Actor Joo Ji-hoon, "I was a passionate language teacher, even directing myself"

Actor Joo Ji-hoon of 'Unofficial Operation' revealed an interesting anecdote about a passionate language teacher who taught him Arabic.

On the 1st, Ju Ji-hoon started an interview about the movie 'Unofficial Operation' (Director Kim Seong-hoon) at a cafe in Sogyeok-dong, Seoul.

'Unofficial Operation' is a buddy action film about diplomat 'Min-Jun' (Ha Jung-Woo) and local taxi driver 'Pan-Soo' (Joo Ji-Hoon) who left for Lebanon to rescue a missing colleague. Joo Ji-hoon takes on the role of 'Pan-su', a local taxi driver with a lot of temperament as a con artist, and helps Ha Jung-woo in the play to collaborate.

Pansu, played by Joo Ji-hoon, first appears 30 minutes after the movie begins. When asked if there was any difference between reading the scenario and actually acting, he said, “There is a saying. , Shouldn’t the audience feel a sense of difference rather than accept it? I had a lot of trouble with the director.” He also explained his character, "In a way, Pansu is like a foreigner in Samcheong-dong eating sujebi and wearing a hanbok and a hat. It's like watching my parents' generation. I wanted to capture the era when they lived hard."

In the film, Ju Ji-hoon speaks Arabic to suit the local situation. When asked if it was difficult to learn the language, he said, "The local actors also learned it themselves. They know how to speak Arabic, but there are subtle differences. Isn't there a part like that in our dialect too? Witty words may be offensive to them. I learned because I could.”

However, as it was a language he was not familiar with, he said that he also went through hardships. He said, "It's just a sequence of letters. It's not a sequence of words, it's a sequence of letters. I've never seen or heard of it. I can't speak Japanese or Chinese. I can't hear it no matter how much I listen to it. If you send it, there are things you can receive.”

Then, he introduced an anecdote about the teacher he learned the language from. he is. “My Moroccan language teacher was not a joke. He was an actor, so he continued directing. The director also kept putting up with it, but then got angry at the end. I couldn't go back," he said with a laugh.

The background in the movie is Lebanon, but the actual shooting space is Morocco. When asked if there were any difficulties in filming for three months as the corona period overlapped, he replied that food was the most difficult part. He said, "When I arrived, I heard news like Cheongcheon Byeokryeok. It was news that the food I had sent in advance, such as canned food and ramen, had disappeared. They say they still couldn't find it. I fell into a panic. I went through a panic this time and only ate Korean food to the point of being frightening. I think it's different from not choosing it. Not having kimchi and seaweed means not being able to afford it," he explained earnestly.

Joo Ji-hoon, who said he escaped the crisis thanks to actor Ha Jung-woo, introduced a related episode. He said actor Ha Jung-woo made kimchi. I received a lot of love. I've been planning since then. Because it is Africa, the vegetables are tough. I went through a lot of trial and error. I bought all the parts and tried them, but they were all for jangjorim. Without filming, I only went to the gym and went for walks, so I tore the meat from the jangjorim one by one.”

Ju Ji-hoon was famous for adding a lot of MSG to his local food. He said, "It was to the extent of getting help. This is my personal opinion. There is no evidence that MSG is bad for the body. I think it can bring out the potential of everything. It's just like when we were shooting a movie 10 years ago. At that time, equipment and Isn't technology lacking? People of that era might see us and say we're hitting MSG." When Ha Jung-woo, who doesn't use MSG, asked if he was a person from the past, he said, "It's true that I'm a person from the past. I'm 4 years older. (Laughs) But I'm an orthodox group. It seems to have its own mild taste."

The movie 'Unofficial Operation' will be released on August 2nd.

Reporter Ha-neul Lee, Ten Asia greenworld@tenasia.co.kr