YEH Jap Mag interview

Jap to Chinese translation: ceciping
Chinese to Eng: bluedolphin
Chinese translated version
credit: yooneunhye.cn
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Cutting her hair short, wearing loose t-shirt and pants, delivering Zajjang noodles on her motor, audiences were full of doubts after seeing the Eun Chan on screen. Is this same person as the lovable princess in Goong? Not only that, Eun Hye’s choice of dramas and roles caught a lot of audiences off guard. She doesn’t look like a new-comer who had only acted in 3 dramas and her popularity continued to rise. Moreover, its not only her popularity is on the rise, her co-stars including Joo Ji Hoon, Oh Man Suk, Gong Yoo’s popularity is on the rise as well. As such, we can see the influence she has. After this, in what form will YEH attract the eyes of the audiences? We’ll have to anticipate YEH’s decision.

Rather than her hairstyle, YEH is more confident of the drama after meeting the producer

The promotion of Coffee Prince in Taiwan started in 2008 . How was the response?

I’m very thankful for the large popularity and support received for Coffee Prince. It’s very special to be able to receive love and concern even from overseas, that’s why I’m more touched after knowing this.

A lot of people said that they cannot imagine YEH outside of the character Go Eun Chan. How do you feel about this?
I think that it is the highest praise that can be received by an actress. My character is not exactly like Go Eun Chan in real life. To be specific, there are some similarities between Go Eun Chan and me, but in the beginning when I had to act as Go Eun Chan, I didn’t know where to start as I didn’t have any experience on how to act like a guy.

What was your feeling after being offered a role which you have to act like a guy?

Frankly speaking, I’ll be lying if I tell you that I did not have any pressure. After accepting role and being told I had to cut my hair short, I was a bit apprehensive in the beginning as I’m quite tall and big size, so after cutting my hair short, I’ll look like a very healthy boy (laugh). But I liked the script after reading the first page and I upon reading the 2nd page, I liked the character of Go Eun Chan more and more. I know that this is a role which is not easy to portray, but because of this I’ll want to give it a try.

I thought ‘there’ll always be a way! Because I’m a pretty girl, there’s why I cannot become an actress (laugh)”, but my opinions changed later. “I cannot give up the chance of being recognized as an actress. I met and talked a lot with the producer and gradually have the confidence of being able to accept the character. Therefore, I agreed to take on the role merely 1 week after being offered the role. I made some preparation in order to act like a guy.

After the confirmation of my participation in the drama, I started to observe only guys (laugh). Even when I read magazines, I’ll only look at the hair styles for guys. When I watch movies or dramas, I’ll also only look at the male characters. When I walk on the street, I also started looking at guys only. I realized that guys and girls react differently even when they are thrown in the same situation. I observed and analyzed the detailed difference between how a guy eat, walk and talk as compared to a girl. After that, I also made some effort in order to make my voice hoarse like a guy. I will take notice of those stuffs and now, I’m not used to it instead when I sounded feminine.

Your short hair suits you well. What was your feeling when you were getting your hair cut?

In the beginning, I was hesitating about cutting my hair short. As I grow older, I got more “You’re prettier now” praises, besides that, I had bad memories of the short hair I had last time.
But if I thought that it would be good if you look at Eun Chan’s appearance and you’ll feel her cuteness right away. It’s not important how others look at you. Therefore the week after I decided to take up the role, I decided to strike while the iron is hot and cut my hair short. At first my hair was cut a bit too short and I was not used to it.
That hairstyle was quite cute…(laugh)It was a bit shorter compared to my hairstyle now. It’s quite scary to cut my hair so short suddenly, but I didn’t cry when I my hair was being cut! (laugh) My hair is slightly neater and longer now. Hope it’ll grow to my shoulders soon.

I was very happy during my preparation before the shooting. I slept well during my free time.

Is it hard dressing up as Eun Chan?
No matter how much Eun Chan looks like a guy, she’s still a girl afterall. Both me and the audience are well aware that the Eun Chan in Coffee Prince is still a girl, therefore I don’t have to think too deep when I was acting as Eun Chan (?). To me, the masculine and feminine side of Eun Chan has to be managed well. I don’t know whether I did it well.

What do you think is Eun Chan’s charm?
Eun Chan is a very straightforward/frank person who doesn’t know how to conceal her feelings. Therefore even without the cute clothing or cute expression, Eun Chan is still the cute Eun Chan. I feel that is her charm.

You give us an impression of being not fearful and did your best to act out this character.

If you’re talking about feeling fearful, I should say that I was fearful in the beginning as I was afraid of not being about to do a good job acting as Go Eun Chan. But the more I read the scripts the more I feel that I should do something for this character. Should I make some sacrifice for the character and whether I can go to that extent? That’s also the case for Eun Chan. Cute, Pretty, no matter what I have to forsake that right from the beginning. I’m still a girl afterall and sometime when I see myself on screen, I’ll feel desolate (?) as I don’t wish to see myself look ugly too. But even though I may say this, it’s actually only my feelings at that moment. Instead, I’m happy being the Eun Chan, from behaving like a guy in the beginning to being the completely unfeminine Eun Chan.

In specific, which aspects (of the drama) make you happy?
As compared to the others, I only need a very short time to get ready (laugh). I do not have to put on makeup most of the time. Even my hair needed very little styling. Among all the dramas I have acted in, only this drama make me feel that I have sufficient sleep. It’s the same with the clothing, most of the time, I have been wearing fitting clothes but Eun Chan always wear loose pants coupled with big sized t-shirt, therefore it’s good that I do not have to be mindful of my figure.

The tomboyish appearance has become the talk of the town.
Eun Chan’s family is not very rich, even though she’s very young, she still have to take on the role of a parent, so its impossible for her to be wearing expensive or new clothes. The producer needs Eun Chan to be a person who will be excited/happy to buy a 20 000 won clothes even though she only has 30 000 won pocket money. Therefore Eun Chan does not have pretty clothes that looked like they have just been taken out of the wardrobe. Instead all the clothes we chose for Eun Chan are those kind of clothes that looked as if they have been thrown anywhere in the house, and those kind of clothes that you just change into (without much consideration) when you get out of bed.

There were lots of scene of you gobbling down/stuffing yourself with food.
In the beginning, I specially put on more weight to make myself look plumper, but as there’s a lot of eating scenes, I gradually put on weight as the filming progresses. The producer will look at the monitor and teased (during filming) “Here it comes, here it comes, here comes the meat~” (laugh).

Warm hearted Gong Yoo and Carefree Lee Seon Gyun

How do you feel working with the producer?
I was slightly trembling with nervousness during the first day of filming. I was also very nervous the day before the actual filming started and couldn’t sleep the night before. I don’t recall how I managed to act the scenes.(?) After hearing the word “CUT”, I’ll be filled with energy/drive once I hear a word of praise from the producer. Before every scene, the producer will ask me “How are you going to act out the scene?” At first I was a bit worried, but the producer’s thinking is similar to mine. During later phrase of the filming, we understand each other perfectly and are able to communicate effortlessly and get along very well with each other.

When acting as Eun Chan, did you feel anxious hiding Eun Chan’s identity as a girl from Han Kyul? [Did you feel anxious when Eun Chan kept her identity hidden fromHan Kyul?]
After Han Kyul knew that Eun Chan is a girl, he was furious with Eun Chan for lying to him. After that, both of them went through a lot of trials. At that time, I had a lot of crying scenes for the whole of that week and it was quite hard on me. But I think that it’s because of those pain which they have gone through which allowed us to see both of them being blissful together in the end.

You acted as a couple with Gong Yoo (on screen) what kind of person is he?
Gong Yoo is a person who is able to communicate sincerely with his co-star. Not only will he think about how he will act, he will also match/coordinate his acting to match up with his co-stars. That’s why I was able to work together well with him. Maybe it’s because I don’t look like a girl (laugh). I don’t really know much about Gong Yoo before working together with him on Coffee Prince, but after working together, I find that he’s really a warm person. I learnt a lot from him, he also taught me a lot of things and helped me a lot during filming. Without Gong Yoo, I think that I would only be able to display half of the Eun Chan we see now.

Did you give Gong Yoo any words of encouragements before his enlistment?
The cast attended his farewell party that time, but I wasn’t feeling well that day, so I wasn’t able to attend it. I gave him a call to bid farewell to him and gave him some words of encouragements.

Was it hard for you during the scene where you had to carry Gong Yoo?
Even though I also carried other celebrities on variety shows I appeared in last time, it’s slightly different in a drama. Not only do I have to carry Gong Yoo normally, but Han Kyul was also supposed to be drank and weak in that situation. It was really tiring that time and he was really very heavy (laugh). But in the role of Eun Chan, I have to act as if he was not heavy at all, so it’s much harder.

