Have you ever seen the drama “Boys over Flowers” in Japanese? It was a very popular drama in Korea. Every boy in that drama is too good to be true. All of them are a girl’s ‘Mr. Right’. They are handsome, of course, rich, kind, good at sports and musical instrument, and so on. It was remade in Taiwan, CTS. So many Korean girls looked forward to the remake of “Boys over Flowers” in Korea. At last, a girl’s dream came true. It will be on the air this December. Therefore, the Chung-Ang Herald met one of the heroes of ‘Boys over Flowers’, “Kim-bum.” He is in the department of Cinema.

CAH: I heard you are the leading actor in “Boys over Flowers,” How about the progress? When can we see you on TV?
Kim-Bum: The leading actors are fixed, but it is only a step in the adaptation process. Tomorrow, we will pose for posters. Soon, we will go on location abroad. As you know heroes, F4, are rich people. Therefore, to act as if we are part of the wealthy class, we have to learn horseback riding, tennis, golf, and ice hickey. The character, which I play, is a potter. Therefore, I take lessons in ceramic art. The drama will be on the air in December. The original of this drama was so popular. Therefore, we have a burden to live up to that popularity. However, we are doing our best to come up to the TV audiences’ expectations. We maintain the original impression and together we will add an image of Korea. So please, look for our drama.

CAH: The character you play is a ladies’ man, so called playboy in the original work. How is it characterized in your drama? In addition, are he and you alike?
Kim-Bum: As expected, the character of our drama has the same image as the original. However, he is not just a playboy. He behaves like a gentleman, and does his best for his ladies. I think I am not a playboy like him. However, he is cheerful, when dealing with people. That point is similar to me.  

He said he happened to notice his passion for acting. Right before he entered high school, he attended a film festival. He sat on the second floor and looked at the first floor where many actors were seated. The sight of actors celebrating the success of each other fascinated him. He hoped to be seated in that place someday. Therefore, he started to act.
During the interview, I felt envy, because like most ordinary students, I have not found my own special ability. However, he found his special ability so early. He already knows his talent, and is making his dreams come true. However, there is a saying that a humdrum is the happiest person. Life as an actor is not that common. Therefore, I asked him “Have you ever wanted to be a common student?” He said that he lost many opportunities to learn things while he was doing his extracurricular activities, acting. However, he had no regrets until now. Because he had to learn so many things after he started to act. However, he said if he ever got a second chance to select his life again, he would want to be an actor of course.
In addition, he said that it is not that hard to find work, but sleeping or resting or no time to play as other students do is an issue. The most painful thing is that people do not recognize an actor’s effort. Therefore, I thought that we, as a viewer, should encourage actors about their effort and not criticize them blindly. These days’ actors are annoyed by what is called “Ak-peul.” We should not blame them without reason. They do their best to give pleasure to you.

CAH: What is drama to you?
Kim-bum: To me, drama is a step of studying. I have experienced a sitcom and a period adventure drama and so on. However, I am a student still so all things are fresh as if I go to a new place every day.

CAH: As an actor, what is your own secret method in acting?
Kim-bum: I am studying. Therefore, I do not have my own way yet. Nevertheless, I just persevere in my efforts to live like my cast. Even though I live my own way, I think continuously, what if my cast is faced with a situation how would he act and feel. When I memorize my line, I write or speak loudly.
 
CAH: TV viewers cannot know the atmosphere of a set. Can you describe it?
Kim-bum: There are cameras, which shoot a soap opera. In addition, there are actors, a director who produces the drama, and people, who design and take care of the lights, and people who control the sound, and people who service clothes and trifling articles. They work so hard without rest.

CAH: What is your objective as an actor?
Kim-bum: I do not want a life like a movie. I want a movie itself as a life.
I respect the actor Jo In-seong because his acting grows everyday. He debuted early like me. At first, TV audiences are charmed by his first impression. And as time wentby people fall in love with his development. He gets his own attractiveness through the effort to make progress. Like him, I want to show my growth process to audiences.

CAH: What subject do you want to study except your major?
Kim-bum: I majored in acting. In addition, I want to learn more about production someday.

CAH: Say something to Chung-Ang University students.
Kim-bum: Thanks for your interest. I want to go to school more often but because of my work, I cannot attend school frequently. I am so sad about that. When I do my work outside of university, I think about my campus life. I am so proud of being a Chung-Ang University student. Therefore, you should be proud of the reality that you are Chung-Ang University students.