Unlike his strong and cold image from the soap opera ‘Seoul 1945’, his real image was warm and caring for his fellow actors and junior Chuna-Ang University (CAU) students. When Chung-Ang Herald (CAH) went to KBS Suwon studio for Hong Yo-seop (theater 83’) interview, he greeted us with a most welcoming jesters and showed us around the ‘Seoul 1945’ studio.
 Many people in their 20s know Hong Yosup’s face but do not know his name precisely. That means he is not the kind of actor whose celebrity goes up and down, it means his fame is steady, not too high, not too low, which make him an essential actor for Korea broadcasting. CAH interviewed him about his CAU days and his career.

*CAU Life

CAH: Why did you apply for CAU and why was being an actor your dream?
Hong: At first, I wanted to study production. At that time, there were few people who wanted to study acting and they had very few choices in university. Among those choices, CAU was the best for Department of Theater. That is why I became CAU student. However, during my CAU years, I was advised a lot from my seniors in production and my friends to consider acting, due to my attractive appearance. Even I am not so handsome right now, I was very handsome and popular in my CAU years. Therefore, I started acting as a part time job. Briefly, I started acting because people advised me to.

CAH: How was your life in CAU?
Hong: As I told you before, I was very popular. I have never been more popular in my life. I was the star in Dahakro. Even though I am not so popular right now, I really rocked at that time. What I regret the most is that I was never in love in my university life. That time I lived in was not so romantic. Society’s mood was far from having girlfriend, more like protests to politicians.

CAH: Have you ever received any university graduate warning?
Hong: Once. I had to receive one because it was given in groups. The warning was given by government in forms like, “Department of Theater, you must do this.” University did not want to give warning to their own students but that kind of action could jeopardize the school. Therefore, there was nothing else to do but to do what government says.
 

*Hobby
CAH: You love to travel. What is your favorite place?
Hong: I loved all the places that I traveled. If you insist that I pick one, I would say Nepal. There is not much to see but it is where you want to visit again.

CAH: Your golf ability is almost like pro level. Why do you like golf so much?
Hong: I am pro. I teach golf and enter torments. To do this you need strength and high ability in golf. I focused on golf training for four years. I think golf is perfect sports for me in both present and future. I keep entering torments to maintain my health mentally and physically, so I could keep my acting in my current style.

CAH: CAH heard that you are interested in many kinds of sports, what kind of sport do you enjoy playing?
Hong: I used to do scuba diving and taekwondo when I was young. I continued my scuba diving from late 20s to middle 40s. For those 20 years, I was famous for that field in Korea. As for Taekwondo, I ended it when I was in my early 20s.

CAH: You look very young compare to your age. What is your secret?
Hong: Though I like sports, I think the secret of being young is living simply and not being so greedy. For example, if another actor gains their popularity by doing the scenarios that I was going to do, I do not regret and feel sorry for myself. In other words, I do things whenever I want to do. For instance, if I want to walk around the streets with jeans on, I do that. I sacrifice my popularity if that gets in my way. I do not like to be inconvenient. That is why I try to maintain my celebrity level to current level, not to high, not too low. Some people even say that I am scary because I do whatever I want and still keep my popularity high enough.

*Career
CAH: What is your criterion in choosing scenario?
Hong: I choose scenarios as to where my heart goes. In other words, I must like the scenarios that I am working on. In addition, I never do two films at one time. This is because I do not want to be too popular. I want to be able to do whatever I want, whenever I want. I just want to live my life to be happy and fun.

CAH: What is your favorite scene in soap opera ‘Seoul 1945’? Do you feel sufficient about your acting?
Hong: At first, I watched the show but now I do not. No, every actor feels insufficient and are not easily satisfy by the way they act. The part that I try to stress in ‘Seoul 1945’ is the love between two brothers that is broken because of different ideology in establishing Korean government. The character that I am staring is anti Japanese protester while my character’s brother is an Earl in Japan. It is the conflict between them that I wanted to put emphasize on. It is so sad to see the tragedy between two brothers.

CAH: What is your plan after soap opera ‘Seoul 1945’?
Hong: I am not going to act for a while because I need some time for myself. I need time to relax. Maybe I am getting old. (Chuckle) I think I am going to practice more golf and try for tournaments. I am going to get some rest so I do not have special plans.

Hong Yosup is the person who has a free mind about living his life. The composure of his way of thinking and way of living his life is great. Hong Yosup lives his life not for the money but for his family and his own pursuits. The way of how he lives and how he thinks is something that all CAU students should think and consider.

*For Junior CAU students from Hong Yosup
I thought of my way of living a life was the general way that other people live their lives, but other people keep saying that my way is unique and free. Anyway, as I always say to my children you do whatever you want. However, you are not living on your own. You will have husband or wife, friends and many more people in the future. Therefore, you had better not do the things that will pressure them. Also, do not think of being rich. It would be too busy. I recommend that you each get a religion, whatever religion you feel like. My religion is Christianity. Religion helps give people what they need to do, what should they do, and what they should not do. I lived my life with fun. I hope my junior CAU students will live their life with fun too.