[Part1] Jang Keun Suk by Akio Tahara, ‘The Tracks of Encounter’

Many eels must have already known him, Mr. Akio Tahara. He used to be a deputy editor of Japanese magazine ‘Josei Jisin’. He has now retired and started to write about some of the Korean artists he has interviewed during his career.

Original source: http://lineblog.me/taba0385/archives/1036094080.html
English translation: Wen Lee from ECI
Edited by tenshi_akuma
Photos shared on Internet
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August 4th, 2015

Another encounter which influenced my Hallyu interviews, no, the encounter which dictated my carrer. That’s Mr. Jang Keun Suk.

By the way, today is his birthday. To start writing about JKS on such a day is also fate, I believe.

About JKS, there’s a lot to say. It’s different to the first Hallyu heat which included Winter Sonata. It’s a path we walked together starting from zero. As a magazine editor, I was in the midst of the creation of this heatwave & the centre of this was Mr. Keun Suk. Really, there was a time I was the only person doing interviews with him. We talked in private then. Thinking back now, it looked like a miracle.

I always believed he would become successful. Have I helped him a bit in the process..? I’d like to write the memories bit by bit chronologically. Once I start, there seems no ending (laugh). So I will update at random times.　I will update what I can share, and when I can write…

Come to think of it, when and how did I get to know him? Why did I take notice of him?

Keun Suk has a long career as a child star and he has appeared in a lot of works. In fact, you can see him in various works, can’t you?

In 2004, I was in charge of interviewing with Hallyu stars. After doing some interviews with Park Yong Ha, So Ji Sub, Rain etc, I became very ill and stayed in the hospital for 3 months. I borrowed a lot of Korean dramas & movie DVDs from a female colleague in the office who was of the same age as myself and a super big Hallyu fan. In addition, I learnt from her how to watch Korean dramas & Kpop shows on the internet in real time.

I was addicted to watching Hallyu from morning to night every day. Come to think of it now, how did she manage to collect so many items (laugh)? I know she got several DVD players at home and very good at using internet… Hallyu fan is formidable (laugh)! Her power reflected Hallyu fans’ passion. Her information network and passion in must getting a copy of a certain work she wanted to watch was something I also used when I did interviews later.

By the way, her parents ran an eels restaurant. So, I often used it to order take-away meals when I had an interview. Hallyu stars were very happy with it. Everyone loves eating eels. For example, Mr. So Ji Sub was very happy to eat it. This has something related to Keun Suk.

At that time, I watched a TV program which had Keun Suk in it. It was sitcom ‘Orange’, starred by Kim Jung Hoon. Sitcom was a type of comedies only seen in Korean dramas. I don’t think Japan has this kind of dramas. In sitcom, top stars tell a ridiculous joke from time to time. For newcomers, it’s their first step up the ladder of entertainment world and gives them a chance to brush up their skills.

I’ll talk about Kim Jung Hoon another time. After I was discharged from the hospital, I was scheduled to have an interview with him, as a member of male duo UN. They were going to debut in Japan. So I had to watch his TV drama. Unexpectedly, the 15-year-old Keun Suk was also in the drama! And this was very funny! Initially, I watched this drama because of Kim Jung Hoon’s interview preparation but the drama was so funny, I was drawn to the sitcom (laugh)! And Mr. Keun-Suk.

The lead character was a lifeguard at a swimming pool. Keun Suk was the son of his dormitory, the team leader’s nephew. He was very friendly to everyone. He was like a cute junior that everyone would like him. At the same time, he had a headache being chased after by a wild young girl. This setting was funny enough.

There was one episode that really stayed in my memory. It was with a super lazy ajussi whose principle was ‘I wouldn’t do anything, will always be lazy’ and they tried to live a lazy life. Keun Suk’s acting was great in this episode (laugh)! He played a super lazybone very well. The super cute and serious boy who was everyone’s sun suddenly became a lazybone. Wrapped himself in a blanket in a bed, he was very funny with his silly smile acting. Through this drama, I came to know this actor Jang Keun Suk’s name.

After that, for the interview of 2006 Japanese movie ‘One Missed Final Call’ starred by Meisa Kuroki, the PR person said to me, “A Korean co-actor will be coming to Japan. He’s Jang Keun Suk. Do you know him? Can you also interview him when you interview Meisa?” At the time, Keun Suk was getting very famous in Korea because of ‘Hwang Jini’ but in Japan no one knew him yet. “Oh, is that Keun Suk? Yeah, I know. I know him. I will. I will do interview him!”

Then, I asked a reporter to interview Meisa Kuroki instead of me (laugh) and I went to interview Keun Suk with another reporter. That was how I got to know him and did my first photo shooting with him in Harajuku, where he ate ‘takoyaki’ The photo is now called ‘very precious’ by his fans.

Well, what happened during the interview? I will share in next time.