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[INTERVIEW] Actor Yoo Ah-in - Part 2

Actor Yoo Ah-in [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

10: In "Sungkyunkwan Scandal", all four of you were of similar ages. How was that?
Yoo Ah-in: I was prejudiced about them. I wasn't able to get close to them in the beginning because of the thought that celebrities will be like this and that and that's why I usually don't become friends with them. (laugh) I understand that they can't help being self-centered, that what they feel is important, and they need to receive more attention. But I rid myself of a lot of them -- through Park Yoo-chun, my prejudice of idols and Hallyu stars, through Park Min-young my prejudice of fellow actresses, and through Song Joong-ki my prejudice of actors. So in the way that Jae-shin came out of his shell and came to accept Yoon-hee, Seon-joon and Yong-ha, I myself came to see these people in real life in a good way which means I myself matured as well. I had fun shooting the drama. I just wish we had more honest conversations about acting. But what I thank Joong-ki for is that he gave me a lot of advice comfortably. I came to realize that he's not just plain sly, he's sly in the sense that he wants what's best for everyone.

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10: Writing is an act which contains your will to express something that you feel inside. You had mainly been writing on your Cyworld account and started writing on Twitter a few months ago. How has that been?
Yoo Ah-in: When I'm away from home, I'm in dire need of the time and space that will let me go back to being myself. For three to four months, I felt uncomfortable not being able to live my life as myself. So being able to voice what I think and communicate with people through Twitter as Uhm Hong-shik, as actor Yoo Ah-in, was very comforting. In a way, it's a blessing and honor, and I learned a lot from the thousands of responses I receive from my single comment. Of course, some were just light or routine remarks but quite a lot of the responses awakened me and taught me lessons, as well as reminding me of what a closed person I am. So, I'm going to stay on Twitter. (laugh)

10: I actually think it's not easy to do Twitter because thousands and ten of thousands of people are reading it.
Yoo Ah-in: A lot of people want me to stay on Twitter but at the same time, it makes me speak up less. And it's not easy to go against that. It's not like I was born as an independence fighter or anything of the sort. I like what's comfortable and I wish I had nothing to worry about. But that really means I would have isolated myself and I know it'll turn me into a miserable person so I sometimes force myself to write. It's not because I'm dying to write but because not being able to makes me very unhappy so I'm trying to continuously tell myself 'I can do it, I can speak up, I will keep speaking, I know you want to put a gag in my mouth but I will keep speaking, I will not lose, I am not incompetent'. It's very hard work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actor Yoo Ah-in [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

10: So are you saying that it's difficult to be your real self but you want to continuously make sure that you are being real?
Yoo Ah-in: Yes, and not just about acting. I think it's about everything about being someone in his twenties. I actually have a desire to just live a very peaceful life. I want to live comfortably, and of course I also sometimes think that I would like to make money by just smiling pretty but I think I also trying to push such thoughts out and try to force myself to be someone in his twenties. I'm someone who matured early and I know the rules to living life tactfully but I have to let go of them. I'm in the dilemma of being too realistic versus trying not to stay realistic because being mature means that you know the answers so you will stop and settle to protect what you have but that's immature. I think the true way to be mature is to continuously seek answers, ask questions and go forward as well as fail at times. That's why I wish people would use the world 'youth' in a different way. When people say, "He's still in his youth", it usually means that person is immature and a passionate idealist but I wish it could be used to refer to young people who are truly mature and are upright.

10: You've also written about labor and human rights-related issues on your Twitter account. And they're thoughts that anybody with a mind for social issues could have but celebrities are usually branded as being 'political' the moment they mention speak their mind on such matters. this could end up being very bothersome for you so aren't you worried about that?
Yoo Ah-in: I am. I'm worried and scared to death. I can't sleep at night after writing such things. (laugh) But from what I judge, someone who can't do that is dead, or at least partially. I want to live a decent life, not just be alive because I'm breathing. I even think I should be allowed to talk about politics because like actress Ko Hyun-jung's character says in SBS TV series "The President", it's irresponsible to regard politics as a bad thing when we're all citizens living under strict political control. I won't do something just because it's good or criticize sharply just because something's a social issue. I just think that I can at least play the role of introducing what I can truly relate to, express what I feel feel and share thoughts with other people. Although it's sad that that's very difficult to do in the society we live in and the celebrity system I'm in.

10: I think it must be tiring to have to live according to a system or standards of society even when they don't mean much to you. Plus Korea has very high ethical standards of people who are in the arts in the commercial sense.
Yoo Ah-in: Because the moment I package myself, I'm not just showing myself to people in a certain way but I trap myself in that packaging. That's why I'm trying to make the size of my wrapping large and show that I'm someone who'll curse, who will drink and go clubbing. It's nothing really but I need to make conscious efforts to do that because it's as if right now, it's not permitted.

Actor Yoo Ah-in [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

10: In "Sungkyunkwan Scandal", all four of you were of similar ages. How was that?
Yoo Ah-in: I was prejudiced about them. I wasn't able to get close to them in the beginning because of the thought that celebrities will be like this and that and that's why I usually don't become friends with them. (laugh) I understand that they can't help being self-centered, that what they feel is important, and they need to receive more attention. But I rid myself of a lot of them -- through Park Yoo-chun, my prejudice of idols and Hallyu stars, through Park Min-young my prejudice of fellow actresses, and through Song Joong-ki my prejudice of actors. So in the way that Jae-shin came out of his shell and came to accept Yoon-hee, Seon-joon and Yong-ha, I myself came to see these people in real life in a good way which means I myself matured as well. I had fun shooting the drama. I just wish we had more honest conversations about acting. But what I thank Joong-ki for is that he gave me a lot of advice comfortably. I came to realize that he's not just plain sly, he's sly in the sense that he wants what's best for everyone.

10: Writing is an act which contains your will to express something that you feel inside. You had mainly been writing on your Cyworld account and started writing on Twitter a few months ago. How has that been?
Yoo Ah-in: When I'm away from home, I'm in dire need of the time and space that will let me go back to being myself. For three to four months, I felt uncomfortable not being able to live my life as myself. So being able to voice what I think and communicate with people through Twitter as Uhm Hong-shik, as actor Yoo Ah-in, was very comforting. In a way, it's a blessing and honor, and I learned a lot from the thousands of responses I receive from my single comment. Of course, some were just light or routine remarks but quite a lot of the responses awakened me and taught me lessons, as well as reminding me of what a closed person I am. So, I'm going to stay on Twitter. (laugh)

10: I actually think it's not easy to do Twitter because thousands and ten of thousands of people are reading it.
Yoo Ah-in: A lot of people want me to stay on Twitter but at the same time, it makes me speak up less. And it's not easy to go against that. It's not like I was born as an independence fighter or anything of the sort. I like what's comfortable and I wish I had nothing to worry about. But that really means I would have isolated myself and I know it'll turn me into a miserable person so I sometimes force myself to write. It's not because I'm dying to write but because not being able to makes me very unhappy so I'm trying to continuously tell myself 'I can do it, I can speak up, I will keep speaking, I know you want to put a gag in my mouth but I will keep speaking, I will not lose, I am not incompetent'. It's very hard work.

 

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