Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
INTERVIEW Lee Jae-wook wields sword, heart in 'Dear Hongrang'
Actor Lee Jae-wook / Courtesy of Netflix
By Park Jin-hai
Actor lowered body fat to 5% for stylish action scenes
Lee Jae-wook, 27, is paving a solid path as an actor. After debuting as a university student in the 2018 hit drama "Memories of the Alhambra," he quickly rose to leading roles and shot to fame with the 2022 fantasy period drama "Alchemy of Souls," marking his breakthrough role.
The model and actor once again takes up the sword and showcases spectacular action in JTBC's historical drama "Dear Hongrang," which premiered on Friday on Netflix.
The drama tells the story of Hongrang (Lee), the long-missing son of Joseon's most powerful merchant family, who returns after 12 years with no memory of his past. As only his half-sister Jae-yi (Cho Bo-ah) suspects his true identity, an inexplicable relationship begins to grow between them, weaving together love and suspicion in this period drama.
In an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul, Monday, Lee noted the project left a lasting mark on him.
"I still feel this heavy sadness when I think of Hongrang. He’s such a tragic figure who grew up in a harsh environment. I often question myself whether I was able to portray that pain well enough. I find myself thinking about this character as Hongrang still occupies a corner of my heart," he said.
"As an actor who represents the writer’s vision, I don’t think I could even imagine 10 percent of the pain my character, who suffered torture and great trauma as a child, would have felt. After filming ended, I often wondered each night, ‘Did I do well?’ It even made me quite upset."
Lee shared that after working on the fantasy period drama "Alchemy of Souls," he hoped to take on a more traditional historical role and "Dear Hongrang" made his dream come true.
Calling himself “lucky,” he added, “Actually, just being cast in a drama and leading it as an actor already feels like I have achieved my dream.”
“When I was studying theater and film at university, there were so many talented friends around me who could act just as well as I could. I always had a strong desire to play the lead in a project. I was cast in my very first audition and when I think about how far I’ve come and how I’m acting now, it feels like I’ve already achieved all my dreams,” he said.
Lee Jae-wook is seen in the JTBC drama "Dear Hongrang." Courtesy of Netflix
Through this drama, Lee especially put a lot of effort into taking on big action scenes. He was able to perform most of the sword-fighting action scenes without a stunt double.
“There were times when I felt overwhelmed as soon as I received the action storyboard. I worried about how I would be able to pull it off,” he confessed.
“Although we filmed with blunt swords, they were still very heavy and painful, so when performing realistic action scenes, the choreography itself was extremely important," he said.
"I was always aware that someone could get hurt because of me, or that I could get hurt myself, so I tried to use controlled movements. I practiced continuously, going in once a week to rehearse."
In order to portray “fast editing and fast action that is hard for the eye to follow,” he used the Japanese film "Rurouni Kenshin" as a reference.
“When the camera starts rolling, out of the urge to do really well, I tend to put a lot of strength into my movements. But the more I rehearse, the less force I use in the action, so I tried to rehearse as much as possible,” Lee explained.
Referring to a scene where the camera pulls back and then moves in while Hongrang is swinging his sword, he said, “Our drama has an incredibly fast action tempo, but by capturing these quick and controlled moments in their entirety, we were able to create a stylish sequence that I think is unlike anything seen before.”
He also talked about the visual aspects he paid attention to in portraying Hongrang, revealing that he reduced his body fat to 5 percent for this drama.
“Since there are a lot of scenes with exposure, I tried to lower my body fat as much as possible from early on. The lighting was really strong, but the fortunate thing was that, overall, my body wasn’t the main focus, so I was able to relax a bit during filming,” he said with a laugh.
Lee also hinted that this may be one of his last projects before his upcoming mandatory military service, although he wants to work hard and leave behind as many projects as possible before he fulfills the obligation.
“There are a lot of things I want to try. I really enjoyed watching the ‘Weak Hero’ series and I’d like to try medical dramas and many other genres if I get the chance,” he shared.