[May 2015 – Vogue Girl] Hong Jong Hyun – Interview

Your face is puffy. Did you oversleep? Yes, because I was tired.

What did you do yesterday? I met friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. I went home late.

Are you a good drinker? No. I don’t like alcohol.

What have you been up to lately? All I’ve been doing is getting a lot of sleep.

It’s time for you to take a little break now that you finished filming “We Got Married” is over. Up to one month? I’m taking a break while choosing my next project. I’m catching up on some sleep. And I eat delicious food too.

What do you like eating? I like everything. I eat everything. Meat is what I like the most.

What type of meat? Everything but dog meat. If it’s meat, I eat all kinds.

You like grilled food? The way it’s cooked doesn’t matter. Anything I eat is delicious to me.

So all you’ve been doing is sleeping and eating? What about your hobbies? I saw a movie. I went to the premiere of “Twenty”. Did you see it?

Not yet. Is it fun? Do go see it. It’s fun. The three leads really know how to have fun. I was really into it. My favorite character was Woo Bin’s character (Chi Ho). Each one of them had his own charms, but he’s the cutest.

Isn’t it empathy based on the fact he’s the one whose situation is similar to yours the most? Well… I don’t think it is. It’s just that the movie made me think about the time when I was 20. Like “how, what kind of thoughts did I have back then?”. Please go see it. It will remind you of when you were 20.

“Enemies In-Law 2” is about to premiere. It premieres on April 29th. I play Chulsoo who is the son of a family of thieves, but he wants to marry the daughter (Jin Se Yeon) of a police officer, and this creates many problems. It was my first time being the lead and comedy acting isn’t easy, but filming went well because the staff and the other actors created a comfortable atmosphere.

I think you wouldn’t talk it if you hadn’t been asked about it. When you do an interview, that’s the way to talk when you do PR work. Do you have a blunt personality? Yes. Well, in the beginning.

Only in the beginning and not after a while? I can be blunt, but I’m different if we become closer. It’s very hard for me to get close to people. It takes some time.

So your personality in “We Got Married” was the real deal. You’re really a blunt guy. When I met the “We Got Married” producers the first time, I told them I didn’t think I would be a good match. I’m not really funny and it’s hard for me to get close to people, especially when it comes to women. They said it was okay and they’d show my natural image. That’s why I just did how I felt. With this program, the viewers can see us once a week, but the two celebrities actually don’t meet more than twice a month. I was very awkward. It was more about me being awkward with her than being actually blunt. Once we got a little bit closer, I became more comfortable. However, since the other couples were people who communicated well, I think I was relatively compared to them more.

So you were sincere. You didn’t try to make yourself look better. Indeed.

This blunt side of you was emphasized, what’s your explanation? There’s no need for it? Still, I have no thought of denying it. Because this is also a side of me. I show several different sides of me to the people close to me, but getting close to someone isn’t something I do just like that. Even if it was a TV show, I didn’t want to force myself to act a certain way.

So how long does it usually take you to get close to someone? It depends of the person. It might happen because there’s a specific occasion, it might be because we see each other often. However, getting close to someone I just met is something I really can’t do.

Now that I’m talking with you, I think to myself that you’re a real man. You just say exactly what you want to say without beating around the bush? One of my flaws is that I’m not good at talking about myself. What’s inside of my heart is a bit complicated.

Really? Why so? I don’t know…

You beat yourself over any kind of problems. You like thinking it over by yourself and finding the solution by yourself? Yes. For most stuff.

What’s the most important thing you think about when you meet someone? A man? A woman?

Well, both. First, what’s important between a woman and a man? I don’t know about looks. When I first meet someone, I think it’s about the vibe I’m feeling, and it’s nice if this person’s personality is brighter than mine. I really hate people who tell lies.

Can you tell? If someone is lying or not? I can. Even if the person lies to me, I don’t really call her or him out on it. I’m just disappointed. If I’m too disappointed, I don’t look back.

So do you think trust is the most important thing between a man and a woman? Trust is the fundamental element. It’s important to communicate a lot.

So what’s the most important thing between two men? Being able to have fun because we’re a good a match about the things we can do together?

What do you mean concretely? Being able to work out together. Playing soccer together. And I think being able to communicate when we talk is important.

If you were to choose between spending time with your friends and spending time on your own? I’m fine with eating, watching movies and doing stuff like this on my own, but I’ve never thought about going on a trip all by myself. I think it’d be a bit lonely, right? I was planning to go to Jeju Island or in Southeast Asia with my friends, but we cancelled because our schedules didn’t match.

What do you usually do when you go on a men trip? I think we don’t move around much. We go shopping and we have a drink.

I read an interview of Lee Soo Hyuk not long ago and he said he was close with you and Young Kwang. I feel like models who are friends must have fun in a different way somehow. What do you think? I think we have fun in the exact same way, except maybe for the fact that we have fans who recognize us. We have similar concerns because we do the same job, so we have more of the same mindset and we can talk and relate to each other.

Models turned actors are very handsome. I’m curious to heard what kind of role you’d like to portray, your take on a character’s limit. I’m thinking about trying a rom-com. I don’t know if I’d be good at it, but I think it would be something fun to do. And I like the noir action genre too.

You have to ruin your image for a comedy. It’s not ruining my image. It’s acting. I think it won’t matter.

Still, I think you must have some kind of instinct for jokes, what about you? I think I have a little bit of this instinct.

How would you describe yourself? I think I’m someone who thinks a lot.

So you think about the life you should lead? There are priorities in your life. I like living doing everything I want to try. That’s why I don’t have many regrets so far. Unless it’d hurt others or something incredibly immoral, I think it’s good to try things. Even if I actually don’t get good results in the end.

Is there something you’re determined to do this summer? Personally? Trying to ride my motorcycle. I had many of them, but I have two right now. A Triumph Bonneville and a Vespa Scooter. I sold all of them and I bought the Bonneville last year. It was too cold, so I couldn’t ride it. Even if it’s to go to somewhere nearby, I’ll try to go, just to have fun.

Vogue Girl
Translation: @thesunnytown – thesunnytown.wordpress.com