Lee Byung Hun conflicted over being mysterious and showing his true self

Actor Lee Byung Hun will soon be returning to the big screen with his first ever period film ‘Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King’.

On the afternoon of September 4th, I had the honour of interviewing Lee Byung Hun who has been a topic of discussion recently, good and bad included.

The day before, Lee Byung Hun attended a press preview for his new film where he was posed questions regarding his girlfriend Lee Min Jung and his on-going lawsuits with TV personality, Kang ByungGyu. He didn’t evade any questions and answered all directly.

Lee Byung Hun said, “Before leaving for America, I had already done all preparation work. But there were still some questions that surprised me. I have learnt a lot from news and media, and the world seems to have changed a lot.”

Lee Byung Hun stated that there is a great disparity between his real self and how the public perceives him. He said, “’A Bittersweet Life’, ‘I Saw the Devil’, ‘The Good, The Bad, The Weird’, ‘IRIS’ and many of my works, have allowed all those in their 20s to develop a misconception of me. In real life, I am really someone who likes to prank around. I would crack even more jokes around those who I am close with. I once used BB guns during my youth to shoot at my friends, who would become highly annoyed at me.”

Lee Byung Hun knows that he is a public figure that isn’t quite known, and he isn’t going to change any of that. He said, “Because I am an actor, I would like everyone to see what I do on the screen. If an actor shows too much of himself to the public, it would be hard for viewers to immerse themselves watching the film or drama. So I try hard to keep my private life under wraps from everyone.” Perhaps it’s because of this, there’s a great disparity between Lee Byung Hun in real life against Lee Byung Hun the actor.

With his pending lawsuits and romance, many have started reflecting that the Lee Byung Hun that they know from dramas and movies is different from what they envisaged.

Lee Byung Hun sighed at this and lighted a cigarette, before deciding to let it all out by saying, “I will of course be unhappy if something keeps bothering me. At one point, I started wondering what sort of actor would the public like exactly. From my seniors, I learnt that an actor should not reveal too much of himself to public. But at present, it seems like the public wants to see an actor whom they can identify with. It makes me flustered. But I don’t wish for anyone to see a Lee Byung Hun that isn’t Lee Byung Hun.”

‘Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King’ is an account of the 15 days which was never recorded in the history annals during the reign of Gwanghae. When Gwanghae gets poisoned, a commoner from the streets called Ha Sun who looks exactly like him gets called into the palace, and is forced to rule the nation in his place as king. The film will air officially in cinemas nationwide from September 20th.