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ohmful · 8 months

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taehoon hc + his mother

okay so like, within the viral hit story as well as the c r u m b s we get from ptjs other work. we don’t know much about taehoon’s childhood aside from that one special episode which include “every little things about taehun”.

and the moment I laid my eyes on these very words..

so imagine this; (if hypothetically his mother was more present in his life or at least we, as readers get more insight on her)

little taehun practicing volleyball with his mum, wouldn’t that be cute? and and omg omg since he’s a sucker for taekwondo he probably uses his feet and legs a lot. A LOT. which sometimes ends very poorly because it would probably not go over the net or make the ball accelerate to the unknown

little taehun learning how to properly receive using his hands rather than his feet (it’s totally legal to do that in volleyball which is why Taehun would use it as a reason to throw kicks)

just imagine hansu and sohyeon having small debates on what taehun should do that day or practice with who and why

“taekwondo is an art in which Taehun should indefinitely practice”

“but volleyball helps so much with body work, flexibility and etc”

in the end taehun is bias so taekwondo he choose LOL

i honestly headcanon taehun to be very knowledge able or at least know more than the average person on volleyball because of his mother, probably tune in or watches volleyball matches for funsies

“ no that’s not how u receive” > probably directed at someone in his class > he gets too marks in pe

“nahh what was that fucking set bro”

“cmon that ball was tight, try setting a bit higher”

he probably got hit in the head multiple times if he were ever to be near his mother when she trains her spikes.

since it was stated that sohyeon gave taehun most of her height or where he got it from. i assume she would either play outside or be a middle blocker since those position are great for those with heights

she could’ve been taller than hansu tbh…

probably accidentally spiked a really hard ball toward taehun by accident LMAO

little taehun would probably be really salty if he ever gets an injury from volleyball

just imagine the little guy pouting and throwing hissy fits because he jarred his fingers while trying to practice with mom

(inaudible crying in background as taehun dramatically falls to the ground even though his pinky is jarred)

sohyeon is probably a sweetheart and let him skip a week of school cause of it

I have a feeling he wears his taekwondo uniform if he ever does take on volleyball, sohyeon would look at him with a questionable gaze but let it slide because at least he’s doing volleyball !!

sohyeon has her uniform back in her days in the national team hung in the house

I feel like if taehuns mom did acquire fame, I reckon his time during early grade school/elementary were filled with “omg you look like…that one volleyball player!!”

and then they would either try to spell the name or ask the teacher to show Taehoon a photo

if he were a volleyball player instead, taehoon would play a great outside just like his mother

and even a middle blocker cuz of how intimidating he can be

his fangirls would go wild if he effortlessly block a quick or just spike through a block

anyways, that’s it for my first tumblr post!!

#how to fight #seong taehoon #taehun #volleyball #viral hit #webtoon #manhwa #headcanon #childhood #how to fight taehoon #taehun seong #sohyeon lee #hansu seong

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halos-haven · 1 year

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Sohyeon Lee

#Sohyeon Lee #android #gynoid

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nxsilhouette · 1 year

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I wanna sing a song that'd be just ours But I sang 'em all to another heart And I wanna cry, I wanna fall in love But all my tears have been used up

#&&; Sinner: Sohyeon

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kitkatsudon · 4 months

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KitKat reads the TKEM Novel: Introduction & Prologue & Chapter 1

Hello all! Those that have seen my account over the past couple of days will know that I have recently come into possession of copies of both volumes of the TKEM novel. I always had the vague idea in my mind that these would contain information that we don’t see in the show, characters’ inner monologues and such like, so as someone seemingly on a quest to find out everything there is to know about this show (how did it end up like this? I’m not going to dwell on that before I start regretting all my life choices), I have taken it upon myself to read these books and share this knowledge with the rest of what’s left of this fandom.

These books, of course, are in Korean, which is a language I do not speak and don’t have any intention of learning in the near future. I definitely couldn’t learn Korean in a quick enough time frame to be able to read these books in a satisfyingly short amount of time, so instead I’m utilising the power of the internet and using two online translation services, and then sort of combining the two with my preexisting knowledge of the show to create a usable translation that feels mostly right. So here’s my disclaimer: some of this stuff could very easily be mistranslated, because I’m embarking on this journey with just the powers of the internet, homosexual audacity, and autism to help me along.

