Jeong Il-woo (정일우)

'I want Jun-seok to be more of a guy-next-door type, a bright young man who anyone can see as charming and friendly'.

For a handsome young actor who has made his name playing pretty-boy roles, taking on the role of a gay man who is HIV-positive may not seem like a safe choice, especially in a nation where homosexuality is still regarded as a taboo subject. But with his new role in the play "Beautiful Sunday", which begins its run early next month, actor Jeong Il-woo wants to show that he is more than a just pretty face.

Based on the play by Japanese playwright Nakatani Mayumi, Beautiful Sunday was first staged in Korea in 2006 and has been presented more than 450 times since then.

It takes place on a Sunday, when a heartbroken female stranger breaks into the apartment of a ...More

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

Actor Jeong Il-woo will make his stage debut in a revival of the play "Beautiful Sunday" written by Japanese playwright Mayumi Nakatani.

The play touches upon homosexuality through the daily routines of three characters ― a gay couple and a woman. But the drama highlights love, comfort and warm-hearted emotions among modern youngsters rather than focusing on homosexuality itself. The characters fight against soci...More

Meeting a star, especially one who is at the peak of their career, is exciting and thrilling even for reporters. Hence we at 10Asia also share our opinions on the celebrity we interview amongst ourselves, re-living the emotions we felt while exchanging dialogue with a top actor or artist. But the most exciting moment is when the star we all know, emerges as someone with distinctions of their own during the interview. An interview becomes not work, but a memory of an encounterance with someone when that celebrity turns from a star in the media to a person we are engaged in a conversation with. For the first time in a year, 10Asia reveals those memories with the public.

 

Shin Hye-sung

Singer Shin Hye-sung [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

The reason the interview with Shin Hye-sung could have seemed easy is solely because the conversation was not about him as a singer but concentrated on his then new album "Keep Leaves". "It's easy to make an album if you devote a lot of attention to the title track and the first few songs on an album, and then add on a few whatever songs to the end. But I just didn't want to do that. Because it's mine". Whether you call it his strong sense of identity as a musician or his stubbornness as an artist from the album generation, he had not released an album -- a double album to be precise -- 'just for the sake of it'. And the entire process moved in tune with his intention "to do the best job possible". An actor or musician becomes real when he or she focuses on the outcome and not their name value. That is why Shin Hye-sung is a real musician who is not consumed by the fact that he is a former idol group member.

 

Jeong Il-woo

Actor Jeong Il-woo [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Three things you notice when you meet Jeong Il-woo in person: he is taller than you would expect him to be, he has a good voice and he has pretty facial features. He has matured much more than in 2007 when he was still shy after shooting to stardom through MBC sitcom "High Kick!"....More

"I want to play a macho guy and try my skills at melodrama as well. I want to try so many things. But since I'm still very young, the best role for me would be a cheerful one", said actor Lee Min-ho, who rose to stardom for his role in "Boys over Flowers", at a news conference on December 15 in Taiwan. The news conference was held prior to Lee's fan meeting at the National Taiwan University.

The actor said he felt significant pressure with regard to his next role because his previous role was very popular. "...More

Jeong Il-woo will be a surprise guest actor in the "Hich Kick Through The Roof" which is a sequel sitcom of "Hick Kick!" from 2006.

He comes out as Hwang Jeong-eum's first love!

Stars like Kim Hye-seong, Jeong Joon-ha, Kim Beom, Nah Moon-hee, and Park Hae-mi have been here as cameos!

...More