Choi Hyun-wook: The Natural Born Actor That Crowds Secretly Envy

📍 Recently uploaded, “Choi Hyun-wook: The Natural Born Actor That Crowds Secretly Envy” has received incredibly thoughtful and in-depth discussions in the comments. I want to preserve these precious conversations by posting them here.

If you’d like to read the Korean translation version, click this link.

First Conversation: Differences in Acting Methodologies

@asukalonginus3335:

Thanks for the post Jennie! It’s long…but I watched it twice. And why not, since it features such a cutie hahaha I’m shallow that way.

Sigh… that Hyunwook wondered “am I doing this right?” while filming…

Baby, if not you, then who?

I don’t think Park Jihoon would have it any other way either. Hyunwook embodied Suho perfectly.

I’m wondering if the two of them have very different acting methodologies. Hyunwook’s iconic improvisations breathed Suho to life, elevating Suho beyond the script. He made Suho his (and ours ❤️).

However, Park Jihoon jokingly complained that these improvs would often leave him flummoxed and unable to continue his lines (‘that’s not in the script!’), and he had to just resort to glowering or doing a classic Sieun blank-face to power through the scene.

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If Hyunwook got cast as Korean David Mills, I think I would have thrown my tv out the window the moment he suffers his eventual horrible fate.

But I’d watch it again because in this fantasyland, Park Jihoon would have been cast as John Doe. Ah…what I would pay to see these two boys together again, even at each other’s throats hahaha

I just watched DP again after two years. It’s so lovely to see Weak Hero cast members popping up throughout the show. I was counting them one by one. ‘Collect the whole set!’ hahaha

2/3rds of the sinking canoe trio were there. Hong Kyung looks dramatically different, remarkable actor. Hyunwook made my insides shift, and yea, he’s ‘damned good at acting.’ Missed Jihoon, aiya…

And oh my god, Mantis has both Hyunwook and the redoubtable Im Siwan inside? Sign me right up!

One last thing, when you say Hyunwook was just turning 20, are you using East Asian ‘+1’ age counting here? (So he would have been 19 to the West?)

Jennie’s Reply:

Hey friend! How’s it going? I’m off today, so I’ve been glued to my computer, archiving precious subscriber comments on my Twitter and having the best time ♥️ Re-reading all these WHC fans’ thoughts really hit me again with how much we all love this show… having such a happy afternoon… 🍪

Really enjoyed reading your comment! I was so surprised bc you totally nailed the point I was trying to make!! ♥️ I deliberately sprinkled some mentions of my previous Jihoonie vid throughout this one (sorry the video got so long btw, got completely distracted looking at Hyunuki photos and ended up making a 17 mins monster lolol my video skills are getting better though so expect more frequent uploads!!)

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Everything from here on is just my take and impression from reading through all those Jihoonie and Hyunuki interviews (but I think you explained it perfectly in your comment already)… 😉 Like you said, diving into all the behind-the-scenes stuff made me think these two have pretty different acting styles, and I wonder if there was some healthy “argue” between their approaches on set.

Jihoonie and Kyungi learned acting the traditional way through institutes and formal training, while Hyunuki switched from baseball after an injury and honestly didn’t get that same foundational training.. Not saying he lacks skill at all (of course) just that he probably learned more through experience on set rather than in classrooms..

What I really wanted to explore in the video was my fundamental curiosity, how does this complete rookie with minimal acting experience manage to improvise and change scripts in front of veteran actors and seniors with way more experience? After reading his interviews and behind-the-scenes content, I think it comes down to this thing he built through baseball, “Ghang” in Korean, which is probably closest to “gut” in English. That Ghang from pushing himself to his limits gave him the confidence to speak up when he felt something was right.

Korea has this intense seniority culture in every field (entertainment especially.. as far as I know), so it’s not easy for juniors to freely voice opinions to seniors. I wanted to talk about why Hyunuki could pull this off and why his ad-libs and improv worked out so well.. and you totally caught that, so thank you thank you ♥️

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Oh and I have no idea what role Hyunuki will play in Mantis, but I’m guessing assassin? That’s my imagination anyway. I really like Mantis’s creative director too, they seem to have a thing for kitschy stuff… When Mantis drops I’ll definitely do another long Hyunuki analysis vid!

I’ve also decided to post weekly about Korean cultural subtext that you can’t catch in subtitles, so if that’s your thing, come check it out!

Wait, almost missed this!! Yeah, yeah, the Korean age counting system is completely insane but we’re switching to international age now, too. I think when Director Yoo met with Hyunuki, he was probably 19 in international age.