So! Here’s how this is going to work. For every chapter of the book I manage to translate, I’m going to make a new post where I summarise the events of the chapter, share my thoughts on it, and then share any specific new details that we’ve learnt. All of them will be tagged with ‘kitkat reads the tkem novel’ so if you want any of the information in this series for whatever reason, hopefully these posts will be easy to find. In this post I’ll cover the prologue and chapter 1 because the prologue is barely anything at all, but from here on out it’ll be one chapter per post… whenever I finish the next chapter.

Ok then. Shall we begin?

Prologue

The novel starts with a bit of preamble about the show’s lore, not much that anyone who had already seen the show wouldn’t know, but I suppose it makes sense to open like this if they were trying to appeal to people who hadn’t already seen the show? It’s an interesting choice, though, because some of this stuff is information we don’t find out until a little later in the show, for example how the two worlds split thanks to the life/death of Crown Prince Sohyeon. However, without the visual nature of the show to keep it appealing, having a little bit of backstory about the Kingdom of Corea would be nice to have so new readers aren’t totally confused about the setting of the novel when it begins.

The only semi-new thing we really learn from the prologue is that the palace (which I will call Haeungung Palace from here on out as part of my personal mission to spread this information) is located specifically on Dongbaekseom island in Busan. This is something I had pretty much figured out already by being a big nerd and looking at screenshots of the show and comparing those to maps of Busan, but it’s nice to have this for real confirmed by a canon source. Another thing to maybe mention is that the flower symbol of the royal Jeonju Lee family is a plum blossom, but this is also something that you could probably work out beforehand.

In conclusion, this is a good introduction… but a little useless to established fans of the show, who I think would make up most of the demographic of this book. Still, it’s best for them to cover their bases.

Chapter 1: Find the clock rabbit

The first thing to mention here is that “clock rabbit” refers to the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, which the English subs on Netflix call “the white rabbit with the clock” but I’m going to say “clock rabbit” because that seems to be the direct translation, and it makes all Yeong’s lines about “Is it a rabbit or a clock?” make a lot more sense in my mind. This chapter covers four scenes from episode 1 of the show: the scene where Gon is being dressed by his new attendant Park Gyubong and he catches the talismans that Lady Noh put in his room, the scene where Gon and Koo Seoryeong have their meeting after Gon goes riding, pretty much all of the rowing scene sequence from the race to Gon going to chase after the “clock rabbit,” and then Gon very briefly in his study alone, looking at his Alice in Wonderland book.

What stood out to me the most while reading, getting over the fact that they’ve changed the order of the scenes from the show (Cheonjongo in 1994 is happening next chapter), is how much extra dialogue they’ve cut out. Again… I guess it makes sense, if they’re trying to condense a sixteen episode drama into two volumes of a book then of course they’re going to want to get straight to the point, but this is disappointing for me personally because a lot of what they cut out are the fun, familiar conversations that Gon had with Yeong throughout episode 1. For example, Gon and Yeong never have their conversation after Gon finishes his ride where Yeong reveals that there are more talismans than Gon thought, and they also cut out the conversation between Gon and Yeong in his study after the race day, which means we don’t get “are you having fun, Captain Jo?” and we don’t get their following conversation about Gon wanting to find his saviour, and Yeong assuring him that he’s grown up well and he doesn’t need anyone to save him anymore. Which is… fine. It’s fine, but it’s still disappointing. Even without coming at this from a Gonjo angle, their friendship is still very important to me, and it’s disheartening to find out that where the show abandoned it very quickly, the book doesn’t seem to be developing it at all. That’s not to say that there aren’t moments, but it’s not as much as I would have liked.

