IU “You’re the Best, Lee Soon Shin” Press Conference 130514 (Interview)

(Note: The journalists all took notes during the press conference but everyone seems to have slightly different versions of what was said. Hopefully this one is closest to the truth O_O)

Q. Compared to your previous drama, “Dream High”, your character in “You’re the Best, Lee Soon Shin” has more complicated emotions. What do you find challenging about emotional acting?

IU: My character in the drama has a range of emotions, so I faced some difficulties, but the senior actors and my colleagues around me gave me a lot of guidance, so I enjoyed myself during filming.

Q. Compared to previous drams, the viewer ratings seem rather low, but your fighting spirit hasn’t died down and you don’t feel burdened by that, do you?

IU: The atmosphere at the filming site is really good, so our fighting spirit didn’t die down. When I was promoting as a singer, many young people would go “IU!” as they recognised me, but recently, adults went “Lee Soon Shin!” when they recognised me, so it feels really great. The viewer ratings on Sunday are better than Saturday, so seeing that drives me on.

Lee Misook: The slump in viewer ratings is affected by the seasons. The weather has been good so people often go out and few of them pay attention to the small screen. Recently, I’ve been praying for it to rain every weekend. Even so, when adults see me and go “Soonshin’s mum!”, I feel the power of the weekend drama.

Q. There was a controversy about the title “You’re the Best, Lee Soon Shin” as disparaging the late general, Lee Soon Shin.

Yoon Sungsik director: That was a really unexpected controversy. We were taken aback. It was a title we decided upon with the intention of using general Lee Soon Shin’s life story of overcoming ordeals and making accomplishments as a motif for the drama, but I think people read too much into it. It was a mistake to not give enough consideration to the sensitive topic. It was definitely not our intention to belittle him in any way, so I continue to hope that people can overlook this matter. There are still many people who are bothered by this, so I feel really terrible.

IU: Actually I did expect it a little. I thought to myself ‘it could be perceived in this manner too’, but more people than expected took offence at this, so I’m feeling quite apologetic. We didn’t intend to belittle the general Lee Soon Shin at all, but because of the controversy surrounding the title, the warm emotions between my character and her father at the start were buried, which is such a shame. I would like to express my apologies to the people we hurt then, and repeat once again that it was definitely not our intention to belittle him in any way.

Q. There’s always controversy surrounding actors who start out as singers, but do you think it was overshadowed by the title controversy?

IU: The title controversy was something that started out at the beginning, so we couldn’t afford to worry about the controversy regarding my acting skills. Now I’m starting to monitor what people think of my acting. I’m still a rookie actress who hasn’t gotten used to acting in dramas yet, so it’s awkward to me and viewers would probably think that the image of IU acting is still awkward to them. I’m working hard and paying special attention to that. “You’re the Best, Lee Soon Shin” is a growing drama. Lee Soon Shin still has a long way to go. In the remaining 30 episodes, I’ll show a more matured side of myself that the audience can connect with.

Q. Even so, didn’t the senior actors scold you at all or give you separate lessons?

IU: They never scolded me. Before the filming of the drama, I was really worried and thought to myself ‘won’t they get angry with me?’ It was really amazing, but they’re not scary, and as we act, at almost every point in time, every scene, I’m learning something from the senior actors. When I was acting with Go Doosim sunbaenim, there were scenes that I didn’t quite get at first, but when we acted together, I came to the realisation, ‘ah, so that’s what it’s all about’.

Q. Are your acting skills inborn or honed through hard work?

IU: In the first place, it’s fun so I’m enjoying myself. I’m naturally simple and naive like Lee Soon Shin, so that has helped me along a lot. 

Q. In the drama, Lee Soon Shin is a rookie actress too, but is victimised by Song Miryeong. Were there times when you were victimised too when you were a rookie?

IU: I debuted in my 3rd year of middle school, but I often had to go on music programs and went for rehearsals in my school uniform. Since I was wearing my school uniform, the security guards barred me from entering and in many cases I was chased out.

Jo Jungsuk: Thinking back to when I debuted as a musical actor, people made many comparisons to the previous sunbaenim who acted the same role, so I felt quite sad. Also, there were many instances of double casting, so when I was acting with a senior, people focused their attention on the senior.

Q. In the drama, Lee Soon Shin encounters numerous challenges. In real life, were there times when you faced challenges and had to overcome them?

IU: In the first place, Lee Soon Shin is in quite a weak mental state currently, so she hasn’t really thought about overcoming her hurdles, but as the drama progresses, things are going to change. On the other hand, I haven’t been in a situation that I felt I should quit. If it’s a situation that I have to overcome no matter what, I feel a strong sense of responsibility, so I try even harder.

Q. In the drama, Song Miryeong is Lee Soon Shin’s teacher, so who is your teacher in real life?

IU: Whenever I film crying scenes, I think of Jung Donghwan seonsaengnim (Lee Soon Shin’s father). In real life, my father is someone special to me too, so when I think of that, I’m able to grab hold of those emotions. I want to become an actor like Jung Donghwan seonsaengnim who can get other actors to become immersed in their acting. An actor whose image lingers in the minds of others even after the show. As someone who is not an actor, I want to live as a lovely being like Yoo Inna.

Translated by squishy with love
Source: tenasia