Fan report from Fanmeet
Oct 26. When there was stormy weather in Japan, it was a fine day in Seoul, Korea. CNBLUE Jung Yong Hwa met with fans for the KBS drama MHIYD. About 290 fans joined the event. The event was comprised of two parts: part 1 was location visit and greeting by Yonghwa, part 2 was talk show and fanmeeting.
The first part began with a tour of the MHIYD filming sets. They are located in a hilly area an hour and half car ride distance south of Seoul city. The sets were in three buildings and there was another building for resting of cast and crew. In the open area next to the buildings was placed a small stage with a big Yonghwa poster.
After visiting the filming sets inside the buildings, we waited for Yonghwa in front of the stage.
We thought it would be just a brief appearance, but an MC appeared. He's Kim Hyundai, who always hosts CNBLUE and FTI events. When Yonghwa came out from a white car that was parked not far away, the fans cheered loudly. Yonghwa came directly after filming. Maybe he was wearing the Park Seju clothes. He looked exactly the same as we see in the drama, wearing a loosely fit jacket and black jeans.
When asked "Tell us about the drama. Is the character this time difficult to play", Yonghwa jokingly replies, "I'm playing a third generation chaebol this time which is very similar to myself. I don't need to act at all." The fans said it loud, "Very suitable indeed."
"You usually have activities with 4-membered CNBLUE, now you're doing this yourself. Do you think it's more difficult?" "When there are four of us, each of us takes turns to talk. Now I can just talk when I'm asked. Actually the others don't have much sense of humor, so I'm the most popular."
Yonghwa was also asked if there are interesting things that happened during filming. He said, "The other day, the manager drove me to the filming set. We stopped at the gas station. There's this car that came after us. Because I remembered it's Lee Donggun's car, I waved to the car but got no response. Then I called LDG's name and waved more. The manager asked if it's somebody I knew. I told him it's LDG's car, but he said it's not. I was like "huh?" and what happened next was a scary looking guy coming out of the car. I told my manager that we should run." As he finished with this interesting story, the fans all laughed out loud and it's the end of the first part of the event. Yonghwa sat on the seat next to the driver. He rowed down the car window and waved to the fans as he headed to Seoul.
The second part that comprised the talk show and fan meeting was held in a hotel in Gangnam, Seoul.
Yonghwa has changed. It's a sweater of two colors, the upper part grey and the lower blue. Maybe a Park Seju outfit too? Yonghwa entered the venue from the back passing the central aisle among the participants. The MC was also Kim Hyundai of part 1.
MC: What's your method improving acting skills?
YH: In YAB and HS times, I worked hard to make myself become the character. But now I try to reveal the side of me that fits the character instead. So it's like the character is coming towards me.
MC: Didn't you say earlier that the third generation chaebol is inside you?
YH: (Shyly) Right, I don't even have to try hard. There's this (chaebol) feel already. I just "get into" the character so smoothly.
MC: What do you want to challenge yourself next?
YH: I want to (continue with) the band and variety shows, as well as a lot of other things.
MC: How about movies? Action movies?
YH: Isn't that unsuitable? (From the fans, "So want to see!") Then I should try. If I get an offer, I will make sure to try it out.
MC: What songs are you listening to lately?
YH: Oasis. I listen to their live DVDs in the car too. Talking about live, isn't the Tokyo Zepp DVD out? That band called CNBLUE is great. That person called Jung Yong Hwa seems very good too. I really want to see him myself. He's very charming! Hmm . . . though I can't impersonate him. (Everybody laughed so much at Yonghwa's joke.)
<Questions>
1. The good and bad of four people living together?
2. The favorite among self-composed songs?
3. The favorite dish made my your mother?
<Wishes>
1. Say "Mother, please stay healthy!" in Busan dialect.
2. I have to give a speech at this event in Korea that I will attend. Please cheer for me.
3. On my way to the airport for this event, I had a little accident and my car was scratched. Please encourage me.
"Questions" and "Wishes" were drawn from cards written by participants.
For the first question "The good and bad of four people living together?", Yonghwa first replied there's none. His answer was met with a roar of laughter. He quickly added, "Just kidding." "It's best that when I go home, there are others, especially when Jungshin is around. I can make fun of him or ask him to do things for me. On the other hand, the bad is I can't sleep too deeply. Though I have my own room, someone tends to come in."
For the next question about his favorite among self-composed songs, he replied, "Each and every song, I love them all. I think anyone who has made something will understand."
Then the question: The favorite dish made my your mother? Yonghwa explained, "It's a Korean homemade dish. Cut the bean curds into small pieces. Fry them on a hot pan and then add soy sauce." The audience responded to Yonghwa's answer with "Huh~~??", expressing discontent. Yonghwa was puzzled. The MC explained, "They think it's too simple." But Yonghwa became even more puzzled. "It's not simple at all. It isn't a common sauce. It's self-made sauce, with Mother's flavor." The MC explained more (to us). Somehow the answer ended up with Yukgaejang.
Anyway, the "Mother, please stay healthy, in Busan dialect" part brought out most excitement. Yonghwa asked, "I can of course say it, but do you know the difference between Seoul dialect and Busan dialect? It's the difference in tones." He explained giving examples of Busan intonation. Then he suddenly mentioned Osaka dialect of Japanese. He even spoke much Japanese in Osaka dialect, like "Really" and "Thank you". When he said "I really like (you)", there were screams and cries from the audience.
"Thanks to your coming to Seoul to support me, the drama MHIYD will become a hotter topic." Yonghwa ended the fanmeeting with the above conclusion. He then shook hands with us one by one. The photo session of 20 pariticipants in groups was the very end of the event. Lastly, Yonghwa left waving and said with a smile, "I have filming tomorrow too."
KBS drama MHIYD airs on every Monday and Tuesday in Korea. There are 16 episodes scheduled, ending in the first week of December.
English translated by klaritia based on Japanese to Chinese translations by 郑容和黑花吧 & 郑容和微吧
Japanese to Korean and Minimal English cross-checking by heich