The other big thing that stood out to me is… well… how do I put this? The book really wants you to know that Gon is perfect and amazing and handsome and the best man in all of Corea and no one else could ever compare and he’s just so incredible and wonderful and everybody loves him so much and every woman is in love with him because he’s just that good. Which is hilarious to me, as a loser (affectionate) Gon truther, because this man exists in my head as an adorable mess of mathematical equations, overthinking, and pretending to be fine, and it’s just… no matter how many times they tell me how perfect and shiny he is, I’m just not going to believe it. Let me give you an excerpt, so you can see the tone of this and know what I’m talking about.

Gon’s body, which he trained to protect himself against any danger, was perfect because his safety was the security of the kingdom. Gyubong was impressed anew by a glimpse of his hard and wide shoulders.

Gyubong glanced at the pride of the Kingdom of Corea before he could meet his indifferent eyes. His sharp nose, smooth lips, and sharp jawline stood out under his straight eyebrows. The third king of the Kingdom of Corea boasted an appearance that deserved the love of the kingdom’s people.

Like— it’s so unserious! They’re really trying so hard to ram it down your throat how utterly perfect Lee Gon is - and in this scene it reads like Gon’s eyebrows may be straight but Park Gyubong sure isn’t. They also mention Gon’s “long legs” when he’s running after his clock rabbit and… wow, does this answer that age old question? Is this what Yeong knows that Gon uses his long legs for - running away and giving Yeong a headache?

So, after all this, what have we learnt so far?

Park Gyubong is either very confident in his heterosexuality or he has a huge crush on King Lee Gon

“The royal courtiers often found the principled Captain of the Guard more difficult than the easy-going king” which… hurts me, a little, to imagine the palace staff bitching about Yeong behind his back. Does it make sense? …yes, to be fair yes, yes it does, it makes a lot of sense for Yeong to rule Haeungung palace with an iron fist as he tries desperately to take care of Gon’s safety, so I just hope that none of the other members of staff are being too mean about our beloved Yeongie :(

Yeong’s naval rank is confirmed to be a Soryeong/Lieutenant Commander! If you’ve seen my post about military ranks in TKEM then you’ll see that this is something that you can see in the show by looking at his epaulettes, but it’s nice to have it confirmed in writing here

Yeong was described as being “born and bred to serve the king.” This is something we knew already, but having it said explicitly here… it’s doing something to me, so it’s getting its own point.

Yeong specifically says to Park Gyubong that “His Majesty doesn’t like other people’s hands touching his body.” It’s not just any touch, he specifically mentions hands. Fanfic nation, do with this information what you will.

Mentioning the moment where little Yeong joined little Gon in crying after Lee Ho’s funeral is something that hurts Yeong’s pride. We can only assume that Gon knows this because he has brought it up in the past and Yeong has got very flustered about it.

On that topic, Gon thinks about that moment after his dad’s funeral after Yeong is like !!!!! when Park Gyubong mentions covering Gon’s scar.

Lady Noh has been noticeably anxious about finding Gon a partner ever since he turned thirty (Korean age). Gon isn’t sure if it was before that, but thirty is the age that he mentions. The Korean word for partner used is 짝, which Wordreference tells me means “pair, mate, buddy.” Interestingly, not necessarily wife, very gender neutral. This is in Gon’s internal monologue so again, fanfic nation, this one’s for you.

It’s also said that Lady Noh is more like a mother to Gon than his own mother was, which again is something we already knew but it’s very nice to have it written.

It’s crossed Lady Noh’s mind that Gon might have a secret mistress and that’s why he has never been interested in getting married, but she figured that this was illogical because Gon is always being watched while he’s in the palace. Thank you for your hard work, Jo Yeong!

The issue of marriage is apparently the only duty of Gon’s that he ever abandons, which… idk, there’s something there.

Gon feels like he’s free of all his worries when he goes riding, especially with Maximus, so riding is basically like Gon’s therapy :D

Maximus is his “favourite horse” which is something else that’s just nice to have in writing

It is mentioned several times in this chapter that Gon “is the favourite of every woman in the kingdom.” It’s giving… heteronormative, but that doesn’t surprise me. However, Koo Seoryeong doesn’t count herself as being one of these women because she can see up close how Gon is putting on as much of an act as she is.

Koo Seoryeong’s ex-husband was not only from a chaebol family but also a conglomerate leader. This is interesting to me because it’s mentioned in the show that he’s the second son so… what happened to the first son? Is he the leader of his own separate corporation? Was he just not as good as his younger brother?

Gon finds the way Koo Seoryeong is clear about expressing her desires uncomfortable because, as the king, he’s never been able to have his own desires or express his own desires freely

“Yeong’s nerves were on edge” while Gon was rowing in the competition, because it was an outdoor event. He finds these things stressful because Gon already came close to death once, and you never know if it’ll happen again

As soon as he hears a gunshot, Gon is immediately transported back to the night of the treason. Even if he doesn’t show it outwardly, it’s crossing his mind at the slightest trigger.

That time at the rowing competition is the first time that Gon has run away during an outdoor event. He runs away often and he knows he causes trouble for the Royal Guard, but this is the first time he’s done it at an event like that.

Gon can recognise Yeong just by his footsteps

Gon leaves his duties in the palace once or twice a year - either because he wants some personal time, or he’s in desperate need of it because he feels too overwhelmed by his regular life. I already assumed it was because of that, but to have it confirmed… fanfic nation, this is for you again

Gon was still thinking about the night of the treason when he got his Alice in Wonderland book out at the end of episode 1, and he could still vividly feel the sticky blood on the soles of his feet, and the feeling of something constricting around his neck. He felt like it could still happen again at any moment. Clearly, Lee Gon needs some better therapy than just going riding with Maximus.

Final thoughts: I’m very much enjoying seeing into the characters’ minds like this, especially Gon, since we’ve had a lot of him this chapter. I like how the book is able to show how often Gon is thinking about the night of the treason, making it and therefore his PTSD a much more present thing than in the show. It remains to be seen whether the currently hilarious Gon-worshipping is going to become annoying after a while, or whether or not seeing the characters’ inner thoughts is going to start annoying me when the main romance plot gets going. If it’s in the same tone as the Gon-worshipping… yeesh. That’ll be an experience.

My main thought so far? Not enough Yeong. There’s not as much Yeong as there was in the show, and there isn’t even much Yeong there. This book could be greatly improved with more Yeong. I suppose we’ll have to stick to fanfiction for that.

#kitkat reads the tkem novel #tkem #the king: eternal monarch #I can’t help but think… if Gon is always being watched by Yeong #and Lady Noh figures that Gon can’t have a secret mistress because people would have noticed #the only person that Gon can be alone with without Yeong being too overprotective is… Yeong himself #idk guys that’s just a silly little thought haha #these posts are of course for everyone in the fandom and not just the gonjo side of it #but I know that most of my audience also suffers from gonjo brainrot soooo…

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anditendshowyoudexpect · 5 months

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doing my post-Blue Dragon search, and it turns out My Dearest wasn't Ahn Eun Jin's first foray into King Injo/Crown Prince Sohyeon era (not that it's much of a shocker probably, i just hardly ever watch Korean feature films and i find it interesting that both these things are very recent). only in The Night Owl she plays that notorious concubine of Injo, Jo Soyong, played in MD by So Yoo Jin

well well well how the turntables...

and hey Choi Moo Sung is here too :D well he's always somewhere around. you go to Ssangmundong, he's there sweeping the backalley, you go to Joseon, he's definitely there teaching young women how to use a rifle or being a gangster or a slave or a doctor. he's your man, Choi Moo Sung.

#my dearest #the night owl #ahn eun jin

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born-to-eng-sub · 1 year

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2022.11.18 Seo Eunkwang Theatre+ Interview English Translation

Original Korean article here. Interviewer's questions in bold.

Please credit Born To Eng Sub if you post excerpts anywhere.

[COVER STORY] Never Ending Story: Actor Seo Eunkwang

As the leader of an idol group, as a vocalist who gets recognition, as a 10-year musical actor, Seo Eunkwang never treats any dream recklessly and shines today.

editor: Son Jeongeun; photographer: Kim Taewoo; stylist: Park Hyejeong, Jeon Sohyeon; Hair: Taehyeon (Mijangwon by Taehyeon); makeup: Hana (Mijangwon by Taehyeon)

In the defining number 'A Musical' from musical "Something Rotten," famous musical numbers are wittily melded together. You may wonder why we're bringing up a past work, but the start of this story was 2 years ago. Back then, in a video interview with Theatre Plus, we asked if there was a musical parodied in that number that Seo Eunkwang would want to participate in, and without hesitation he answered "Jesus Christ Superstar." "It would be so great if I could do that musical with Michael (Lee)," he said and in two years that has become reality.

The musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" was created fifty years ago by the musical world's virtuoso composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice. It interprets the story of the seven days before the death of Jesus from an unconventional perspective, and became a topic as it stood at the center of several controversies. It was a work so ahead of its time that even now, a long time later, you can still feel how unconventional it is. One wonders what kind of message it will throw to the audiences of 2022. We asked Seo Eunkwang, playing the role of Judas, to tell us about this work which is being performed again in Korea after 7 years.

You mentioned that your dream work was "Jesus Christ Superstar" in a number of interviews. How does it feel to have that dream come true?

Like I've said, this is one of the works I wanted to try doing the most, so it makes me want to do a really good job. While I've been doing musicals, I think this is the first one that's made me feel this much pressure. And the thing that adds even more pressure is that this is the 50th anniversary performance. It's even the first time it's been performed (in Korea) in 7 years. Since I know that so many people have so much interest, I'm working very hard to prepare. It's such an honor to be able to participate. I'm very happy.

You mentioned that your dream role was Jesus, but this time you ended up with the role of Judas.

I wondered what kind of feeling it would be to stand onstage as Jesus, and that kind of expectation led me to say I wanted to play Jesus. I'm still not good enough for that role, so I think I'll have to build up more years of experience first. And Judas is very impressive and has a lot of charm, so I'm really into him. The Judas numbers are very intense, so on one hand it's very difficult.

Like you said, this work has a reputation for having very difficult musical numbers. You're famous yourself for being good at singing, but it must feel very different to be engaged in this work.

Since the Judas numbers "Heaven on their Minds" and "Superstar" are so famous, a lot of people probably know them, but as I've actually been starting work on the show, there are also a lot of other difficult songs. I was shocked the first time I started practicing. The number "Judas' Death" which he sings just before dying is incredible. And besides that all the other songs are hard, too. Three or four songs are in the range of the top of the second octave, even playing into the third octave, which is just ridiculous for a male role. It makes me wonder what the composer was thinking when he composed them.

And also all the different Judas actors have interpreted the songs in their own different ways.

That's why practice was so hard. The work itself is very free. The melody line is set, but everyone has sung it with their own style. So after absorbing the sheet music, changing it to fit my own style was really extremely hard. It was my first time doing such a free work, so it was very new for me.

Recently on a livestream you showed yourself practicing "Heaven on their Minds." It was like getting a taste of Seo Eunkwang's Judas.

Now I'd like to delete the video. At the time, after practicing a few songs including Western ones, I started livestreaming because I wanted to show that, but I really regret showing this song in advance. Since I was just practicing, there were a lot of parts that were lacking. It's a relief that the fans like it, but next time I'll have to be more thorough.

Even though it was practice, that in itself makes you feel like it was lacking, I guess.

When singing, I want to show a perfect side of myself. Compared to the past, I've let go a lot. When I was young, I felt that way strongly, but lately I've thought that I wanted to show my growth through even the imperfect side of myself. That's why I showed myself practicing, but afterwards as time has gone on I've felt regretful about it. "I could have done it better," I think.

There are a lot of videos where your fellow BTOB member and musical theater actor Lee Changsub sings the number "Gethsemane." It makes me wonder if the two of you might do this work together someday.

We tend to sing for fun, and we both really like that song. If someday Changsub could play Judas and I could play Jesus and we could stand on stage together, that would be a dream come true. Wow, just imagining it is amazing.

Judas is a person who's remembered as a betrayer. But in this work, he's drawn as a revolutionary, which became a hot topic.

I also only knew Judas as a betrayer. But while preparing for this work, the other day I asked my mom while we were eating. My mom is an elder and is very devout. I asked, "What do you think about Judas?" and what she told me is very similar to how I'm interpreting Judas now. Most people think of him as a betrayer, but how much must he have worried and thought over his decision up until he sold Jesus out, and what kinds of thoughts must he have had when he heard Jesus predict that he would betray him. She told me that must not have been an easy decision, and that put part of my mind at ease. I thought that I could express Judas as much as I wanted and the people watching would fully accept that. I had a lot of worries, but thanks to that I became a bit freer.

What kinds of things were you worrying about?

The hardest part was that the character of Judas isn't explained very well. In the Bible, he's mostly portrayed as a traitor, so most of the audience will come in with only that background for him. You can't help but come in with those biases. But within this work, rather than being a betrayer, he loves Jesus so much and reveals his own beliefs so strongly, and those beliefs are so clear. So my homework was to portray that well. Also my own image tends to be strongly of someone very bright and happy, on top of my build being on the small side, so I worried about how best to capture the character in order to explain him well.

In the role of Jesus, actors Michael Lee and Im Taegyeong have returned. What is the difference between the two Jesuses?

We're still in the practice stage, but I feel like Michael Lee sunbaenim's Jesus feels more like a friend. He mentioned that this season he wanted to show a more human side. So when we practice, I feel those parts and there's a closeness to it. I think Im Taegyeong sunbaenim's Jesus feels a little more divine. Rather than a friend, he feels like a teacher or a father.

It's been 50 years since this work was shown to the world for the first time. Yet the modifier of "unconventional" always seems to follow it even now.

Actually, I had never seen this musical before, myself. It's being performed in Korea for the first time in 7 years, and there aren't a lot of videos. I had only heard of it indirectly, and the reviews of audiences who saw it in the past were quite cutting. People say it's very serious and can be very polarizing, and due to the fact that it's all sung-through people could get bored, and as a rock musical the songs can be unfamiliar. I was also very nervous when practices started, but everything was a lot more fun than I expected.

In particular, I think there are a lot of reviews that say it can be polarizing.

I saw a lot of those reviews, too. But when it actually came down to doing it, it was very fun. Is that because I'm on the "liking it" side of the polarizing divide? (laughs)

Then please appeal to the audiences and tell them why you ended up liking it.

First of all, the development is very clear so the storyline progresses well on its own. The musical numbers are very convincing, as well. Seeing Jesus' more human side is very fresh and shocking, so it's not boring and has a lot of new charm to it. At first when people I knew told me they were going to see this musical, I, too, responded by saying "It's so polarizing, and it can be unfamiliar because it's sung-through." But now I say "Guys, this is so fun! You can expect good things from it," to people. It's a work that's snappy and full of charm.

Have you ever felt, like your character, that you are being led by a fate you can't refuse?

With my personality, I tend to accept things rather than try to refuse them. Even when I'm exhausted, I tend to think that if I can just get through this time then things will get better later. So I don't think I've had very many times when I feel like things are so hard that I break down. I live happily and enjoyably. I like living.

Just because you say you're happy, I'm sure you've still had hard times. How do you get through those times?

Of course I have hard times, too. When that happens, I try to work things out in a good direction, and I think that someday things will get better.

You must have what they call a good mentality about things.

I do think that I do. I've never doubted it.

This year BTOB reached their 10th anniversary. And you're also in your tenth year of doing musicals.

My debut in the group and my debut in musicals were just about a year apart. I've been doing musicals since I was 23, and back then there were a lot of things that were hard. Because I was young and an idol, I got a lot of various attention, and because of that I felt a lot of pressure to do a better job. Now I'm finally in the hyung line! [Someone with relatively more experience who is relatively older.] As I've been consistently working, now there are more people junior to me, so I'm a lot more comfortable now. I've always been the style to be less reserved with people younger than me. And now that I can work again with actors and staff I've already worked with, the practice room has also become more comfortable and I feel like I can try doing more new things.

When you look back, what is the most memorable period for you?

The thing that comes to mind the most is the practice room for my first musical, "Monte Cristo." I remember being so nervous I was shaking like a leaf. Back then I played Albert and Im Taegyeong sunbaenim played the Monte Cristo role with me, so I was so happy to see him again this time. It had been a long time, but I was so thankful that he greeted me so happily.

You've been consistently appearing on the musical stage. What kinds of charms do musicals have that they keep leading you to the stage?

I think the best thing is that through a musical work, you can live as various different people. I don't think I could really perceive it clearly until now, but this time thanks to this work I could strongly feel it. I thought "Wow, the works I've done up until now were really amazing." The thing that played the greatest part in leading me to realize that was Director Hong Seunghui, who is directing this time. The director always tells me to do things the way I want to, and asks me how I feel about each scene. The director tells me to follow my emotions and move the way I feel. I think I was able to immerse myself more in the role when I practiced because I was able to fully become Judas. So with this musical, I think I felt the good points of musicals even more.

So when you approach your character, what point do you start from?

Of course with each character you have to show a different side of yourself, but at first I work hard to find things that go well with me. When I look at myself, the nice way of saying it is that I have a strong identity, and the not-so-nice way of saying it is that I am a person who sticks out a lot. Because Seo Eunkwang is that kind of person, I think that if I only try to match things generally without melding more thoroughly, then I can't blend with the character well. So I try to find and bring out the most Seo Eunkwang-like parts of myself.

So then of the characters you've played so far, who was the most Seo Eunkwang-like one?

The character who fit me best was Nick Bottom from "Something Rotten." I barely had to add anything. I didn't need to immerse myself, he was just me so it was very easy. However, the tap dancing and other dancing, as well as the large amount of lines I had to memorize did make things harder, but when I think of the character it was so much fun. I think it might have been the only work I've done that was that comfortable for me.

With this work, you've achieved a dream of yours. What's your next goal?

I want to try something really shocking. Like Lola in "Kinky Boots."

You always have precise goals. And it seems like your goals are designed to challenge yourself.

I think you should always make goals for yourself. You need to have goals in order to prepare thoroughly and make progress. It's not just for musicals, I can only grow as a vocalist and singer when I make goals for myself, as well. And I always like a challenge. That's more fun, and I think I'm more proud of the result, as well.

Is that the reason that you appear on so many singing competition shows, too?

I went on a lot of them for that reason, but to tell the truth because of that I've been considering things a lot. I feel like I've been showing myself too much lately, and now maybe it's time to take a break for a bit. I asked my vocal teacher about these worries, but my teacher said "Eunkwang, you need to do these in order to grow." A person like me has to make goals and run towards them, as my teacher also knows. In order to even reach the general ballpark, I have to set clear goals and move towards them.

You're the kind of person who whips yourself into shape, I guess.

That's right, that's how I live. That can be my driving force. When I hear compliments, it feels nice, but it doesn't really help me to improve. So I also seek out negative comments. It lets me know what I need to work on. If it's not a helpful comment, I do pass it by, but for some negative comments I feel like if I can take them in, then I can make it so that I won't hear those comments anymore. I try to use them in a positive direction. When I do musicals, I look for a lot of audience reviews. I really look at everything. Be careful, everyone. (laughs)

You'll reach your 10th year anniversary of being a musical actor next year. What kind of musical actor do you want to be remembered as to audiences?

I want to be a truthful actor. An actor whose sincerity can be felt on every stage. And I want to continue to show my growth in the future. Of course I will continue to work hard and do my best. Since I'll continue to stand on stage and pour my heart into it, please continue to support me. And I'd like it if a lot of people could get good energy from me. As someone who is living through this time, I want to show that I'm living my life to the fullest. Let's all live the best we can.

#btob #seo eunkwang #eunkwang #kpop #musicals #jesus christ superstar #theatre plus #whew this ended up being pretty long but at least it's finished #please forgive any mistakes #gotta say it's a lot more comfortable translating longer texts on tumblr tho #if I do any more article translations they'll show up here #magazine article #article #born to eng sub #borntoengsub #korean magazine article translation #translation

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