler and more beautiful than me. “Do it,” he said, embarrassed.
“For me, ‘The Glory’ is an honorable work, to say the least. It feels great, but on the other hand, I think it is a title that I must overcome. I am sure I will hear many people say that I am like Son Myung-oh in my next work. I am motivated by that much. I have to overcome it. Because I have a task.”
Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr