[TRANS] PARK YOOCHUN - THE SECOND RELEASE OF THE SOUL

COOL轻音乐 Magazine - June Edition No. 416 June 15th 2011

The fact that he had to start with the low status must be because he wanted to escape the label of being looked down on and the lies that had been concealing his truest self. The lies, that I would not be able to explain clearly by some words, have been used non-stop and became a huge blister, and then one day when the truth pierced through it, it would simply burn everyone who was stuck in that trappy situation.

As a result, that huge swindle, just like a spider-web, makes people unable to distinguish whether the words "I Love You" are sincere or not.

When the purest love in this world has became the stepping-stone for that kind of desire, then the phrase "I Like You" does not come from the heart.

In such a world, what use of being said that?

◆A FOUR-LEGGED GAME◆

[In this scam, the one who is innocent is also the one to blame.]

In Korean dramas' history, there are only a few dramas that reflect such an inconvenient reality, whether it is said from the habit or not, according to people of the social psychology, light and happy dramas of pure love can be more appealing to viewers, after all, noone would want to still keep their brain intense after being tired out the whole day. But still, occasionally, this world of fictions needs to undertake some truly-venting feelings from the outside world. Of course there is some unfairness, since you can not just frankly curse all in your mind, but it has put an acceptable baptism to this imaginary world.

This year MBC has won over two actors who shined brightly last year in KBS Drama Awards - Lee Dahae and Park Yoochun. Compared to last year, MBC still can not learn to restrain, so far we do not know yet if planning to keep going on this route can be considered as the path toward victory, but in terms of the drama's theme, this time Park Yoochun is taking quite a risk. Similar to the large-screen in the past, this time's Miss Ripley is completely a "woman's show". To people who are still trying to figure out that our Yoochun is the first or the second male lead, in MBC's "woman's show", the first male lead always gets scenes like the second male lead, so there's no need to be confused anymore (laugh). It can't not be said that MBC has spent a huge amount of human and material resources to work on this seem-to-be-huge-project, and the cast is absolutely wonderful. For the time being let's not talk about Lee Dahae and Park Yoochun, two promising talents of the young actors, only based on two seniors Kim Seungwoo and Kang Hyejung, we can tell how much confidence they put in the acting of this drama. But to say that this drama did not receive the hype before broadcasting, I'm afraid it's really far from that. About the PR, it can be summed up by a big zero, one among many reasons, you will naturally know when you see the cast, but still, as to those "Aha" or "Wow" shouts, I would keep them in my mouth until this drama becomes a real hit.

These four leads, except Lee Dahae and Kim Seungwoo in their young years have planned to chose roles that suit their oath, the other two Park Yoochun and Kang Hyejung more ore less have some taste of playing different roles. Kang Hyejung is clearly older but this time plays Lee Dahae's 24-year-old “younger sister”. Park Yoochun is clearly younger but this time becomes a man who is fully 6 years older than Lee Dahae, moreover he also has a love battle with his senior Kim Seungwoo. I do not know if because it is similar to 'The Temptations of Wife', which overturned the traditional definition of heroine in Korean dramas: kind-hearted, beautiful, gentle, 'Miss Ripley' also created a female version of 'Count of Monte Cristo'. Jang Miri played by Lee Dahae in the drama is absolutely the first female character (who is developed like that), but what happened to her, perhaps in reality also happened to many young people at the workplace, therefore, this drama is more like letting such people to seek the guidance for themselves in the world rather than trying to overturn some norms. I do not know the intention of the director, but I believe that after seeing what happen to Miri, many people can have some sympathy for her.

◆WEARING THE SMILING MASK TO SHED TEARS◆

[I have the whole world, but all is fake – Yutaka]

I don't know if Yoochun in reality has this kind of feeling, but Yutaka in the drama absolutely can not escape this cruel fate. Even Yoochun himself said that this character seemed to always smile, but the truth was that he was shedding tears inside, so scriptwriter-sama, please have mercy when writing. Just as demonstrated in the drama, the 26-year-old Jang Miri after coming back to Korea from Japan, with no educational background, when she went to that job interview, she was demanded to obey the “tacit rule” by that boss of the company. “If you do not have educational background, take your body to replace it.” That naked request made Jang Miri realize that it was not easy to survive in this world. The ridiculous thing is that, Jang Miri's Japanese name means “future” (Mirai), but apparently, she will not have a wonderful future. It's not that she doesn't have any good point, but just because she doesn't have that piece of diploma, she has become a no-good-point person. If Jang Miri is the type of people who is satisfied with the way things are, she may just find whatever job she can and dodge her adoptive father's debt. But she is not a woman like that, in contrast, her dreams are ambitious. Since childhood, she has always been at the bottom, she has suffered enough, that's why she definitely wants to become the dominant of this world, but unfortunately, this is only the beginning, she is unable to break through the barrier that her background has brought her. If a person's lies can be watertight, then perhaps he/she can become a politician, but Jang Miri only wants some people to believe her lies. So in order to have a better future, she has created entirely new position, life experience, diploma, she makes people believe in her strength, but she has forgotten that, when she started lying, in order to keep those lies unexposed, she could only keep endlessly lying afterward to cover up, she could not even hesitate when hurting people around her, even though she may feel regret, but she should be aware that, when the lies began, was when she went wrong, she could not stop anymore.

