THE MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES
Perhaps before long the days Ok
Taecyeon has been called the beastly idol will become a history. Because he has
so much more to show.
——-
Vogue Girl: The
reactions to the movie Marriage Blue are good. Congratulations. But
aren’t you still too young to get married? Wasn’t it hard to digest a role of a
man who was about to get married?
Taecyeon: I’m
turning 26 next year. When I was little, I’ve always thought that I would get
married by the time I was 26. Because my father got married at that age.
So I was always confident that 26 was a perfect age for marriage.
Vogue Girl: That’s
right, because our parents’ generation basically got married at that age.
Taecyeon: However,
now that I’m approaching that limit, I get to think that my parents got married
at a very young age.
Vogue Girl: What
did it feel like when you first received a love call from Director Hong
Jiyoung?
Taecyeon: First
of, I really liked the synopsis. I’ve kept on smiling for 2 hours while reading
it. However, since it was a role of a man who was about to get married (even
though the character was the same age as me), I thought that perhaps it was
something that one should act if one had a little bit more of experience. It
was a little bit hard, because it was a role that was supposed to express
detailed emotions of a character that goes through various emotional changes
right before the marriage with his lover of a few years.
Vogue Girl: What
did you do when it was hard to understand the role?
Taecyeon: I talked
a lot with Director Hong Jiyoung. Even if you understand the general contents
of the movie from the acting perspective, there are scenes that you just can’t
grasp. “Why would Wonchul say something like that? I would never do that” –
before shooting a scene that would make me think like that, I would voice out
my opinion about the script in advance. So while consulting, the Director
modified a lot of things. Sometimes she even asked: “What would you say in that
kind of situation, if that were you?”
Vogue Girl: Just
like with “Marriage Blue”, you seem to have gone ahead with the indirect
marriage experience while shooting for We Got Married. Consequently,
after such things it seems that one would either really want to get married, or
get scared of it altogether…
Taecyeon: I didn’t
get scared of it. I just began taking marriage and what it means even more
seriously than before. For example, usually they think that marriage is
something “beautiful”, but when you shoot “Marriage Blue”, participate in We
Got Married, even if it’s an indirect experience, marriage comes with a
very realistic daily life. Usually, people my age would think that one would
marry when one is in love. However, I realized that it’s definitely not the
point, and marriage is a very down-to-earth thing. That’s why there are a lot
of problems that surface, and all of them cannot be solved by love alone.
That’s why the divorce rate is so high these days.
Vogue Girl: After
having gone through those two projects, you seem to have naturally acquired a
rather deep perception of marriage (laughs).
Taecyeon: Yes, it
appears to be so. It was like that during We Got Married as well, but
I think Marriage Blue was the project that changed my point of view
towards marriage a lot.
Vogue Girl:
Wonchul from the movie is very different from the other roles you’ve had
before. I was really surprised how different he was from your usual image – he
was so sweet, noble and pure.
Taecyeon: Since we
have to display an intense image during our 2PM activities, we even have this
Beastly idols nickname, so I tried really hard to display a completely
different image through my acting. Rather than 2PM’s Ok Taecyeon, the daily Ok
Taecyeon is a not a person who explodes with power every single day just like
on stage.
Vogue Girl: Is
that why you are so eager about acting more (laughs)? Why do you like it so
much that you keep on challenging it?
Taecyeon: The most
charming thing is that you can become another person. The stage Ok Taecyeon was
accepted by the general public as the real Ok Taecyeon, but when I act, I am Ok
Taecyeon who is expressing someone else. It’s really interesting to become
someone else, and live that person’s live and character.
Vogue Girl: It
seems that you tend to be extremely busy because you are full of curiosity.
They say your recent full-scale launch of a character business has been
successful.
Taecyeon: That’s
correct. I get my hands on many things (laughs). That character business was
launched at a full-scale only recently. The sales are being carried out online,
and it’s going so well, I got surprised myself. Actually, I should still keep
watch on it, but it’s somewhat 100 times better than what I’ve expected.
Vogue Girl: Wow,
you will earn a lot of money? What will you do with all that cash?
Taecyeon: I will
save it, instead of spending it. After all, since my parents are taking care of
it, everything goes straight to my parents’ account. So in reality, there is no
income for me that I could actually spend. I don’t even have time for it. The
most expensive thing I currently own is a bicycle, and even that one has been
given as a gift by the fans.
Vogue Girl: Today
a person came from the KBS “Human condition”… You’re part of the “Don’t get
stressed” mission. How do you relieve stress?
Taecyeon: But I’m
actually the type that doesn’t get stressed out easily so…
Vogue Girl: Ey,
aren’t you just saying that because you’re in the middle of a mission?
Taecyeon: No,
really (laughs). I really like the current situation. Being a singer (which was
a sidelines job to begin with) turned out to be great, the recently launched
character business is doing better than expected, as an actor; the recently
released movie received positive reviews, so there is no reason to be mad or
anxious. So there’s nothing I should be stressed about.
Vogue Girl: Aren’t
you getting stressed just by being a celebrity?
Taecyeon: That was
cut loose from the worldly existence (laughs). There was something like that
for about 2 or 3 years since our debut, because people would recognize us when
we’d walk down the street. Even if you cover up, the people that can recognize
you DO recognize you. Besides, I’m tall, so people just recognize me no matter
what (laugh). So then I thought: “Will I be able to live with my face covered
for the next 10 or 20 years? If so, I’m the one who’d get tired, wouldn’t that
be too hard?”, and then I changed my mind. I just walk around freely. Now, when
I get recognized I just say “thank you”. It’s a method of adaptation really.
Vogue Girl: I see,
after all, I’ve seen the pictures of you taken when you went on a package deal
trip to Italy (laughs). It was unbelievable. I think it was a first time I saw
a celebrity take a package deal trip.
Taecyeon: Ah,
you’re a bit misinformed (laughs). I actually went to Rome alone, but someone
told me that I should choose a guided tour, because then I would find out more
about the churches of Vatican and so on. So for that one time I applied for a
Korean travel agency tour in Vatican, and spent a very meaningful day.
Vogue Girl:
However, you still did everything a tourist should do? (laughs)
Taecyeon: That’s
right, I bought souvenirs, took selfies, sent postcards to my parents, and
basically did all there was to do!
Vogue Girl: It
seems that the general public is coming to think that apart from being the
beastly idol, Ok Taecyeon has a lot of other faces, especially as you know how
to spend time freely like an ordinary person, and you get involved in acting
and business enterprise.
Taecyeon: I’m the
type who always looks out for something new. Being a celebrity is a rather
erratic occupation with hardly any mercy. It’s enjoyable, but as you keep on
doing the same thing over and over again, it really becomes just another “job”
and you get tired of it. If you don’t want to get tired of the same work, or you
do not want to get threatened by an erratic daily life, it’s best to look for
what you find interesting and keep yourself busy with it. One needs to keep on
looking for something new in order to avoid falling into mannerism.
Vogue Girl: Don’t
you get bored with the Beastly idol nickname?
Taecyeon: Of
course not! It’s totally not boring (laughs). Beastly idol is one of the things
that explain what I am. Also, it’s a representative modifier for me as a member
of 2PM, which I would not be able to get rid of it even if I wanted to. Of
course, now I’d like to show something else, not only that image. Because we’re
at the age when we can still show a lot, because we’re still in our 20s, we’re
still young (laughs).
Scans: Baque
Kor-Eng: Egle
@2pmalways
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