#interview sports donga
(TRANS ) 161230 — interview with sports donga (part two)
translated byfy!wdh+originally fromsports donga by jeon hyojin
please do not repost translations on tumblr and always credit page 712, or fywdh when posting elsewhere. please obtain permission before translating into other languages.
click here for an alternate version with accompanying images.
A rookie actor whose growth we look forward to has stepped onto the scene. Woo Dohwan, who debuted through KBS2 drama ‘The Man Living in Our House’, left a short but strong impression as the mysterious man in a suit who comes looking for Kim Youngkwang (Go Nangil). He showly gained more and more screen time with each episode, and started to show his [strong sense of] presence through the role of Kim Wansik, an employee of Dada Finance. Around the same time of the conclusion of the drama, he also greeted the public audience through the film ‘Master’ along with Lee Byeonghun, Kang Dongwon and Kim Woobin.
We looked to satisfy the curiosity surrounding the little [insignificant] things about Woo Dohwan other than acting. Below is the contents of the conversation we had with Woo Dohwan in which we asked about everything without holding back.
sports donga: We really have no information about you. Please introduce yourself.
woo dohwan: Hello. My name is Woo Dohwan. My weight comes and goes with each production but on average, I weigh around 65kg. I’m currently enrolled in the Department of Theater and Film at Dankook University.
How about your family members?
wdh:I’m the eldest son. I have a younger sister who is two years younger than me.
Your hometown?
wdh:Gyeonggi-do. I still live in Gyeonggi-do now.
We saw that you recently started instagram.
wdh:Yes. I had an sns account before as well, but I rarely used it [posted]. I’m trying hard to post as many photos as I can [on his current account].
Do you take a lot of selcas?
wdh:No. I usually very rarely take photos. I have more photos that were planned. I don’t really take them [selcas] because I’m embarrassed.
Did you use cyworld minihompy in the past?
wdh:When I was in elementary school. Cyworld, Buddy Buddy hahaha.
Do you use emoticons when you chat [online]?
wdh:Yes. Since I’m the eldest son, I don’t have much aegyo. But because I’m the youngest wherever I go, I try hard to act cute towards the sunbaenims.
The idol group that you like?
wdh:There isn’t a group that I particularly like, but I’m the type to [basically] memorize songs by idols. I always play them when I get in the car. I gain strength as well, when I see them [idols] always working so hard. When I watch their performances, [he thinks that] they’re amazing.
The song that you listened to most recently in the car?
wdh:Black Pink 'Playing With Fire’, Big Bang 'FXXK IT’
You really do listen to idol songs.
wdh:I always look up and listen to the latest songs, of course~. Like how songs reflect the generation, I feel like they are personally full of memories as well. I still listen to the songs I listened to when I was young.
Seeing the songs you listened to most recently, it seems like you like the dance genre?
wdh:Uhm… I like ballads more. (laughs)
Is your go-to noraebang [karaoke] song a ballad as well?
wdh:I noticed that there are a lot of coin noraebang’s [a booth where you pay for each song instead of traditionally by the hour]. If I’m feeling bored on the way home, then I spend around 15 minutes before leaving. My go-to songs are songs by Im Changjung.
They [Im Changjung’s songs] would require quite a set of pipes [a great voice/singing ability]?
wdh:I can’t sing along because they’re so difficult, of course. They say that in singing, there’s falsetto and a chest voice and what-not, but if you ask me, you have to sing with your heart and soul. Haha
What are you like when with your friends?
wdh:I do hear that I’m a fun [interesting] person. It is a side of myself that I don’t really show [to other’s outside his circle of friends]. Since they’re friends of almost 15 years…
I guess you get shy.
wdh:I don’t get shy.
Do you have a lot of friends who are girls?
wdh:I don’t really. Despite going to a co-ed high school, I think I [only] have about 3~4?
If it was a co-ed school, you must have been popular?
wdh:Not at all. I really wasn’t all that popular during my school days. Really. I just fooled around and played soccer with my guy friends.
If you had a first love during your school days?
wdh:I think I was so young [when he had his first love] to the point where I can’t really remember. My first love was my mom!
Are you trying to protect your image?
wdh:I want to call it my first love when I experience a love that makes me feel like I can throw everything else behind.
Are you saying that it’s your first love every time you [fall in] love?
wdh:Haha. I feel like every time you love, it should be carried out as if it’s your first love. Just joking. Since I’ve only just starting working, I feel like if I were to pursue both at the same time [work and love], I wouldn’t be able to do well in either. I just want to think about acting.
The genre that you want to try?
wdh: A school based production. I definitely want to try it while I’m in my twenties. I’ve watched the whole KBS 'School’ series. The one that Kim Woobin and Nam Joohyuk sunbae appear in. I’m curious about the thoughts of the kids around my age, and their thought on acting.