Second Conversation: Deep Insights on Talent and Hard Work

@asukalonginus3335:

Hi Jennie, I have major projects this month and the next, so I am very badly missing the freedom to rewatch Weak Hero, my fevered dream. Your posts are a much-needed balm to soothe my frayed nerves. Short of them, I subsist on Weak Hero memories locked in my heart while my bosses drone on.

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I think Hyunwook has realized and unlocked a deep talent for acting. Good looks, height and charisma play a part yes, but I think we’ve all seen idol ‘actors’ whose charm and confidence evaporate the moment they start acting; all that finely honed stage experience flies out of the window while they do their best impression of mahogany wardrobes.

I can’t say much, but I work in the arts. I’ve been forced by seniors to act before, because they didn’t want to, and while it didn’t go horribly, it was absolutely nowhere at the level of what Hyunwook displays. The things I feel just won’t broadcast from my face. When I see the micro expressions of Jihoon and Hong Kyung, not to mention those of international titans like Meryl Streep, I’m just very relieved I never bothered to nurture my acting non-talent. Talent is a very real thing. I have (very quietly) chuckled backstage at studied actors who simply can’t match Hyunwook’s raw abilities.

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I imagine Jihoon and Hyunwook probably did have professional arguments about the artistic process, as is expected when you put perfectionists together, but all tension dissolves with their healthy amount of hugging. Witnessing these from behind-the-scenes takes, and Hong Kyung’s prescient photography, has benefited my blood circulation. Different methodologies notwithstanding, Hyunwook and Jihoon clearly adore each other, to the extent that they have absently fathered not-insignificant shipdoms. I admit visiting these worlds on occasion to restock my subsistence fantasies.

Jihoon says the two of them really bonded when they were talking over drinks about acting. Lord knows I’d have given half my life savings to sit at that table, though I would have just watched their moving lips and Adam’s apples, and missed all the insights they offered.

Together, talent, hard-work, connections, and luck make stardom. I wish these boys the very best, I will support all their projects, they’ve really brought me so much happiness.

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Ah, if Hyunuki was internationally 19 at that time, was he still in his braces-phase? A smiling, braced-up boy nervously munching on fried chicken… this image is going to last me the entire day.

Oh yes, I was also wondering if this ‘깡’ bears any relation with the character ‘鋼’, used in Japanese and older forms of Mandarin Chinese? It literally means ‘steel’.

Jennie’s Reply:

Friend, you have no idea how much I was smiling while reading your comment 😁 I’m actually sitting in a cafe right now and I’ve been grinning for so long that this old man at the next table keeps glancing over at me lol (he probably thinks I’m texting with my boyfriend lol)

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I remember rambling about this briefly in previous audios… before I accidentally stumbled upon WHC, I was completely burnt out at work. A friend (she works as a teen psychology counselor) recommended WHC when s1 came out, but I just forgot about it until it popped up on Netflix. Honestly… if it weren’t for all those fan creation promo videos on YouTube when s2 was coming out, I probably never would’ve encountered WHC. So I think as long as fans don’t damage the original work, creating analysis videos under fair use actually has a positive effect on promoting the original. In this sense, I hope my channel contributes even a tiny bit to promoting the original work.

Your expressions are so poetic 🥹 reading them felt like rain falling on my dry heart lol, moistening it beautifully. At work, I’m basically a working machine, so my head and heart keep getting drier, but this show and now these deep-layered discussions with subscribers, sharing our inner thoughts … the channel is getting… this way and I want to maintain it as long as possible… I just hope there won’t be any copyright issues.

Reading hyunuki’s interviews, I learned that when he switched to acting due to his injury, he transferred to an arts high school and got cast in a web drama after just 3 months…? Like you said, he has good looks and as directors mentioned, those compelling eyes. Those good eyes which are key for actors, calling it charisma fits perfectly. So I thought while going through interviews… how many people around him must’ve envied his smooth transition to acting, becoming a rising star…

Nobody can really know how much worry and struggle he had inside. Without knowing much about him, he might look like an Instagram star with trendy style, but as I started researching him, that iconic fighting scene from ep7 that had me hugging my pillow, eating ice cream and crying lol… behind the camera, it was shot over 10 hours while he was getting dehydrated…

People only see what’s visible.

Reading your comment, I suddenly thought there must’ve been a lot of noise from people envying his natural talent… Anyway, others won’t see the effort of a rookie who collapsed spread-eagled on the ring from dehydration during filming. So I could relate more to his story about being moved when Kyung noticed and appreciated that his ad-libs were actually planned at home and shown after lots of practice.