Eun Chan was attracted to Han Seong in the beginning and only fell for Han Kyul later. Can you comprehend Eun Chan’s feeling?
Han Seong ajusshi is a very steady/dependable person who is like a father (to Eun Chan) and I think that was the reason Eun Chan was attracted to him. On the other hand, the reason why Eun Chan was attracted to Han Kyul is completely different. Eun Chan never had experience of being loved/doted by anybody before, so I think it’s because of this that made her fall for Han Kyul. Even though it seems like she fell for both of them at the same time, I think that it is quite a possible situation. But in this situation, there is only 1 person whom Eun Chan truly loved.

What kind of person is Lee Sung Gyun?
I feel that I’m not in a position to judge (?) my senior, but he’s really a carefree person. I feel very comfortable and happy when I’m with him.

Treated like a brother by everybody

It’s your 2nd time working together with Kim Chang Wan right?
Frankly speaking, I didn’t get to talk to him during the filming of The Vineyard Man. So I had an impression that he was a bit hard to get along with. However after interaction, I think that he’s a very warm/gentle and outstanding senior. I’m very fortunate to be able to be friends with him.

What are your feelings of the 3 princes?
3 of them are very charismatic. Dong Wook is a great actor and he is also a very cute and friendly person in real life.
Eon is a very multi-talented guy and he seems to know how to do everything. From radio DJ, club DJ, and then to acting, modeling…. He’s a very warm person.
Jae Wook gives me an impression that he’s cold and cool at first, but after interacting with him, you’ll realized that he’s actually a warm person, just like a friendly brother. He also has a very individual fashion sense and likes to dress up.

Heard that everybody treated you like a guy.
I have already expected that, so I didn’t feel desolated about it. But I didn’t expect everybody to treat me like a guy to that extent (laugh). They joke around with me like I’m their younger brother. Even the producer comforted me by saying “You don’t have to cover it up, it’s more like Eun Chan this way” when she saw me getting worried over the pimples on my face. Thinking about it, they often mix Dong Wook and me up. Maybe it’s because Dong Wook have quite feminine features (?).It seems like even the producer is unable to differentiate us from our back view,

Which scene is still fresh in your mind?
The scene in episode 10 when Eun Chan was walking with Han Kyul and said “How? I don’t look like a guy or girl. I’m very afraid, but I can’t say anything…” and cried. In the beginning, I tried very hard to make myself cry, but I was too preoccupied wanting to act it out well, and it made me too tensed up. Even though tears were welling up in my eyes, I just couldn’t act out like what I wanted to. I felt suffocated and it was hard to even breathe. After that, I decided not to be too mindful of being able to act well but to let my feelings lead me. At that moment, the feeling of my heart being emptied overwhelmed me and tears started streaming down my face. That was the most memorable scene. I feel that rather than the satisfaction of my improvement in acting, it was more of being able to display well on screen the heart break and unwillingness of Eun Chan to give up the relationship.

Who is the one who influences the mood/atmosphere on the set?
It’s the producer. The laughter of the producer is very unique (laugh), it can ease the tensed atmosphere on set.

Everybody said that Eun Hye is very feminine. What do you think your character is like (in real life)?
Ya~ I like to help others and I think that I often observe people’s words and expressions. (laugh) I’m also that type of person that will go all out and work hard till the end (to achieve what I want) regardless of anything. And…. I like to cook. Sometimes I’ll also bring the food I cooked to the filming set.

Feeling sad after having to separate from the producer who helped her become a real actress

The music (songs) used in Coffee Prince is well-liked. Which is your favorite music (song) used in the Coffee Prince drama?

The song by Kim Yeon Wu我不懂爱情“I don’t know love”. (I think the song she’s referring to is나는사랑이뭔지모르나봐요).Actually this song was already in 逃避爱情Escape from love [2006](direct translation) OST, that’s why I didn’t recommend it to the producer. But one day when I was watching the drama, this song was played in the scene in Episode 9 when Han Kyul and Eun Chan were sad/hurt in the relationship. At that moment, I had goose bumps (when watching the scene with that song).
From that moment on, I decided to like the producer from the bottom of my heart (laugh).

We heard that the drawings on the windows of the Coffee Prince café was drawn by you personally.
I try as much as possible to take part in things which I can do for the drama. I’m a person who likes to draw and in the beginning, I was just scrawling. For example the note on the milk carton where Eun Chan gave to Han Kyul, the drawing which was pasted on Han Kyul’s door and the illustrations on the windows of Coffee Prince café etc was by me. As I didn’t have any trainings/courses (in drawings) before, the stuffs I drew looked abstract (laugh).

You often take on-the-scene photos during you free time on the set?
(the reason I like to take photos) Is to put them up on my CY, but the main reason why I like to take on-the-scene photos is because I want to capture those stuffs I see and store them down as memory. If I don’t take photos, it’ll only be stored in my mind. I find it a pity, so I started taking photos and the next time when I see those photos, I’ll be able to remember “ah, it was like that that time...”

After the filming of Coffee Prince, it’s hard for you to depart from Eun Chan’s character right?
During the filming of the special episode, my tears started rolling uncontrollably in the BBQ café. I cried continuously for almost 8 hours. I hate to part with Eun Chan, and it’s especially painful having to part with the producer. During the few months after the filming ended, I kept calling the producer up on the phone. I really hope to be able to meet up with the producer often, but I thought that it should be time for me leave Eun Chan and start to prepare for other projects so I restrained myself (laugh).

What did you get from “Coffee Prince”?
Lee Yoon Jung producer enabled me to become a real actress. Before this, no matter what I do, I was only the topic of a conversation during people’s casual conversation and it’s easy for me to be classified as a celebrity with a lot of gossips. However thanks to the producer, I was finally able to ditch the image of being known merely a celebrity with a lot of gossips. I feel that this will allow me to be a step closer to being a real actress. I’m very fortunate to be able to be known as an actress and also very happy to be voted as the most anticipated female actress born in the year of rat.

Do you like coffee?
I still didn’t know how to differentiate the taste of the various types of coffee after Coffee Prince wrapped up. But now I’m deeply drawn to coffee. I especially like American style coffee!

Like to go travel to Japan
Will still go there!

Being an actress, what do you think is your strength?
Among all those praises I heard, the one which make me most happy is “Yoon Eun Hye, we can’t predict what kind of acting you will be showing us next.” I didn’t have any formal training on acting before, therefore I do not have a particular strong preconceived idea on acting. When I’m acting, I don’t stick to a particular rule or model, maybe that’s the so-called strength. Even though it is important to learn proper acting techniques, but I feel that it is also very important to be able to grasp your own performance (?) and to check your own performance on-the-scene as I feel that it is very important to be able to understand your own acting abilities. Isn’t it most important to cultivate the ability to accommodate your role(?) ?

What kind of role would you like to challenge next?
As I’m merely a new actress who has only acted in 3 dramas, I still have a lot of things which I can show to the audience, and besides that, I’m only 25 years old. Of course I would not want to miss those roles which I can act in, given my current age as well as those roles which I can only act now. I’ve received a lot of good scripts recently and is happily reading them currently. However the details have not been decided. Compared to dramas, there are more stuffs in movies which I’m interested in, so maybe I’ll decide to act in a movie next time.

What are your feelings of being said that you have been taking on similar roles (in drama)?
I’m not afraid of taking on different roles at all. The public seems to like ‘transformation/changes’ in actors. I don’t feel that the Chae Gyung in Goong and Ji Hyun in The Vineyard Man are similar in any way, but after hearing a lot of people saying that the characters are a repeat of each other, I felt quite sorry (pity?). Maybe it’s because of that, there may be times where I force myself to have some changes. It seems like ‘transformation’ had become an obligation for me unconsciously.

It surprised me that the YEH in photoshoots for fashion magazines looked very different from the YEH we see in dramas and variety shows.
During those assignments (photoshoots) I’ll try my best to showcase the other looks of me which people seldom see. It’s very interesting. The feelings of being able to challenge myself to achieve a new look always allow me to be able to work happily.

How do you spend your rest/free time?
I mainly travel abroad. I especially like to go Japan. I went Japan half a year ago and at that time, I even brought along the outline for Coffee Prince to read (laugh). I’ve decided to go Japan again soon!

Words to say to your fans in Japan.
Coffee Prince is really a production which you can feel blissful (?). Wish that Japanese fans who have watched Coffee Prince can be blissful. Lets all feel the warmth (of Coffee Prince). Thank You~!