Jang Hyuk 장혁

[phoenix24]

 

[dramafan33]

@The Reel Life Yes, thanks to you I watched the press-con with subtitles too and I must say, I might be biased but, Jang Hyuk’s answers were the most interesting. Yes, he takes his time answering but he at least reveals interesting aspects of the drama and his character. He and the PD both talked about how this drama will focus in the psychology of their characters and their emotions and that gave me a lot of hope for this drama. Sometimes I feel like other actors, especially his friends, treat JH like he is some kind of nerd or sth (which I guess he is, his passion for acting, storytelling  and character creation is on an above average level) I guess its “funny” to them, but part of me wants to smack them on the head, they are in the presence of such brilliance and they want to mock him or cut him off? I would listen to his awesome rambling for hours! Especially when he gets into the zone and stars talking fast, you can see and feel the passion so strongly. But he is the only one who “sold” this drama to me, the others were too concentrated on being cute or funny so they almost bored me (sorry). Although I appreciate the possibility of an on-screen bond between the female characters. I guess my issue is mostly with JH’s actor friend lol (I found his humor a bit weird and off putting) Anyway, hopefully, this drama is as good as Jang Hyuk conveyed. 

[azureblue7]

@dramafan33 I agree. Whenever it comes to talking about his character, the story and acting, you can feel his passion overflowing.I guess the rest are more concerned about enlivening the mood. I think JH himself mentioned that he could make a variety show looked like a documentary show because  of his super serious attitude. lol! And remember this scene below?

 

But that's his charm. I love his in depth analysis and rambling ! 

[azureblue7]

For those who would like to catch the live broadcast of OCN, you can try the aqstream website.

[phoenix24]

40 minutes ago, azureblue7 said:

@dramafan33 I agree. Whenever it comes to talking about his character, the story and acting, you can feel his passion overflowing.I guess the rest are more concerned about enlivening the mood. I think JH himself mentioned that he could make a variety show looked like a documentary show because  of his super serious attitude. lol! And remember this scene below?

 

But that's his charm. I love his in depth analysis and rambling ! 

Haha yea I remember this scene.  It's good that he take it so well and follow along jokingly.  He should do this at fan meeting or at least our group definitely won't mind.  Go on as long as he want .

[azureblue7]

An article about swordsman.

 

[Biology Lesson]

2 hours ago, dramafan33 said:

@The Reel Life Yes, thanks to you I watched the press-con with subtitles too and I must say, I might be biased but, Jang Hyuk’s answers were the most interesting. Yes, he takes his time answering but he at least reveals interesting aspects of the drama and his character. He and the PD both talked about how this drama will focus in the psychology of their characters and their emotions and that gave me a lot of hope for this drama. Sometimes I feel like other actors, especially his friends, treat JH like he is some kind of nerd or sth (which I guess he is, his passion for acting, storytelling  and character creation is on an above average level) I guess its “funny” to them, but part of me wants to smack them on the head, they are in the presence of such brilliance and they want to mock him or cut him off? I would listen to his awesome rambling for hours! Especially when he gets into the zone and stars talking fast, you can see and feel the passion so strongly. But he is the only one who “sold” this drama to me, the others were too concentrated on being cute or funny so they almost bored me (sorry). Although I appreciate the possibility of an on-screen bond between the female characters. I guess my issue is mostly with JH’s actor friend lol (I found his humor a bit weird and off putting) Anyway, hopefully, this drama is as good as Jang Hyuk conveyed. 

I completely agree. I remember I was annoyed with LDH and OJH for constantly making fun of JH and his intensity during interviews for Chuno. It especially annoyed me because they knew that if it wasn't for JH's seriousness, intensity, research and dedication, Chuno would have been a completely different show and not as good. They did say how much they appreciated his help to them, but they also made fun of him for it, and that annoyed me, especially since he would speak about them with such kindness... 

JH is unique in his insight into his role and the show in general. Most actors simply come and just say their lines, while JH would be actively involved in the design of his role and his lines. He is levels above most actors that I know, Korean or not. Luckily he doesn't allow the jokes from his friends to sway him in any way from his path.

 

But- about how long he can talk... We also hear stories about how his friends and colleagues would have to listen to him talk FOR HOURS and I'm often amazed by the fact that they wouldn't cut him off and just listen and I kinda sympathize  . Listening for hours is not easy. I have a friend who has a similar tendency; she's smart, insightful and very knowledgeable, and- she can talk for hours... I remember going on a several hours drive with her and she spoke through the entire thing! At a certain point my brain simply couldn't take it anymore and I simply nodded off  but she continued talking! I think both of them when they speak they lack awareness of the person in front of them because of their passion. So I kinda understand his friends when they say that if they see a call from him, they slightly freak out cause they know it means a conversation that will take hours!  

[The Reel Life]

3 hours ago, dramafan33 said:

@The Reel Life Yes, thanks to you I watched the press-con with subtitles too and I must say, I might be biased but, Jang Hyuk’s answers were the most interesting. Yes, he takes his time answering but he at least reveals interesting aspects of the drama and his character. He and the PD both talked about how this drama will focus in the psychology of their characters and their emotions and that gave me a lot of hope for this drama. Sometimes I feel like other actors, especially his friends, treat JH like he is some kind of nerd or sth (which I guess he is, his passion for acting, storytelling  and character creation is on an above average level) I guess its “funny” to them, but part of me wants to smack them on the head, they are in the presence of such brilliance and they want to mock him or cut him off? I would listen to his awesome rambling for hours! Especially when he gets into the zone and stars talking fast, you can see and feel the passion so strongly. But he is the only one who “sold” this drama to me, the others were too concentrated on being cute or funny so they almost bored me (sorry). Although I appreciate the possibility of an on-screen bond between the female characters. I guess my issue is mostly with JH’s actor friend lol (I found his humor a bit weird and off putting) Anyway, hopefully, this drama is as good as Jang Hyuk conveyed. 

Haha yes, those who haven’t watch shall be forewarned. His friend does makes fun of him (I honestly felt it was tactless and rude, this isn’t a variety show or chat, it’s a press con for goodness sake), and if you think you’ll be annoyed then don’t watch! I hope someone does some video clippings of just his part. But he does give a very in depth analysis of his views of the show. I think even the director couldn’t articulate it that well, and JH wanted to add on some thoughts after the director answered the question , for the reporters to better understand the show. Because they were comparing it to Voice. He said that in Voice it was like a 911 rescue team (I agree), whereas this they are using combining profiling with psychology to identify and catch a criminal who has gotten away. 
 

And yes, I felt that the press con was quite boring because not many spoke of substantial stuff about the show but just making jokes mostly. However Soo Young did say some nice things about JH and she comes across as grateful and respectful to him! 

[dramafan33]

@The Reel Life I was disappointed in his friend’s comments. I might be misinterpreting or missing something due to lack of context regarding their friendship and/or cultural context, maybe, but I know they are friends since the university. There’s even an anecdote that he and Jang Hyuk prepared together to enter acting school or faculty and JH helped him a lot, and in the end, his friend passed the admission first or something like that. So I expected to feel more warmth from him. The only comment he could make about JH was to “praise” his long hair? And then his behavior towards Sooyoung to me wasn’t cute but a bit bizarre/uncomfortable. I don’t know, maybe the guy is nice and I’m being super judgmental. I just didn’t like him too much in this press-con and Im a bit disappointed because I liked his rapport with JH in Thank You, SOGC, Beautiful Mind and even Wok of Love. 
 

OTOH I was amused when JH joked that their statements that they were having so much fun was all pretend haha, his “dry” sense of humor is something I can appreciate more. I guess my bias is showing! 

[fiesty8001]

4 hours ago, dramafan33 said:

I might be biased but, Jang Hyuk’s answers were the most interesting.

I guess its “funny” to them, but part of me wants to smack them on the head, they are in the presence of such brilliance and they want to mock him or cut him off?

I guess my issue is mostly with JH’s actor friend lol (I found his humor a bit weird and off putting) 

You have never been biased . His 'long-winded' answer was definitely most significant part of the whole press conference. Ever since the synopsis came out most of us have been comparing this drama with Voice. Even the teasers were giving same vibes as Voice(probably because of presence of Kim Hong-Sun) but JH articulately set TMWYS apart for us.

Though in general I give a lot of leeway to his friends but this time I was like :

 

 

 

[fiesty8001]

28 minutes ago, dramafan33 said:

 And then his behavior towards Sooyoung to me wasn’t cute but a bit bizarre/uncomfortable.

I too felt same but I have been hesitating to bring this topic in this thread. In my opinion RSS's behaviour towards Sooyoung was inappropriate on many levels. He shouldn't have mentioned her idol past in the press conference. Idol actors(specially someone super popular like her who are not considered conventionally 'attractive') recieve overwhelming amount of negativity for trying to branch out into acting. She left her agency to seriously pursue acting and had difficulty in getting projects(one of her pre-produced drama has been shelved). He should've praised her just as an actress like JH did specially because the press conference is a formal event. But he made it look like there is nothing worth noting about her accept her status as GG member. 

[Biology Lesson]

29 minutes ago, fiesty8001 said:

 

Though in general I give a lot of leeway to his friends but this time I was like :

 

Wow, if you thought that he was out line, that means that he was really rude... Usually you are the one that tells me that I'm reading too much into something when I take offense for JH, like in the case of his friends behavior in Dragon Club...  

 I wonder why is it that almost in every interview or show with his friends, they seem to target JH as the butt of their jokes... We know that JH cares about his friends tremendously and that he does everything he can to promote them and help them succeed. We've seen him bring his less-successful friends to variety shows and interview shows, and almost every time they end up making jokes at his expense... one possible explanation can be the HWASIN interview that I saw (ep 15). In that show JH's express purpose of being there was to promote his friend and maybe even get him a job on that show. During that interview he outright told his friend "Come at me! Make fun of me!" in order to help him show how funny he is. So maybe that's the thing? Maybe JH, knowing the nature of these shows, gives his friends permission to mock him, and in that way to make the viewer notice them? JH himself is uncomfortable in those shows as he is often accused of being "too serious", but he does know what it takes to succeed in them... 

I bet you everything you want that the reason his friend was cast in TMWYS was because of JH, as is most probable about the other shows they did together, so it seems more than ungrateful for him to mock JH in that way. I hope my explanation is right, and that JH does not surround himself with people who disrespect him... 

[azureblue7]

2 hours ago, fiesty8001 said:

I too felt same but I have been hesitating to bring this topic in this thread. In my opinion RSS's behaviour towards Sooyoung was inappropriate on many levels. He shouldn't have mentioned her idol past in the press conference. Idol actors(specially someone super popular like her who are not considered conventionally 'attractive') recieve overwhelming amount of negativity for trying to branch out into acting. She left her agency to seriously pursue acting and had difficulty in getting projects(one of her pre-produced drama has been shelved). He should've praised her just as an actress like JH did specially because the press conference is a formal event. But he made it look like there is nothing worth noting about her accept her status as GG member. 

Agreeing with you on that. Because of him,  I think all I can remember about Soo young after that interview is that  she is GG member. Actually I think the camera should have taken Hyuk's expression when RSS's commented that Hyuk should be more concise. I think Hyuk might be laughing or smiling. I remembered from old interviews like Shine or go crazy, Hyuk and RSS seemed to like poking fun at each other a lot. Hyuk teasing him as the king in SOGC and now RSS teasing him on him being long winded after Hyuk threw the question to him. I didnt like RSS's sense of humour but I don't think he is trying to be disrespectful to him. Just my thoughts. 

 

 

[dramafan33]

@azureblue7 I agree that RSS intention might not have been as bad, he probably only intended to be funny, but it came out wrong like, he was imprudent on many levels. Not everyone knows his background with JH and even to us who know it, he just appeared “rude”. And I had not even realized what he did by emphasizing Sooyoung’s idol status. I almost felt, is he on meds? Why is he acting this weird? I hope he is more careful in the future. 

[azureblue7]

22 minutes ago, dramafan33 said:

@azureblue7 I agree that RSS intention might not have been as bad, he probably only intended to be funny, but it came out wrong like, he was imprudent on many levels. Not everyone knows his background with JH and even to us who know it, he just appeared “rude”. And I had not even realized what he did by emphasizing Sooyoung’s idol status. I almost felt, is he on meds? Why is he acting this weird? I hope he is more careful in the future. 

Guess it's  humour in bad taste , inappropriate timing and place. He should take a leaf from Hyuk..

[dramafan33]

5 hours ago, Biology Lesson said:

Wow, if you thought that he was out line, that means that he was really rude... Usually you are the one that tells me that I'm reading too much into something when I take offense for JH, like in the case of his friends behavior in Dragon Club...  

 I wonder why is it that almost in every interview or show with his friends, they seem to target JH as the butt of their jokes... We know that JH cares about his friends tremendously and that he does everything he can to promote them and help them succeed. We've seen him bring his less-successful friends to variety shows and interview shows, and almost every time they end up making jokes at his expense... one possible explanation can be the HWASIN interview that I saw (ep 15). In that show JH's express purpose of being there was to promote his friend and maybe even get him a job 

This is an interesting observation. I think I also “defended” his friends in the past like Fiesty. This time however, it felt different. I think, like Fiesty said, it has a lot to do with the context, since this is not a variety show. I feel that JH gets teased a lot because his personality lends itself to teasing, him being a bit nerdy about his passions (in a good way) and awkward in certain ways but also nice (they know he will not get “truly” upset) I do feel the Dragon Bros are way too much like his brothers so they take too many liberties with him. OTOH notice how different was his dynamic with his friends who travelled to Croatia with him. Ongals (the comedian one, can’t remember his name but ongals is his nickname on instagram) wasn’t even his friend then, because they just met, but there was cool chemistry between the three of them and they teased each other a lot but it was well balanced. In fact Jang Hyuk almost felt like a leader in that context (maybe the fact that he is their senior by a few years also affects their dynamic) I also remember how he would tease the girl who was in his team during that “chinese opera” show. It seemed like he was comfortable enough to tease her like a little sister. But it also never “felt” disrespectful. I also like his dynamic with the guys from g.o.d, there is teasing but you can feel the genuine affection between them. LDH and OJH on the other hand, I can see why you felt uncomfortable, because part of me feels the same. Especially since they should be so grateful for what he did for Chuno. I almost feel like they have some nerve when acting wise, they were not the strongest, in that drama. Like someone said before, its a good thing Jang Hyuk doesn’t seem to be affected or swayed by this teasing, he keeps being himself. I love that about him. 

[Biology Lesson]

26 minutes ago, dramafan33 said:

@azureblue7 I agree that RSS intention might not have been as bad, he probably only intended to be funny, but it came out wrong like, he was imprudent on many levels. Not everyone knows his background with JH and even to us who know it, he just appeared “rude”. And I had not even realized what he did by emphasizing Sooyoung’s idol status. I almost felt, is he on meds? Why is he acting this weird? I hope he is more careful in the future. 

I agree with you guys that his intentions were probably not bad. I was quite surprised by the behavior you reported (still haven't seen the translated press conference... don't feel like getting angry ), because I remember seeing an interview with JH in which the interviewer suggested that it was an honor for JH to be friends with RSS or something like that. I think they were talking about RSS, but I'm not sure... I remember that JH didn't understand why she was saying that, but said that RSS is very philosophical, so I'm kinda surprised to hear that he is a "talk first, think later" kind of guy...

 

[Biology Lesson]

1 hour ago, dramafan33 said:

This is an interesting observation. I think I also “defended” his friends in the past like Fiesty. This time however, it felt different. I think, like Fiesty said, it has a lot to do with the context, since this is not a variety show. I feel that JH gets teased a lot because his personality lends itself to teasing, him being a bit nerdy about his passions (in a good way) and awkward in certain ways but also nice (they know he will not get “truly” upset)

I think your description is right. It feels to me that the reason he is teased so much has a lot to do with the dynamics between guys. I think one on one guys will have great talks with JH and will show him respect, and this is why he is loved so much by so many of his acquaintances. But in a group, or on a variety show, JH's earnestness and seriousness gets almost embarrassing for guys, so their natural reaction in a group is to "pounce" on him. Looking cool is more important in a group... I remember OJH said something interesting about his relationship with JH at the time of Chuno- he said that they had a great friendship and relationship, but it didn't feel like a relationship with another guy. He said that it felt more like a relationship with a woman. And as odd as it sounds, I kinda understand him. I'm not saying that JH is feminine- there is no way that I can say that ! but from what I've seen of JH, he doesn't seem to have a big ego and he doesn't have a problem admitting he doesn't know something, and this is something I can't say about many men , especially when they interact with other guys. This also might explain why guys seem to be comfortable touching him, to his constant bafflement... 

1 hour ago, dramafan33 said:

I do feel the Dragon Bros are way too much like his brothers so they take too many liberties with him. 

About the guys from Dragon club I still disagree a bit, due to what they said at the end of the show- I think jong kook said that JH was a revelation for them, which shows that they didn't actually know him that well. They are friends and JH obviously loves them, most probably due to how they stood up for him during his army scandal, but they weren't that close, at least up to that show. You can also see it on 'My Ugly Duckling'- it was clear that JH never visited Jong Kook's house and that he didn't know anything about his love life. To me that means they are not that close, and still jong kook specifically seemed almost aggravated by everything that JH did, and he made it a point on the show to target him and ridicule him... I still don't get that, but I guess that's between them...

 

Oh, it's interesting that you mentioned "Friends in Croatia" cause I was just thinking about it. I have a feeling that the way that JH was on that show-  confident, comfortable and funny, and most importantly, a leader, is the real JH, especially when he is in his element, meaning on set. By now we've heard from many costars and people that worked with JH- Jang Nara, the cast from Voice, The merchant and many others, about how much of a leader JH is on set. About him creating a positive, fun and supportive set. About how he is the center of it all on set, and I think "Friends in Croatia" was a rare glimpse of the real JH.

 

 

[Prettysup]

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[The Reel Life]

15 minutes ago, Biology Lesson said:

I think one on one guys will have great talks with JH and will show him respect, and this is why he is loved so much by so many of his acquaintances. But in a group, or on a variety show, JH's earnestness and seriousness gets almost embarrassing for guys, so their natural reaction in a group is to "pounce" on him. Looking cool is more important in a group.

I think you’re quite spot on with this. I think you don’t have to watch the press con if you don’t feel like getting irritated. Because even I who always try to give people the benefit of the doubt got annoyed by RSS’s behavior, and also in general how lack of substance some of the answers to the questions were.  

Anyway, at the end of the day, it’s his friendships and we are just speculating. I hope he just does his thing and hopefully deep down he isn’t too bothered by these teases - I’m also deeply glad he has his wife who seems like a mature, reliable and strong anchor in his life even if people around him sometimes don’t take him seriously.