On my way to this interview, I thou

On my way to this interview, I thought about Im Joo Hwan whom you’re close with and the interview I did with him right after he was discharged from the army. Seeing him so eager [to go back to acting] left a big impression on me. How was it for you, Joong Ki?

I remember this interview. It was quite long, right? This hyung is so serious (smiles). I didn’t catch one single so cold, so things went fine for me. I was scared of two things before going to the army. The first one was how to manage to get along with younger guys, the second one was how to manage to get along with ordinary people since I’m a celebrity. Any celebrity going to the army late might have some fears and wonder if you should just pitch a fast ball and be yourself. And it actually worked. Someone I really like talked to me before I went to the army and his words really gave me strength.

Who was it? Sohn Hyun Joon-sunbaenim, my drinking buddy. “Don’t think you’re going to the army but to a place where you have fun. When you’re discharged, you’ll be in your 30’s, how great will it be? You’ll have this feeling of urgency more than anyone else and you’ll get to do a lot of thinking. How much of a precious experience will it be for you as an actor to live with ordinary people as you all suffer together? Go and be yourself”. Thinking about his advice when I was at the training camp made the pressure disappeared right away. I didn’t struggle because both fears disappeared. I really had the feeling I was just somewhere to have fun which gave me good energy. The only thing was that it was a very unfamiliar place and time was a bit long (smiles).

How did you become drinking buddy with Son Hyun Joon?

I watched the drama “Chaser” and I really got goosebumps. I called Lee Kyung Hee who wrote “Nice Guy” too and told her “how can someone’s acting give goosebumps like this? I want to be able to do it too. I’m jealous!”. She said that if an actor at my age acted this way, it would be cringeworthy and people wouldn’t understand, she said not to be too greedy and since he was by her side, she gave him the phone. So we had this first phone conversation on the spot, I thoughtlessly asked him to buy me a drink and this is how we became closer after that. He’s like the sky and we discuss so much that he is like a drinking buddy. We joke around like two friends, we talk about acting, about women, about life, and also about boring stuff.

Thanks to the advice of your drinking buddy, the army turned into a vacation spot for you? Other guys will probably say it’s funny to hear this, but I debuted and I had been working without taking a break for 6~7 years. That’s why it felt like I got some rest and recharged my batteries. Of course, there was some stuff I struggled with, and some physically exhausting stuff, but I tried to think of it in a positive way, so I was fine. To be honest, the army is about doing the same stuff. Shoveling snow, working, shoveling (smiles). I was in the search unit in Goseong, Gangwon-do. When I was in the demilitarized zone, it was reconnaissance/surveillance mission during the day and staying ambush at night.

Still, the D-Day date was leaked. Toward the end. Before that, I received some letters sometimes and they talked about the D-Day, so that’s how I naturally found out about it. I received more letters at the army than I thought I would. I don’t know if it will sound cheesy, but I didn’t know they would give me so much strength. It was really nice. It was more than having people remember me. I was thankful for these people who showed their feelings with the letters they sent me while I was away.

Weren’t you scared to disappear from people’s memories? Nothing is never constant in my job, so I’m trying my best to keep my head up. It might be the reason why I don’t feel this kind of pressure that much. Because I know it’s useless to think about it. Instead, the pressure I felt was what to do if my acting sense goes down when I start working again.

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