Jang Dong-kun to Give Exclusive Interview on Japanese TV

Update : Mar 13, 2006 KST 13:38

Korea’s leading actor Jang Dong-kun will appear on a Japanese TV program on TV Ashahi with the working title of "Jang Dong-kun talks about the tragic division of the Korean Peninsula with Etsuko Komiya."

The Japanese daily Sankei Sports reported in its online edition on Monday that Jang, one of the Korean actors leading the Korean Wave, will give an exclusive interview to Etsuko, a popular news caster, on the program to be broadcast on March 18 at 10:20 a.m.

The daily said that Jang vividly portrayed the tragedy resulting from the division of the Korean Peninsula by playing a North Korean defector in his recent film "Typhoon" who witnesses his parents being murdered and becomes separated from his sister. It cited Jang as saying that his grandparents came from North Korea and escaped to South Korea during the Korean War, so he could personally feel the tragedy of national division while growing up.

The paper praised Jang for his professionalism, saying, "Jang actually met with North Korean defectors before shooting the film and lost weight by 10 kg to make his role more true to life." Jang himself realized that he should not just pretend to be someone else and deliver lines, but truly put his heart and soul into his acting after seeing the defectors he met cry when he told them what the movie was about, it added.

According to Jang, the movie "Typhoon" is heavy in terms of themes, but is packed with action so that Japanese people can also enjoy it. It is a blockbuster with production costs of some 18 billion won (2.2 billion yen), which is the highest among Korean movies ever made, the paper said.

The paper also cited Etsuko as saying, "I was impressed that Jang was so sincere when choosing his words to answer questions. I also got the impression that he has good manners." An interview with the movie’s director Kwak Kyung-taek will be shown as well, she said. 
 
http://english.kbs.co.kr/mcontents/entertainment/1386514_11692.html