[28th BIFF] I fell in love with Chow Yun-fat and I fell in love with Youn Yeo-jung again

≪Choi Ji-ye’s Epilogue≫
Reporter Choi Ji-ye of Ten Asia objectively and keenly points out events that have occurred throughout the entertainment industry. We carefully analyze the ‘glitch’ you missed from a reporter’s perspective.

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I fell in love with Asian actor Chow Yun-fat (Chow Lun-fa, 68). I also fell in love with actress Yoon Yeo-jeong (76), who won the Oscar for Best Actress. Chow Yun-Fat, whom I met at the 28th Busan International Film Festival on the 5th, exuded the ‘class of a big man.’ It was a quality that had been ingrained in the body over a long period of time and was naturally and subtly permeated without any effort to act or show it.

Chow Yun-Fat, the protagonist of 'A Hero's True Colors' (1987) and the center of the Hong Kong film renaissance, is a person who has achieved great achievements as an actor. He is known for his works including 'The Death of a Fallen Man' (1981), which can be seen as the pioneer of Hong Kong noir, as well as 'Dreamers' (1986), 'Prison Fortunes' (1987), 'Fairytale of an Autumn Day' (1987), and 'Dragon and Tiger's Fortunes' (1987). ), 'Secret Blood Twin Heroes' (1989), 'Death God' (1989), and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), etc., stole the hearts of the public.

Chow Yun-Fat has a filmography so varied that it is difficult to list them all, but what we want to focus on is his personality. He found happiness in the beauty of nature and the small joys of delicious food, and was a person who took care of himself through an exercise called running.

Chow Yun-fat, who ran along Haeundae Beach every morning at 7 a.m. while in Busan, exclaimed, "The sky over Dongbaek Island is so beautiful." When asked why he likes Korea, he said it's because the food matches well, and chose galbitang and kimchi. He expressed his excitement by saying, “I decided to go eat octopus later.”

Chow Yun-Fat, who is known to have a fortune of over 800 billion won, said that all he needed was two bowls of white rice a day and a small bed to sleep on. Chow Yun-Fat's biggest flex, as he still receives pocket money from his wife, is purchasing used camera lenses. It is said that he is well-versed in photography, enough to hold an exhibition.

Chow Yun-Fat, who laughed off the absurd rumors of his death, gave credit to his wife when asked about donating his entire fortune of 5.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 810 billion won) after his death in 2018. He said, "I didn't donate 810 billion won, but my wife donated it," and added, "I didn't want to donate. It was my hard-earned money." At the same time, he resonated by saying, "I didn't bring anything with me when I came into this world anyway, so I don't think it would matter if I took nothing with me when I left."

Chow Yun-fat, who was born in Lamma Island, a small seaside town in Hong Kong, confessed, "I couldn't study much, so what gave me a lot of learning was movies." “It is movies that have brought me a world that cannot be compared to anything else,” he said, laughing, expressing his affection for movies, saying, “Without movies, there is no Chow Yun-Fat.”

Chow Yun-Fat's human dignity was evident in his dealings with people. He said he chatted with citizens he met while jogging and took pictures, and he also took selfies with reporters and shared them directly at the scene. It also provided a pleasant memory to the reporters present. It was a moment when his conviction to ‘do my best for the people in front of me’ was actually realized.

While we were immersed in Chow Yun-fat's 'good looks' on the 50th anniversary of his debut, there was another actor who left a deep impression: Youn Yeo-jeong. I was already aware of Yoon Yeo-jeong's philosophy, but I couldn't help but fall in love with Youn Yeo-jeong once again when I met her through 'Actor's House: Youn Yeo-jeong' on the 6th.

Yoon Yeo-jeong described her Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress, the highest point of her career, as a ‘shackle’ rather than a ‘brag’. He said, "I used to live freely, but now I am living more cautiously. After winning the Oscar, I became more afraid. I am not doing anything. Nothing has changed from before, and I try not to change."

Yoon Yeo-jeong, who said several times, “I am 77 years old this year,” refused to do the so-called “actress pose,” saying, “I plan to die doing whatever I want.” He laughed and said, “Why do actresses put their hands on their waists when taking pictures?” and “I don’t do that. I’ll just sit down, so just take pictures.”

Yoon Yeo-jeong, who has long had a tendency to reject bad traditions and customs, said, “It’s amazing that I survived in Korea,” and looked back on herself as a “strange child.”

Yoon Yeo-jeong met with the late Kim Ki-young and director Im Sang-soo and showed off her unique acting through strange roles. Yoon Yeo-jeong explained the time when the main formula for success as an actress was 'outstanding beauty' and emphasized that she took a different path from the beginning. She said, "I wasn't an exceptionally beautiful woman, so I wasn't very dissatisfied with receiving such a role. I read my situation quickly. I didn't have the conditions to be an actor," and "I wasn't a romantic person, and I didn't have a good voice."

In particular, when an unknown actress expressed her concerns about not being recognized by her parents, Yoon Yeo-jeong said, "Before she died, my mother said, 'Kim Hye-ja is good at acting.' I didn't feel bad about that, but rather, ' Kim Hye-ja is an exceptional actress. “But I thought, ‘I shouldn’t be like that.’” He advised, “Being an actor is not a dream, it’s a reality. You have to work hard. I wish I could become a craftsman rather than an artist.”

These were the profound words of Yoon Yeo-jeong, who called herself a ‘living-based actress.’ In particular, Yoon Yeo-jeong cited her two sons as the driving force behind her ability to continue acting, saying, "I made money and gave them all to young men. That was two of them. At that time, education was really important, and my job was to educate and feed them." “It was a fulfillment of responsibility,” he said.

In addition, Yoon Yeo-jeong shook the audience by delivering ‘adult nagging’ filled with life wisdom. He said, “Listen to your elders, there is nothing to lose,” “No matter what, you have to play with high-quality people to make progress,” “Even if you are 77 years old, it is a series of failures,” “The best time is going to school with your parents, it’s terrible and cold outside.” He gave the audience space to think by saying things like, “I fought to be free.”

Yun Yeo-jeong's philosophy also resonated with the MZ generation present that day. At the scene, people said, 'I want to grow old like Yoon Yeo-jeong.' The simple and straightforward story told by Yoon Yeo-jeong, a senior in life who walked steadily after shaking for a long time, was an hour that left a mark on everyone's hearts.

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