[English Trans] Lee Min Ho for Esquire September 2021 Issue Interview - 19.8.21

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[English Translation] Lee Min Ho for Esquire September 2021 Issue Interview - 19.8.21

'I'M NOT THERE'

[PART 1]

Lee Min Ho "In 'Lee Min Ho Film', the most important thing would be the people". The things that Lee Min Ho did not say, and things that he would like to show now.

Question: This photoshoot session would be your first as the Louis Vuitton Watch and Jewelry Ambassador?
Answer: Yes, I have done several commercial photoshoot but this is the first time I did the magazine photoshoot and interview for it.

Question: How are you doing so far?
Answer: I think it was okay, not bad. Actually, I am a little worried after became the Louis Vuitton Watch and Jewelry Ambassador. Louis Vuitton has the "Trendy and Hip" image these days and I was wondering "Will the image and emotions match me?". I was worried about it but when I actually tried on the clothes one by one and took a picture with the watches, I think the the mood suits me.

Question: You are wondering about that too. Wondering if it doesn't suit yourself.
Answer: Yes of course. It's not like I was afraid, or prefer to reject it. I have work on this field for over 10 years, there has been an objectification on how I look and I will think "I need to do it up until this point and it's acceptable for me." "I need to do these things a lot to get to past this", realistically. Now even if I don't try to do it, I seem to able to figure it out on my own.

Question: It might be difficult today because there are a lot of clothes to be worn. If I am not mistaken when the cut scene finally finished, we saw that you seem to be standing with your eyes closed.
Answer: The photoshoot took longer than I thought. When we're over of taking 1 until 5 shots, the turning point came. But then, it was fine afterwards. Even until now too, it's still fine.

Question: In a video interview after the photoshoot you were asked "Is there a song that comes to mind right now?", you mentioned Michael Bublé's 'Home'. For a moment, do the melody really comes through your mind and you seem to really want to go home.
Answer: (laugh) Let me go home~ (humming with arms reached out).

Question: But what would you do once you got home?
Answer: Today? If I am going now, I might have dinner and take a look on how today's Olympic games went. And after watching the games for a while, I think I will need to film again so therefore I need to look for related material. Then it will be in the morning/dawn afterwards.

Question: By filming and looking for related material, are you talking about Lee Min Ho Film and your YouTube Channel?
Answer: Yes, that is correct.
Question: You look for the material by yourself, and edit all of the video by yourself. Actually, we are all surprised to hear that Lee Min Ho does a lot of editing. It is a task which consumes a lot of time and stamina, more than you can imagine which is probably could not be understood by people who have never done video editing.
Answer: When you're filming, there will be some thoughts "Oh I should write this and this should be used!". However when I look at the result, there are things and cuts that I miss. I watch the result many times as to not miss anything, to avoid those things. Also, I also have to personally edit it so that people who help and watch it, can understand them. That's what I want. It would be more clearly explained if you do it, rather than explaining by words/saying it a hundred times. I think that my personality is like that. Rather than persuading and explain with words, it is more comfortable to just say "This is how I feel" with actions.

Question: Indeed there would be some missing parts should different person/someone else was put in charge of editing. As soon as Lee Min Ho sat down in the restaurant because he was tired, we can see everything when you were blinking your eyes. Also the scene where we can hear dogs barking, where you were startled while taking a walk at night.
Answer: That's right. But I am not the only one who sticks to my own style and being stubborn. First of all, I ask the editor to edit with his own sense then I continue to edit/organize in which I want to use. Therefore, I try to find the good points between the edits and mix them well.

Question: We thought that being unique but yet consistent, is an obvious advantage that comes from having a lot of direct/personal involvement. Especially on the early videos, there seems to be sadness despite the fun and bright colored video. It's like a vague energy between happiness and sadness.
Answer: Actually, both sides of emotion coexist in everything. When I work, there are good things but there are also uncomfortable parts. There are times when I was happy, and there are times when I was sad. But I think, I like both emotions that way, because I am fully aware that I always live in the middle/between them.

Question: Episode 1 is especially meaningful.
Answer: It's actually not a big deal, but I took it whole-heartedly and indeed it was meaningful.

Question: (laugh) We felt that the message was clear. There is an image of Lee Min Ho getting out of the car, going up the stairs one by one and in the meantime all of his activities overlap. At the and, Lee Min Ho could be seen as a silhouette in a dark room.
Answer: I don't know, fans seems to understand it a little bit better. There are images of me outside which have been accumulated over the years but when I come home, took a shower and wash my body, I return to the real me. That's what I meant.