Of course, through your comments so far, I could naturally feel your exceptional artistic sensibility. We might be breathing on opposite sides of the earth, and our bridge is just this text, but reading your comments and long letters from subscribers, I can literally just feel what kind of artistic lake you carry inside you… Even if your acting experience didn’t make you shine right away, as you live on, there will definitely come a moment when it makes you brilliantly shine at an unexpected point, as if it had been waiting, and your experience will say, “Why did you come only now? I’ve been waiting all along”.

I can’t talk deeply either (my colleagues wouldn’t believe that when I’m alone at home, I watch teen shows lol eat ice cream while crying and laughing, and even started a YouTube channel from that lol), but through college connections I have some working in the Korean entertainment industry, and through them I’ve heard many times that talent is absolutely essential to rise as a star in this industry… That would be the “real thing” you mentioned.

And countless flash-in-the-pan stars were gifted with such talent but just consumed it and disappeared like smoke… So I’m excited to see what path this young man with natural talent and charisma that draws people’s attention will take. Though when I see the public being so envious of his talent that they nitpick even this young man’s smallest mistakes, I wonder if he gets hurt inside despite having that “gut” I think the jealousy of crowds envious of such rising stars’ talent manifests as countless mean comments… which is miserable…

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Yeah, I also expect Jihoonie and Hyunuki had healthy arguments on set. How could there be no such arguments in real life at work? If they always held hands and agreed on everything and everything went smoothly, that would be even more unbelievable. But we know well the intense emotions of these young actors that pierce through the actual show, and through various interviews, how much this trio (plus Youngi and Seokdae too…) matured through this work. I just want S3 to come out so we can glimpse these youths’ passion one more time.

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Yes, imagining him with braces, awkwardly just munching chicken among adults (in a business setting), I couldn’t help but put it in the video lol it was too cute. That photo of him smiling with braces and pink blush on his face is my fav lol And now that I think about it, my second thought is that “ghang” probably does come from that Chinese character you mentioned!!! “ghang” is really such everyday slang in Korea that it’s almost on par with “daebak”!

Third Conversation: Hopes and Concerns for the Future

@asukalonginus3335:

Aww, thanks, Jennie, I’m moved. Bless your kind heart for sheltering the broken little embers of my acting passions. 🥹

I am still actively involved on stage, though I am not acting; work can be tough, but not insurmountable. And if it gets overwhelming, I can dip into a past Jennie-post to destress.

Speaking of which, I do hope the WH kids have healthy ways to destress. Jihoon seems to stay with his family and his dog Max, while Hyunwook lives alone. These two seem like such different people, it is adorable that they have this close ‘union of opposites’ friendship. I hope they hang out more (and feed the shipper-worlds that feed me.)

I share your concern with the public nitpicking Hyunwook’s mistakes. Are they expecting this young man to be a saint? While emanating sex appeal? It’s sick.

Jihoon is probably more wary of skulking eyes, ever since he was forced to write a public apology along with his WannaOne friend Woojin for playing on a plane; I believe they were then 18.

I don’t think the weight of expectations they bear is normal.

I’ve seen grim statistics on the K-entertainment industry concerning idol burnout and much worse. This creates some conflict for me: though I wish to see their projects long into the future, part of me hopes for them to retire early to protect themselves. Kind of like how Bae Yong Jun retired at the height of his fame at 35, put his cash into clever investments, got married, had kids and is reaping his returns to the tune of more than 50 mil usd. No more projects from him, but I’d say this sounds pretty successful for any celebrity, no? I’d like to think his true fans would also be happy that their idol is happy and healthy.

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I believe your channel promotes Weak Hero in the best way possible. I have rarely been so engaged by viewer analysis as yours. The things you have pulled together, including insights from other subscribers and all, have been of startling depth. I wish you the brightest of golden blessings I can think of: that Hyunwook and Jihoon read your Korean posts and leave you likes.

And for all of us, your subscribers: May Weak Hero 3 dawn upon us soon.

Jennie’s Final Thoughts:

Thank you so much for such deep and meaningful conversations. Being able to have such significant exchanges with fans around the world through the work that is Weak Hero really makes me realise how precious this is.

While hoping that Hyunwook, Jihoon, and all young actors walk their paths healthily, we will continue to love and support their work. And I truly hope that Weak Hero Season 3 comes out as soon as possible, so we can meet this beautiful story and characters once again.