“After 15 years, finally”… To Ha Jung-woo, ‘1947 Boston’ means

Actor Ha Jung-woo (45) had a dream after seeing director Kang Je-gyu during his senior year of college. My wish is, ‘Someday, I want to work with that director.’ That wish came true 15 years later. The words ‘finally, finally’ are probably words used in times like this.

When we met again after two months, Ha Jung-woo seemed a little more cautious. Ha Jung-woo, who was cheerful and cheerful at the end of July, the peak of summer, gave off a somewhat serious mood around the beginning of fall.

Ha Jung-woo introduced the meaning of this movie to him in an interview related to the movie '1947 Boston' (directed by Kang Je-gyu) held at a cafe in Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 21st.

“It was 2004. I was a senior in college and was going to auditions at the time. One day, while eating at a restaurant, I saw director Kang Je-gyu and the production team having a heated discussion at the table over there. I think it was during ‘Taegukgi’. At the time, I thought, ‘Oh, I want to sit there and talk about movies together.’ I waited, hoping that the director would call me sometime, and finally I received the script for ‘Boston.’ I thought, ‘It’s finally here.’ 15 years later. “It’s okay.”

As it was a project with director Kang Je-gyu, Ha Jung-woo's attitude in preparing for it was also unique. Of course, it was not my role to run, but I wanted to know and experience the marathon, which is the subject of the movie, so I attended the Hiwa Honolulu Marathon in person and ran 42.195km. Ha Jung-woo said, “I wanted to experience it for myself,” and looked back on that time and stuck out his tongue.

"I ran a marathon in Hawaii in December 2018. I wanted to get a feel for what a marathon was like. But it wasn't normal. When you participate in a competition, the finishing time is categorized into 3-hour zone, 4-hour zone, 5-hour zone, etc. He grabbed the and started running. I ran the full course. I came in in 6 hours. As soon as I came in after running that, I couldn't move for an hour."

Ha Jung-woo laughed and said, "To complete the race in 2 hours, you have to run 100 meters at a pace of 17 or 18 seconds. However, this is a record that ordinary people can only achieve by sprinting at their best. I thought it was really not easy."

In that respect, I gave a thumbs up to Im Si-wan, who played the role of Seo Yun-bok. Ha Jung-woo said, "But since I got a taste of it once, I was able to know how Siwan ran. I saw Siwan running, and I heard that he was surprisingly in sync with teacher Seo Yun-bok in terms of running techniques." “It was really hard,” he said.

Ha Jung-woo expressed his affection for Im Si-wan, saying, "He is a unique junior, but one you can't hate." Comparing Im Si-wan to idol juniors such as Do Kyung-soo and Choi Si-won, he said, "He is a unique friend. He has a different vibe from ordinary people," and was confident that thanks to that, Im Si-wan in '1947 Boston' will be even more special. “When you see Im Si-wan running a marathon in this movie, you see him from a unique perspective. He’s a friend who can’t help but play this role well. A clear-eyed madman? That’s really it.”

Ha Jung-woo, who participated in the tentpole battle last summer with the movie 'Unofficial Operation' (directed by Kim Seong-hoon) and met the audience one after another until the Chuseok best-of-three match, joked, "Why did it end up like this?" and laughed, saying, "It's not something I can decide."

He seemed resolute about the box office failure of the movie 'Unofficial Operation', which was released last summer. He said, "I was really upset and frustrated at the time. At the time, all I could think was, 'Why didn't our movie work?'" "I was really upset at the time. Of course. Whether this movie was bad or good, it was like my own child. Everything I said on Sung Si-kyung's YouTube channel 'I'll Eat It' was sincere and honest. He said it was a 'tear party'. The thing is, Joo Ji-hoon was the first to burst out in laughter and I was like, ‘Why is he doing that?’ and my eyes got red along with him. Haha!”

Ha Jung-woo, who said "I will write a note of wrong answers" regarding the box office failure of 'Unofficial Operation', said he identified a series of reasons. He said, “I didn’t know much at the time, but now that I think about it, I think, ‘Oh, there were those reasons.’” When asked specifically what kind of wrong answer notes he used, Ha Jung-woo smiled and said, "It's a secret."

"In fact, when everyone makes a movie, they hope that the work will do well and everyone will be happy. I really expected that to happen, and it's disappointing to receive such a result, but we all met together not long ago, comforted each other, held hands, and shared emotions." I said, ‘Let’s live hard.’ I cried a little at that time too. Haha, Ha Ji-woon cried, and I felt like my eyes were a little red.”

Regarding this '1947 Boston', he said, "Personally, I enjoyed it. All movies are like my children," and added, "Compared to competitors, I think our unique strength is that it goes well with the holidays and is a subject that anyone can watch." did.

“As the subject matter is a marathon, I thought it would feel like shouting for victory and hurray, but it felt cooler than expected. I think the director presented it in a California style. I think it could have been more emotional, but I still think it has charm.”

Ha Jung-woo said, "It's a movie closer to a human drama than a sports movie," and added, "I think it's a movie that can be enjoyed in a fun, casual way without worrying too much," and urged people to watch '1947 Boston.'

'1947 Boston' is a work depicting the challenges and thrilling journey of marathon runners to participate in international competitions wearing the Taegeuk symbol for the first time after liberation in 1947. Ha Jung-woo plays the role of Son Ki-jeong, a marathoner whose glory of winning the marathon gold medal at the Berlin Olympics becomes the humiliation of his life, and is receiving favorable reviews from critics for portraying the multi-layered inner self in his own unique colors. It will be released on the 27th.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr