Lee Jae-wook "'Hwanmoon' Season 3, scary yet grateful response"

“The memorable response was, ‘Please do Season 3.’ It’s a scary thing, but it’s also a grateful thing. It was a long project for a new actor, but people enjoyed it that much. I’m happy that I finished a big project well. It was fun. “I want to say thank you to the viewers.”

On the morning of the 5th, Lee Jae-wook met with Ten Asia at a cafe in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul and conducted an interview to commemorate the end of tvN's 'Hwanmoon' (written by Hong Jeong-eun, Hong Mi-ran, directed by Park Joon-hwa and Bae Hyun-jin).

'Hwanmoon' is a fantasy romance set in a great country that does not exist in history or on maps, and the main characters, whose fates were twisted by the soul-changing 'Hwanmoon Art', overcome this and grow up. It captures the fateful encounter between Jang-wook (played by Jae-wook Lee), who came back from the dead, and a woman with the face of falling water who lost her memory (played by Go Yoon-jeong), and the story of the magicians that unfolds anew three years later.

Lee Jae-wook, who was offered the role of the main character in a blockbuster despite being a new actor, said, "Actually, I refused at first. It was too difficult and I wondered if I could handle this work well. But I think I took on the challenge with the sole intention of taking on the challenge." “I am very satisfied with the results. Also, isn’t it a drama with a setting where you don’t know when we will meet again? It is significant that it ended well.”

He added, "I think I was suddenly scared because Jang Wook's character is a three-dimensional character. Nevertheless, I think I took on the challenge because I thought, 'When will I be able to see a work like this?'"

Lee Jae-wook cited his passionate chemistry with his colleagues as the driving force behind his success. He said, "Actors of similar ages really relied on each other a lot. Shin Seung-ho, Hwang Min-hyun, Go Yoon-jung, Shin Seung-ho, and Yoo In-soo. Everyone depended on me a lot. I also hoped that they would do the same for me. The comfortable environment itself is good. “It feels like I’ve created a work of art,” he said.

He continued, “I was jealous when I saw Hwang Min-hyun. Because he’s handsome, sings well, and is tall. I thought I would be better at acting, but I was wrong. Hwang Minhyun taught me a lot as a senior. Shin Seung-ho and Yoo In-soo also have different charms. “It was rewarding to have such people come together to create a scene,” he said, expressing his gratitude to his fellow actors.

When asked about his passionate romance with Go Yoon-jung, Jae-wook Lee said, "The romance scenes made me nervous and felt good. But the moment I get this question, the crown prince (played by Shin Seung-ho) comes to mind. I don't know why I'm doing this," he said, lowering his head and making people laugh.

He said, "Me and Shin Seung-ho had a lot of NGs. It was ridiculous. It really felt like a script written by a genius. I was surprised that this work was able to tell a small object with such a twisted narrative." He added, "The scene where I meet Shin Seung-ho was fascinating from beginning to end. It was a pun ad-lib, and it was broadcast as is. Viewers really liked it. Shin Seung-ho is an actor who ad-libs well to fit the play and the character. It was really fun. All the onomatopoeia that became popular came from his way of speaking. “It was an ad-lib. It was possible for Shin Seung-ho to act,” he said.

He also mentioned Lim Cheol-soo, who plays Teacher Lee, and said, “We worked together on 2-3 works together before, and he helped us a lot. I also received a lot of acting help. We filmed Parts 1 and 2 frantically, and Lim Cheol-soo couldn't sleep and memorized all the lines for various works. “I thought he was an adult with a lot of learning,” he said, expressing his gratitude.

He also talked about working with Jung So-min and Go Yoon-jung. Lee Jae-wook said, "Senior Somin is truly an experienced person in the field. Since she has done so many works, there are a lot of parts that (I) couldn't express while doing Part 1, such as facial expressions and scenes that require strength once in a while. She expressed it really well. “I learned a lot from being a person,” he said. “Yoonjeong is a person with a lot of energy. She is a person who received a lot of strength when she was physically weak or tired. I thought that if I did this on set, I could look pretty, energetic, and positive.”

Later, when asked to choose the person he would like to receive the 'Best Couple Award' with, Lee Jae-wook immediately mentioned Shin Seung-ho, saying "The Crown Prince", once again making the interview scene burst into laughter.

Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr