[Sports Chosun Baek Ji-eun] It has been a couple of months since tvN ‘Dear My Friends’ ended. ‘Dear My Friends’ gathered a lot of attention because it was not only written by Noh Hee-gyoung, who is famous for writing insightful and touching lines in ‘It’s Okay, That’s Love’ and ‘That Winter, the Wind Blows,’ but also had numerous veteran actors such as Kim Hye-ja, Go Doo-sim, Na Moon-hee, Youn Yuh-jung, Shin Gu, Park Won-sook. The series started powerfully as the actors were all strong players in the industry. The series began with the stories of old people, but it was soon after that the viewers of all ages were engrossed in the stories, crying and laughing with the characters.
What was it like on the set with all these big actors?
Director Hong Jong-chan said, “Kim Hye-ja, Na Moon-hee, Ko Hyun Jung, Go Doo-sim, Park Won-sook, Shin Gu, and Youn Yuh-jung all have different acting styles. Kim Hye-ja, Na Moon-hee, Ko Hyun Jung acts possessed in the characters. Youn Yuh-jung, Go Doo-sim, Park Won-sook, and Shin Gu perform so precisely as directed by the script.” He said, “Ko Hyun Jung has a lot of emotional scenes from the middle of the series. When filming such scenes, she comes completely immersed in the emotion even before the camera rolls. She gets into the character like no other. Kim Hye-ja has no hobbies or potential distractions, and she just goes back to her script again and again. Na Moon-hee is open to experiencing various situations and is willing to try something new. I’ve been in the industry for some time, but these three have been very special to me personally. We were worried about Shin Gu because of his age, but he made no mistakes on the scene and never hesitated using his body. The actors all have different styles in acting, but all of them are committed in bringing their absolute best in studying and performing the characters as intended even when they could kind of wing it due to their acting skills. I felt that they could maintain their top-class career for decades because they each try so meticulously to master their works.”
Even the cameo actors are extraordinary in ‘Dear My Friends.’ Big actors such as Zo In Sung, Lee Kwangsoo, Sung Dong-il, and Lee Hyun Sung appear to play cameos with their own presence. In particular, Zo In Sung plays Yeon-ha to uncover a love story with Wan (played by Ko Hyun Jung). One could say that his character was one of the main characters. Director Hong said, “His role wasn't a small part with a lot of emotional scenes. He must have been under a lot of pressure, and coming to the set couldn’t have been like taking a trip, but I’m thankful that he came and enjoyed shooting with us. Zo In Sung also had to fly abroad for a movie. His acting was superb despite the exhaustion, intense schedules, and difficulties of changing in and out of characters between the two projects. It was extraordinary.”
All of the superb acting by the actors came together in ‘Dear My Friends’ to create so many moving scenes. Seok-gyun (played by Shin Gu) made us feel paternal love when he bursts into his son-in-law’s office at a university after learning that his daughter has been the victim of domestic violence. The emotional fights between Wan and her mother Nan-hee(Go Doo-sim) moved so many daughters and mothers. When Hee-ja(Kim Hye-ja), who suffers dimentia, sobs in a forest, the viewers also cried with her. All these compelling acting came together to make the series more convincing with the realistic, documentary-like directing.
Director Hong said, “I can’t forget the first time I read Noh Hee-gyoung’s draft of our script. It felt like a musical score rather than a script. Each word was very much alive. So I kept on digging into how I could make her story come alive while avoiding the cliches. The scenes could turn out to look like a soap opera because we had so many actors of age. I wanted the series to feel like a story of real people. So I went for a documentary-like ambience. I wanted to show the story as it was written without forcing any emotions with directing techniques so that the viewers would feel as if the characters and the situations they are in are authentic.
silk781220@sportschosun.com
https://sports.chosun.com/news/ntype.htm?id=201609250100180360013049&servicedate=20160924
[Sports Chosun Baek Ji-eun] It has been a couple of months since tvN ‘Dear My Friends’ ended. ‘Dear My Friends’ gathered a lot of attention because it was not only written by Noh Hee-gyoung, who is famous for writing insightful and touching lines in ‘It’s Okay, That’s Love’ and ‘That Winter, the Wind Blows,’ but also had numerous veteran actors such as Kim Hye-ja, Go Doo-sim, Na Moon-hee, Youn Yuh-jung, Shin Gu, Park Won-sook. The series started powerfully as the actors were all strong players in the industry. The series began with the stories of old people, but it was soon after that the viewers of all ages were engrossed in the stories, crying and laughing with the characters.
What was it like on the set with all these big actors?
Director Hong Jong-chan said, “Kim Hye-ja, Na Moon-hee, Ko Hyun Jung, Go Doo-sim, Park Won-sook, Shin Gu, and Youn Yuh-jung all have different acting styles. Kim Hye-ja, Na Moon-hee, Ko Hyun Jung acts possessed in the characters. Youn Yuh-jung, Go Doo-sim, Park Won-sook, and Shin Gu perform so precisely as directed by the script.” He said, “Ko Hyun Jung has a lot of emotional scenes from the middle of the series. When filming such scenes, she comes completely immersed in the emotion even before the camera rolls. She gets into the character like no other. Kim Hye-ja has no hobbies or potential distractions, and she just goes back to her script again and again. Na Moon-hee is open to experiencing various situations and is willing to try something new. I’ve been in the industry for some time, but these three have been very special to me personally. We were worried about Shin Gu because of his age, but he made no mistakes on the scene and never hesitated using his body. The actors all have different styles in acting, but all of them are committed in bringing their absolute best in studying and performing the characters as intended even when they could kind of wing it due to their acting skills. I felt that they could maintain their top-class career for decades because they each try so meticulously to master their works.”
Even the cameo actors are extraordinary in ‘Dear My Friends.’ Big actors such as Zo In Sung, Lee Kwangsoo, Sung Dong-il, and Lee Hyun Sung appear to play cameos with their own presence. In particular, Zo In Sung plays Yeon-ha to uncover a love story with Wan (played by Ko Hyun Jung). One could say that his character was one of the main characters. Director Hong said, “His role wasn't a small part with a lot of emotional scenes. He must have been under a lot of pressure, and coming to the set couldn’t have been like taking a trip, but I’m thankful that he came and enjoyed shooting with us. Zo In Sung also had to fly abroad for a movie. His acting was superb despite the exhaustion, intense schedules, and difficulties of changing in and out of characters between the two projects. It was extraordinary.”
All of the superb acting by the actors came together in ‘Dear My Friends’ to create so many moving scenes. Seok-gyun (played by Shin Gu) made us feel paternal love when he bursts into his son-in-law’s office at a university after learning that his daughter has been the victim of domestic violence. The emotional fights between Wan and her mother Nan-hee(Go Doo-sim) moved so many daughters and mothers. When Hee-ja(Kim Hye-ja), who suffers dimentia, sobs in a forest, the viewers also cried with her. All these compelling acting came together to make the series more convincing with the realistic, documentary-like directing.
Director Hong said, “I can’t forget the first time I read Noh Hee-gyoung’s draft of our script. It felt like a musical score rather than a script. Each word was very much alive. So I kept on digging into how I could make her story come alive while avoiding the cliches. The scenes could turn out to look like a soap opera because we had so many actors of age. I wanted the series to feel like a story of real people. So I went for a documentary-like ambience. I wanted to show the story as it was written without forcing any emotions with directing techniques so that the viewers would feel as if the characters and the situations they are in are authentic.
silk781220@sportschosun.com
https://sports.chosun.com/news/ntype.htm?id=201609250100180360013049&servicedate=20160924