You recently appeared in 'Master’ with Kim Woobin.
wdh:Yes. I was really happy when we first met. I was honestly able to learn so much. Things like how to deal with my seniors, and the attitude I should have on set. They didn’t teach me personally, but they were really great secondary [indirect] examples. I came to like them even more after filming together.
You have a lot of seniors at your agency Key East as well.
wdh:I haven’t been able to meet my sunbaes [seniors] yet.
Is there a senior from your agency that you would like to meet?
wdh:If I get the chance, Son Hyunjoo sunbaenim. I want to learn a lot [from him].
There’s an element of bromance in the 'School’ series, so who is the male actor you would like to work with?
wdh:Ah~~ there is bromance! Haha. I haven’t really thought of a particular male actor? I haven’t dared to think about it [since he is still a rookie].
(TRANS ) 161230 — interview with sports donga (part one)
translated byfy!wdh+originally fromsports donga by jeon hyojin
please do not repost translations on tumblr and always credit page 712, or fywdh when posting elsewhere. please obtain permission before translating into other languages.
click here for an alternate version with accompanying images.
A rookie actor whose growth we look forward to has stepped onto the scene. Woo Dohwan, who debuted through KBS2 drama ‘The Man Living in Our House’, left a short but strong impression as the mysterious man in a suit who comes looking for Kim Youngkwang (Go Nangil). He slowly gained more and more screen time with each episode, and started to show his [strong sense of] presence through the role of Kim Wansik, an employee of Dada Finance. Around the same time of the conclusion of the drama, he also greeted the public through the film ‘Master’ along with Lee Byeonghun, Kang Dongwon and Kim Woobin.
“Most of the filming for 'Master’ took place in the Philippines. I learnt a lot while being with the sunbaenims for over a month. There were, of course, moments when I felt disheartened as well. I was nervous from the moment I was cast. The aura of the seniors were no joke. But once we started filming, the seniors helped me to relax and took the lead.”
Despite how first impressions matter on a blind date, 'rookie’ Woo Dohwan played a character that was in the world of darkness in both 'The Man Living in Our House’ and 'Master’. We asked him about his concerns of giving off a strong impression to the public, to which he replied that "I’m [he is] just thankful” and that “I really was just a normal student. I didn’t cause trouble” asking us not to misunderstand, and reiterated that a character [in the drama] is only a character.
“I have been told that I have a heavier aura [atmosphere] compared to actors my age. That’s why I do get envious of actors who have a lighter feeling instead. I was more of a villain in 'Master’ than I was in 'The Man Living in Our House’. I technically did have lines in the film ['Master’]. (haha) But there may have been more scenes when I had to act without speaking and with my eyes [his gaze] alone. There are even times where people misunderstand, thinking that I caused trouble when I went to school because of my characters [he played]. But that’s really not true! I was a normal student who played soccer with my friends, went to cram school and couldn’t wait for it to be lunch time.”
Just like what he said, unlike his first impression(?), Woo Dohwan was an actor who has a humorous side as well as an emotional side of him where he writes in his journal.
“I started keeping a journal when I turned 20. [He wrote down] Things I felt during the day, and I don’t always write in it at night. There are times where I make memos somewhere else and transfer them [into his journal]. I started writing one because it was such a shame to forget each day as they were passing. I also began writing it when I first started my dream of becoming an actor. I wrote them [his feelings] down because I wanted to always treasure and remember my feelings, even if it is only through words. There are times when I just write down one word, or a drawing that’s like a scribble. I don’t start [his entries] like 'I did~’. (laughs)"
Woo Dohwan officially started acting when he was 19. The support of his father, who was once in theater, played a huge part. Woo Dohwan said that "My [his] dream was to become a pilot. I got pretty good grades, but not to the point where I could have become a pilot. (laughs) But it just so happened that my parents also wanted me to become an actor”.
“My father was involved in theater when he was young. Not any more though. (I guess you must have inherited some of his talent?) I guess… my father did have some influence [on his decision of becoming an actor]. But my family don’t give any sort of straight-forward evaluation about my acting. Just to the point of 'I enjoyed watching it’. They believe [in him] that I’ll keep improving.”
The thing that Woo Dohwan needs the most right now is a challenge. As a rookie actor, it is the period of time in which he has to go through trial and error in order to find clothes [roles] that suit him. As expected, he made his 2017 resolution to be one of growth, saying that "I [he] imagine myself acting in a variety of genres like romance, action, and youth centric productions etc. I still don’t know what is inside me, so I want to try everything”.
“(Now that you’ve debuted) I’ve found that I need to work even harder. I feel like if I’m going to do it half halfheartedly, then it would have been better not to start to begin with. I debuted this year, right? I want to take hold of that start and work hard so I can continue on.”
