Han Hyo Joo talks about her friend Seunggi [Article]

Brilliant Legacy Hwan-Sung fans don’t faint!  Han Hyo Joo just wrapped filming of super long saguek drama Dong Yi and she sat down for some press interviews on October 20th.  Among the many things she discussed, she shares her thoughts on staying in touch with Seunggi ~ His encouraging words ~ Getting his phone call ~ Watching My Girlfriend is a Gumiho kiss scenes ~ Seunggi as friend and his textbook advice ~ Preferring actor Ji Jin Hee sunbae ~ thoughts on actor-singer Seunggi…

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[These are excerpts pertaining to what HyoJoo said about SeungGi from various articles; this is not one seamless interview.  Only select excerpts are translated]…

Her gratitude towards same-aged friend Lee Seung Gi’s advice

Whether it was due to being able to relax or because of body aches, after completing filming for “Dong Yi,” Han Hyo Joo revealed “I feel as if I’ve overcome a big mountain in which there seemed to be no end in sight.”  In particular, she aroused a lot of curiosity when she said “There were times when things were so hard I wanted to give up, but Lee Seung Gi’s advice helped me.”

Han Hyo Joo said “I still keep in touch with Seung Gi every now and then.  And seeing that I got a phone call right at a time when things were really tough for me, I complained to him that things were difficult.  At that time Seung Gi was able to clearly pinpoint my problem.  Seung Gi said  ‘If you say it’s hard once, then things really start to get difficult’ and I was really able to identify with that statement.”  She said  “After that, I never once let out that things were hard.”

Same age peers, Han Hyo Joo and Lee Seung Gi were perfectly matched in 40% viewership ratings popular drama Brilliant Legacy.”

Getting a phone call from Seunggi after Dong Yi ended

Actress Han Hyo Joo talks about her ongoing connection to singer-actor Lee Seung Gi after their well matched chemistry shown in last year’s SBS drama Brilliant Legacy.

She revealed “Whether I’m starting a project or wrapping up one, I am in contact with Lee Seung Gi every now and then.” She added “Somehow he knew about the final episode broadcast of Dong Yi. Afterwards I heard from him and he said ‘You did a good job. Let’s meet up once before the end of the year.’ I was really thankful.” She said with a laugh, “I know very well how Seunggi lives his life.”

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Seunggi’s kiss scenes, Shin Min Ah

When asked whether she had watched Lee Seung Gi’s drama My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, she said “Ironically, each time I tuned in, they were all kiss scenes” and added with a laugh, “he did better job compared to Brilliant Legacy.”  She shared, I had already received a text message from the Brilliant Legacy PD earlier on saying ‘He’s doing a better job than when he did the kiss scene with you.’ (laughter) I’m not jealous.  The drama’s storyline is fun, and Seunggi also did a good acting job.”

“Shin Min Ah was so pretty.  I was a big Shin Min Ah fan early on.  Soon, after meeting up with Seunggi first, it would be great to see Shin Min Ah too. (chuckles)  Now that I’m finished with filming, I plan to watch My Girlfiriend is a Gumiho from the start.”

Seunggi as a friend and his textbook advice

“I am in contact with Seunggi every now and then, and we also text. Seunggi is like… how would I describe him? He is a very upright friend. From the first time I met him until now, he has not changed; he is a good friend. He says a lot of things to me that give me strength and encouragement.”

However, there were flaws even for “upright guy” Lee Seung Gi. “He definitely gives me advice, but the problem is that it is really formal. (chuckles) I give out non-textbook advice, but that friend always gives textbook example advice. Even still, I think that he is a really good friend. However, next time I would be thankful if he gave me some more varied and different advice. (laughter)”

Then does that mean Lee Seung Gi regularly monitored Dong Yi? “I often monitored My Girlfriend is a Gumiho as well, and Seunggi monitored Dong Yi too. Because he is an actor associated with a very good, memorable, and well-matched previous project, we both had high hopes of wanting the best for our individual projects.”  She said “The Brilliant Legacy team recently met up for dinner but due to the final filming for Dong Yi, I was unable to attend.”

Preferring Ji Jin Hee over Lee Seung Gi

However, the actor she boasted about was Ji Jin Hee, a perfect match able to go beyond Lee Seung Gi. “Even still, it was more fun with Ji Jin Hee sunbae. You say that Seunggi may feel hurt? He has Shin Min Ah, you know. (chuckles) Do you know what a great person Ssunbae is? Even though there is a big age gap, it felt comfortable.”

Seeing Seunggi more as an actor than a singer

“While working with Seunggi, I wasn’t cognizant of him as a singer. For some reason, he didn’t seem like a singer. For me, he is simply an actor.”  She continued, “I don’t at all mean that he isn’t like that of a singer. You cannot misunderstand what I said.”

She emphasized “It’s because I first met him when I was 19 years old on MBC sitcom Nonstop and even then he was a peer actor to me. That’s why him as an actor has a stronger impression,” she explained with a laugh. She added, “Actually it’s also because I haven’t really seen him singing upfront.” She expressed, “For me, Seunggi is a good actor colleague.”

She said, “I see Seunggi more as an actor than a singer. Even though he’s a friend, he also motivates me in a big way. For me, acting alone can be too much, so I respect Seunggi’s ability to handle acting and singing, all things perfectly.”

Thoughts on Seunggi’s music

When asked about her taste in music, she said that she liked indie bands.  She added “I like popular music too” adding “I like YoungWoong JaeJoong’s song.”  She indicated that she came to value TVXQ’s music while filming Telecinema’s Heaven’s Postman with YoungWoong JaeJoong.  However, after hesitating when asked how she felt about Lee Seung Gi’s music, she said in a shaky voice with a chuckle, “I like Seunggi’s music too.”  She said “Although I don’t have the skills to put out a song, if the opportunity presents itself, I would like to perform in a play or musical.”

Sources:  Sports Khan; Asia Today; Star News; DongA; TV Daily; FNN; Sports Chosun

Interesting that the articles were so curious about her relationship and thoughts on Seunggi, even though Brilliant Legacy was more than a year and both have been involved in other dramas since.

HyoJoo’s public relations blitz today following her wrap of drama Dong Yi was almost identical to MinAh’s interview spam following the end of My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.  And both times, Seunggi’s name rose to the top of the online search items along with each of the actresses.  As usual, where is Hook and Lee Seung Gi interviews?!

Comparing the excerpts from Hyojoo’s interview to MinAh’s recent interview ~ very different in some ways.  Hyojoo is obviously way more extroverted and bubbly while MinAh has a more reserved temperament.  I thought I preferred Hyojoo’s personality, but I think I like Minah’s approach more… has a more mature and deeper feel…

See related posts:

• Han Hyo Joo AGAIN mentions her good friend Seunggi
• Brilliant Legacy, SBS 20th Anniversary special 
• Seunggi and other top actors to host SBS drama special
• I still love Brilliant Legacy and Hwan! [Fanmade MVs]
• Seunggi’s Brilliant Legacy BFFs on the set of Dong Yi

See 2009 SBS Drama Awards posts:

• Actor Awards, 2009 SBS Drama Awards [EngSubs]
  
• SeungGi~HyoJoo sing at 2009 SBS Drama Awards 
  
• Best Couple Award, 2009 SBS Drama Awards [EngSubs]

See excerpts from Shin Min Ah interview:

• Shin MinAh talks about SeungGi’s popularity [Article]