Yutaka is a very gentle person, he also has a very gentle Korean name Song Yuhyun*. One thing that he is different from Jang Miri, is that Yuhyun is totally a child who grew up with a gold spoon in his mouth. Thirty-something-year-old Song Yuhyun finally decided to come back from Japan to take over his family's business, and because after coming back he temporally lived in a students' house waiting for the language's exam, in the corridor he met Jang Miri, who was in a terrible bind. Being the second generation of a chaebol, Song Yuhyun is absolutely a representative of perfect men. He's very handsome, has graceful manners, is very gentle toward people, totally does not have attitude like spoiled kids of rich families. He seems to never have temper and always have smiles for others, but when working in a blink of an eye he can turn into a workaholic, which makes everyone look at him in a completely different light. If Jang Miri didn't appear in Song Yuhyun's life, we could expect an outstanding man like him to marry someone from a family of equal rank, someone who is gentle, generous, then they would have children, he would successfully manage his business, but at the same time he would be a good husband, a good father. Of course, this could only be a what if, because Jang Miri did appear in his life. I remember when Yin Susu died under the hands of six masters of martial arts, her son Zhang Wuji, who was still young, said to himself that he would not believe in women, that beautiful women could deceive people, but then Zhang Wuji still fell in love with that girl who could tell lies Zhao Min**. Perhaps love has no reason, so even if at the moment there was a huge gap between that woman's and his social status, even if Jang Miri could go to any lengths for her own career, even if the beautiful her could deceive people, Song Yuhyun still fell in love with her just like that.

But that 40-year-old rival of Song Yuhyun, Jang Myunghoon, is different from him. Although that mature Jang Myunghoon also fell in love with that fire-alike Jang Miri like him, he managed to always maintain his clear mind, he wants to always control his emotions, but Song Yuhyun allows himself to indulge in love, Song Yuhyun is too sensitive, Jang Miri's every act and move can easily affect his nerve, but then in the end he does not possess more advantages than Yuhyun. That is why he can neither have requests like Myunghoon, nor control like Myunghoon, he will only smiling watching her walk away, but he will shed tears to himself. Those preferences can show that Song Yuhyun played by Park Yoochun is a tragic figure, but in any case, if writer-sama could write a happy ending, that would be great (laugh).

◆LEARNING◆

[Those I absorbed will eventually be for my own use.]

Having thought this drama was just a touching love story between a Cinderella and a second-generation chaebol, I changed my opinion after Kim Seungwoo and Kang Hyejung joined the cast. I came to a fully understanding of the drama after Park Yoochun entered the crew. To be honest, it is hard to imagine how this drama plot can resonate with middle-aged women, who are the majority audience of television dramas in Korea. However, this drama stands out among those ordinary life dramas.

This drama is specially made with the intent to change MBC’s market position, and at the same time give Park Yoochun another chance to challenge himself. After Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Park Yoochun no doubt became a highly sought-after actor. His popularity in the drama field is in contrast to his current situation in the singing world. “Half singer half actor” is the overall evaluation of JYJ by others. I can not object to this evaluation, but have to take it sadly. Perhaps we can imagine if it was not for the huge bans and obstacles for JYJ in the broadcast media Yoochun might not have chosen to act in the drama so early, which helped him to appear on the screen sooner. "Sungkyunkwan" was a great hit, so even if Yoochun chose to remain at the "Lee Sunjoon" performance level he would still keep people around without disappointing them. Popularity is like a bubble, the real people who love you will always be with you, no matter what. As to those who liked you just for a short time, why block your future road just to cater to their taste? This battle grew Yoochun up, which can be seen by his final decision of selecting this drama after giving up other options.

Generally speaking, male lead seldom shines in a heroine-oriented drama. Such examples are “Dae Jang-Geum”,“Hwang Jin Yi”, “Dong Yi” in which the charm of the heroine overshadowed everyone. However, if the male lead is successful to find his way out in such a drama, then he will get the twice reward.