Question: Is the house in the video actually Lee Min Ho's house?
Answer: It is my actual house.

Question: As a new project was uploaded a few weeks ago, the category increased to three. Movie Log, Collaboration Log, and Brand Film.
Answer: When I first started, there were actually four categories. I also wanted to make a short film. but..for now, I am not really sure. I like the sense of short films such as the music videos from the 1990s and therefore I would like to try something like that. However, there aren't many opportunities like that lately. So I think it would be fun to make it into a format like 10-minutes short film with a modern touch.

Question: We think that this is the first time we have heard of this. Is this how we got the news that Lee Min Ho will make a short film exclusively...
Answer: No, No! (laugh) You can't be dreaming/hoping for too much yet. As I said before, sometimes I feel lazy so that I am not sure when I can come out with an new idea. It can be coming out within a year or so.

Question: But nevertheless, Lee Min Ho Film continue to expand.
Answer: Yes, expanding..but to be honest, I do not have any specific goals or method to expand. If you do it based on requests coming in, it seems like it could be done in a short time. I can't do it. So, in a way, the color/sense of individual work is strong right now.

Question: As expected, you mush have received a lot of requests. In the video, each project seems to start with a light touch and looks easy.
Answer: The most important thing for me in Lee Min Ho's film is the character anyway. The charm of the people around me, the aspect of being a good adult/person, integrity that I saw from my friends, responsibility of what we each have done so far in our respected paths for the past 10 years or so. This whole thing start because I have a feeling for those things. New collection came out, new music came out, so let's do it together. Like that.

Question: We see it, the most important thing is character. Lee Min Ho is very down-to-earth. If he doesn't like something, then he doesn't like it. We think that this is the reason why you can bring up such expression with expected context such as "People, Happiness and Love".
Answer: I have to cherish those things, I have to do well, I don't think that I've intentionally think about it. Even when those thoughts come to mind, I wonder "Why am I like this?". I think it is probably the emotions that was created by mixing a lot things one by one. First of all, there mush have been an influence from my profession as an actor. When I express a character/emotion, it has to be real. Also when I was a teenager, I met a lot of people on the set. People who always try their best for one cut/scene, so I think I learn something there. Rather than being calculating and judging, let's just do our best in the present, that's what important and coming first. Personally, I think that it should have been applied naturally to human relationships.

[PART 2]

From "Boys Over Flowers" to Pachinko. The Chronicle of Lee Min Ho. The things that Lee Min Ho did not say, and things that he would like to show now.

Question: You appear in MBC Documentary "DMZ: The Wild" without any payment. We think that we understand now. Ah maybe Lee Min Ho has always wanted to create something new and test his abilities.
Answer: I actually do not think so.

Question: (laugh) Oh is that so?
Answer: During those times, I just personally like documentaries so much and so I thought that there was a good project, I would definitely like to participate. Unfortunately, the documentary team did not have any budget and so I didn't ask for any payment/salary. It is still the same now. Just because there are good people around me and since I have been in this field for over 10 years, I had the opportunity to work on something and I am personally satisfied with that. Thinking that I wanted to make something new, I should do it, I don't think that ever run through my mind.

Question: So there's no ambition to try new things.
Answer: Rather than that, it's always coming up automatically and has been my main job. As an actor, there is always an ambition to come up with something different, something that we have never seen before, something new. Therefore outside of that area, it's going opposite way.

Question: We heard that there was a reason why you chose the role of Hansu in the drama "Pachinko".
Answer: I am reaching mid 30s and therefore, I think I'm pursuing more "real thing" now. Otherwise, it will get harder since I won't be able to agree nor understand. The selection criteria after reading the script and test video, what I am trying to to in it. It's hard if it is not real. Therefore when I was offered an audition for "Pachinko", I had some worries but I was convinced when I read the script. If it is this work, I can really try it. I want to try it. I auditioned and thankfully it went well.

Question: There must have been a pressure to do audition for an actor as your size, Lee Min Ho.
Answer: At first, I didn't think like that. It came all of a sudden on the car on my way to the audition" No wait a minute. If I go to the audition and fail, will rumor came out?" "Director, don't you think you're making a mistake?" something like that (laugh). Rather than that, when I read the script, something happened inside. It was a complex feeling. I though it would be new to see a perspective of Korea from the eyes/perspective of foreign people. In terms of filming a Korean history film with such a huge foreign investment, I was like "Should I really do this?".