“I want to challenge myself in a melo drama. In fact, I am the last one who joined the team. I had the idea to perform together with the other senior actors and actresses after knowing that they had joined”, said by Yoochun. Yoonchun’s ability to learn is different from ordinary people, which does not mean that he has a higher IQ, but that he is very diligent. Those seniors who cooperated with Yoochun all praised him. Kim Gapsoo said that he wanted to perform with Yoochun again after shooting Sungkyunkwan Scandal. The word most often heard by those seniors was echoed by Kim Seungwoo, who mentioned that “Before meeting Yoochun, I had thought that this young man would carry a lot of pride because of his huge success at such a young age. However, Yoochun is very diligent. He actually studies the script very hard without pretending to be serious before the seniors.” “Yoochun never occurred NG due to his lines. Off the stage, he also immersed himself into the role, trying his best to integrate himself with his role.” (By Kang Hyejung) Today, Yoochun is like a leech, in search of the missing part on him, and then absorbing them. “I am afraid that playing this role will turn to be a single task because of my immature acting skills. So I often discuss the characters and the eye-sights with the director, as well as the intonations of the lines.” (By Yoochun) He seems to have infinite ability to learn, so that when the original Sungkyunkwan Scandal came out, it is said that he hired co-starred actor to teach him the acting skills. Compared to some other young actors, senior actors all seem to like Yoochun. Though you may find that the five men from TVXQ are a bit too disciplined under the control of the company, you have to admit that the older generation like the way they behaved. Neatly Park Yoochun is most likely to be the favorite among the seniors, who are happy to teach him the acting skills. In fact Yoochun’s ability to learn has been testified in the early days. Today we often hear that he composed music and saw him playing the piano in front of the camera. However, when he first learnt playing piano, he did not even have a teacher to teach him. Occasionally when he saw someone else playing, he went by the edge, to see the way people played, and then he practiced at home. Therefore, Yoochun today's achievements all came from his hard work and efforts.

◆ABOUT THAT YUTAKA ◆

[My nobleness comes from my contempt of the outside world.]

In the drama, Yutaka is a sensitive and perfect gentleman, and outside the drama “Yutaka” has a long way to go; In the drama, Yutaka is pursuing a woman whom he loves but never gets, and outside the drama “Yutaka” easily wins millions of women’s hearts; In the drama, though Yutaka does not need to care others’ viewpoint, he can always get recognition due to his ability. This applies to the “Yutaka” in reality, which is the most similarity between Yutaka and Yoochun. “The first scene of Yutaka was at the airport. Although he looked very calm and polite, who seemed to grow from a nice family, I think that this is his consciousness after going through pains. I like the character in such settings, and want to illustrate this feeling through my performance.” (By Yoochun)

Due to the restrictions from different TV stations, some drama crews of upcoming dramas can not attend all the popular TV programs. Yet they can attend those from their own TV station. However, the crew of Miss Ripley is just the exception. It remained a low profile when the other drama crews heavily promoted their own dramas on TV. The only marketing of Miss Ripley was limited to the entertainment news and short interviews. Without fans’ FBI’s investigative capabilities, we would have never seen Yoochun’s broad smiles and his sadly satisfied expression. Even when he appeared on some TV programs for a short time, such scenes would be mercilessly cut off. Yoochun has been used to such ill treatment and backed off people by saying “I am not very concerned”. 

To those who know Yoochun, he is never a submissive guy. He may not articulate all these unfair treatments, but he will accumulate a power at the bottom of his heart. The more adversity he is facing, the more growth of such a suppressed power. Yoochun is not a weak person. He has his own strength, even though he might not have the large chest and muscles. "I am not a carefree person. I am diligent and excellent enough for all of you to know and praise. My hard working deserves recognition." To some extent, Mr. Park has the similarity with Miss Ripley***, who wants to conquer the obstacles. The only difference is the way to do it.

Recently Yoochun’s health situation has again became people’s focus. His appendicitis, and his skinny body that we can see his ribs sticking out have troubled us, and he has just recovered from his previous illness. The high workload makes us doubt whether he can stand it. But it seems that he has not learnt from the previous lesson. He remains unchanged in managing his health. Even his skin was taken care of just because the director forced him to do so. “I did nothing in health management. I have no intent to do that. In fact, I was kind of person who is easy to indulge in one thing. I enjoy my work, even it means no sleep, I don’t care because I really enjoy doing it.” (By Yoochun)

Editor's note: 

*Yu: plentiful, Hyun: virtious, Yuhyun means a man full of virtues. 

**This is from "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" by Jin Yong.
***Ripley is how people who never bow down to 'fate' are called. They decide their own destiny, and they fight for what they believe. 

Text cr: MickyBaidu

Pic cr: Yuchin6002

Trans by: ifMickycomes & JPhylls

Edited & Posted by: JPhylls

Shared by: 6002sky Team

Do not remove or add any credits! 

This is an extremely long and difficult article. Sometimes I understand the words but I really do not understand what the writer is saying, so my translation might have came out to be obscure. However, this article really makes us two translators appreciate the drama and Yoochun's choice more. Before we were so upset, even disappointed. I hope Chunsas will have that feeling after reading it too. 4 more episodes, Chunnie and Miss Ripley hwaiting!!!

About the tittle, "second" because this magazine (and maybe the same writer) had an equally long essay before about Yoochun ^^~ It's also a worth-reading article!