Question: Since the original novel is a work that has received worldwide attention in terms of its message, "Pachinko" is a work which deal with discrimination experienced by Korean living abroad during colonial period to survive. Could it perhaps be more burdensome?
Answer: But as I have mentioned on the video interview earlier, There is something like "If you have decided to do it, then do it". Once I put myself into it, those things can't matter. I have stuck in it and have to do it anyway, the best I can. Those are things that I can think about later.

Question: We don't think that Lee Min Ho played a a lot of villain/antagonist character previously. Although Heo Jun Jae in the drama "Legend of the Blue Sea" was a con artist, his image is still like Robin Hood. Jong Dae in "Gangnam 1970" was also an anti-hero, but he's a warm-hearted character with a family which became the cause of his ambitions.
Answer: Yes, I have been playing a lot of good protagonist character for over 10 years so I think it is time for me to be more attracted to a role as a villain. Even when I look at the original work, I find villains more attractive. If it is a meaningful villain, of course I want to do it anytime. Actually, people who I work with have said it a lot. They think that antagonist and villain character will suit me well. I don't know why.

Question: We think we know why. When Jong Dae ride his motorcycle in a burgundy leather jacket shouting "Everything that I have run through, is my land!". There was an aspect that made us imagine what would have been if that character went crazy in the chaos.
Answer: That's right. I don't think I have ever described Jong Dae as a crazy person, especially Lee Min Ho at that time. I try to express myself as much as I can, but there's something more. Lee Min Ho in his 20s have lived with a lot of sense of responsibility and I think that that he had shown that sense in the movie. Now, if Lee Min Ho says that he will play Jong Dae again, he will probably act like a completely crazy person from that point. If the now Lee Min Ho can express himself, he seems to be able to put off those responsibilities and draw the borderline to evil.

Question: We're sorry in advance if we have not yet read "Pachinko", not to mention that we should not talk a lot of the project in the interview. What of Hansu's character? Judging from the synopsis, it seems that he is a character vague between evil and good.
Answer: Hansu is a person who feels like evil to everyone. He is a villain, and continue straightforward to be a villain who attract everyone's attention. Looking at the circumstances, I can understand why he had to be like that but he is a character who comes up within the word "Bad Guy" either way.

Question: Did we perhaps, accidently connect the question in a exquisite way? So we can highly anticipate Lee Min Ho in "Pachinko"?
Lee Min Ho: (laugh)

Question: The interview on your previous work as "Lee Gon" on "The King: Eternal Monarch" is also amazing. You said "I had the image of a prince on a white horse, so let's go with it until the end and put an end on it".
Answer: Actually before "Boys Over Flowers", I always play the character/role of a poor person (laugh). In "Boys Over Flowers", I played the character of a rich man for the first time, but that was not a choice I made because I wanted a certain image. I was just just desperate at that time and wanted to get the chance to be casted as lead, so I auditioned and passed. I accidently got that image. The same goes for "Heirs", the image is the same.

Question: So at that time you were chasing for opportunities and it happened to be the image of a rich man.
Answer: Exactly. To be honest, in "Boys Over Flowers", I do think that the outfit did not match me. Because I was not that rich. I remember that I had to think about how to look like a Chaebol (rich person), even learn how to use the chopsticks again. But anyway I got that image and after living like that for 10 years, I started to think that "Not everyone can have an image like this", so I thought that it might be okay to put an end on it before it is too late to let it go. That's when I met "The King: Eternal Monarch". Personally, I was thinking of graduating from the role/image of "Prince on a white horse" with that work.

Question: Graduated, so there will be no more of such role in Lee Min Ho's future career.
Answer: I gave did in in my 20s and 30s. Even in my late 30s and 40s, I can work on a fairy-tale like love story but the texture would be different. There are stories that are more realistic and appropriate for that age group. Whether it is a desperate love, or a love which can heal each other's pain. There won't be be a story where the male lead/protagonist can suddenly appear and save the female lead/protagonist whenever she is in trouble. Because main character usually don't face such a crisis when they get older (laugh) and these days, women can also help men. Even if we talk about love, I think and wishes for it to be like that.

Original Source: PART 1, PART 2
https://www.esquirekorea.co.kr/article/57822
https://www.esquirekorea.co.kr/article/57831
Korean to English Translation: Monika Setiono

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