PART 1
There was a time when Alex was nicknamed the 'romantic guy.' He still is. But after he stopped appearing on hit MBC reality show "We Got Married," he did much more.
His music group Clazziquai released several more albums, he published a book titled "Spoon" containing stories about his life and cooking and shot his second drama "Pasta" which ended its run in early March.
He did not change himself radically everytime but rather showed himself in bits and pieces over an extended period of time. This interview too reveals only part of who he is. Here is the Alex as he explains himself, not the guy in a variety show or as a character in a drama.
10: "Pasta" has ended its run. How do you feel?
Alex: When I started shooting "Pasta," the producer had told me not to worry and do whatever I wanted because it wouldn't be my fault even if the drama flopped. Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to say something like that so easily but it gave me courage and I think that's why I was able to
10: I heard the production schedule for "Pasta" was very tight. Wasn't it difficult trying to adapt to shooting mini-series?
Alex: It almost felt like we were going live from the 10th episode onward. That's why I started wondering whether it's like this with all mini-series and I was telling myself that this doesn't make sense. (laugh) But I saw that what I shot until Tuesday afternoon would actually go on air that very day in the evening. And I'm not a good actor but the scenes looked fine too. (laugh) Of course it would be good to shoot everything in advance but I realized that with dramas, you need to figure out what the viewers like too.
10: I'm guessing your first experience with dramas has been good.
Alex: It was really really good. Just three days ago, I got together with the producer, scenarist, Lee Sun-kyun, Kong Hyo-jin and Lee Sung-min for drinks. Lee Sun-kyun and Kong Hyo-jin said it's usually difficult to keep in touch with the crew and cast after a drama is over because with everything moving so fast, it's hard to take everyone's opinion into account and some people end up getting on bad terms with each other if things go wrong. I also saw how the producer, Lee Sun-kyun and Kong Hyo-jin were always thinking very hard about how to shoot their scenes. I thought that was how it was supposed to be but I was told it isn't always the case. So based on that, I think I'm a lucky person. I was lucky in getting to join the cast of a good drama and adjusted to it by working with good people.
10: I saw that you wrote "Goodbye Kim San" to yourself on your me2day [Korean version of Twitter] account. How does it feel having to let go of your first drama role?
Alex: I was watching "Pasta" from home one day when I saw Hyun-wook (Lee Sun-kyun's character) and Yu-kyung (Kong Hyo-jin's character) on a date. And I found myself thinking, 'So that's what they do when I'm not there?' That's when I realized I had started liking Yu-kyung and that this is what it feels like to live the life of a character that had been created by someone's words. After that, when there was just a few weeks of "Pasta" left, my acting teacher asked me if I'm not going to miss being Kim San, that I only have three weeks left being him. I had lived 32 years as Choo Heon-gon, seven years as Alex and then Kim San but I had only three weeks left to be him. I couldn't sleep after starting to think that. I had a hard time in particular when I had to act the scene where I have to give up on Yu-kyung. My feelings for her had grown over time but the script was forcing me to stop. So I kept making bloopers that day. Kong Hyo-jin told me it's very natural for such a thing to happen.
10: You must have had a lot of concerns too since this was your first time acting.
Alex: I'm not the type that can't confess his feelings to a woman for three years. It would be a different story if it was three days. (laugh) That's why I was in a dilemma. I didn't know why he would keep giving Yu-kyung photographs of cacti when he's not even Lupin. (laugh) And why he would start [expressing himself] now. I didn't know whether he had merely been curious about her, rather than actually felt anything for her, and then felt a rivalry when Hyun-wook appeared, or if he really had liked her for the whole three years. He also became very timid after his feelings for Yu-kyung were revealed. But I started understanding how he felt when I myself started liking Yu-kyung.
10: In the process of thinking about your character in such a way, I think you came to add on your own interpretation of him too. Kim San seemed like someone you can't quite figure out rather than being a softie.
Alex: It's what I thought from the beginning. That Kim San probably isn't incompetent since he would actually think of managing his own restaurant. And he's thorough when it comes to numbers. So I wondered why he had left Seol in charge of the restaurant in the beginning. I thought it may be because he is competent yet doesn't like to be tied down. That's why I also thought he would a bit different from Hyun-wook when the two talk to each other, maybe be more at ease. It would be impossible for both of them to win when they're fighting, so if Hyun-wook is someone who will always push forth his opinions, then I believed Kim San should either win or lose. But I saw Kim San as someone who loses more and more to Hyun-wook. Someone who will try to resolve issues smoothly rather than scream at the top of his lungs, especially more so since there is Yu-kyung in between them.
PART 2
10: That's what was fun. A lot of things were left unexplained regarding Kim San because he isn't the leading character but he always had on that expression that said he knows everything.
Alex: It's true that some things weren't explained in detail because I wasn't the main character. As a joke, people said my character is a spiritual guardian. For example, I'd be in the kitchen when the chef and assistant chef are fighting. Poof and appear just like that in places I don't need to be. (laugh) But those scenes are necessary in explaining the moments Kim San stands alone and thinks to himself. That's how Kim San's character came to life. This purely comes from the scenarist's talent. I went looking for an acting teacher to teach me to become Kim San -- how to have an open mind like him, how I could play little jokes on the person I like without not revealing my emotions. I think there were also a lot of commonalities between Kim San and I.
10: Singers are always receiving the spotlight on stage. How did it feel playing a supporting role for the drama?
Alex: Wherever it may be, I realized what it feels like not to be the main person. Singers are on stage so the audience is always rooting for them but I told myself that I'm not the most important person in a drama. But I realized that I can live well on jobs which suit me.
10: Aren't you concerned about what you should do next? People become easily fed up with singers after they release a couple albums and what may have been at the center of attention on a variety show one day may become detested the next.
Alex: That's what I'm concerned about the most these days. I was successful at tagging along with the main cast of "Pasta." (laugh) But there is no guarantee my next role will be successful too. It would be stupid to expect that I'd do great with my next role after having appeared in just one drama. That's why I didn't change the name used in the credits for "Pasta." I figured it would be better to just go with one name since I'd keep doing other work too. My range of work has become too broad now. It includes music, radio deejaying, emceeing, acting and writing. I've been wondering what I should do next to make a living. When I was young, people used to tell me I'm a bit unfocused. I think I'm unfocused in a focused way these days. (laugh)
10: That tells of your past. From Clazziquai to "Pasta" to appearing on variety shows, you've made certain accomplishments in whatever you do.
Alex: My friends used to say that I am the sort of person who will become friends with the prince of a oil-producing company if I became stranded on a desert. (laugh) Back in Canada, I would make coffee when I worked at a coffee shop and made 30 portions of rice when I work at a sushi restaurant.
10: How did you come to acquire a strong instinct for survival? (laugh)
Alex: I earned money from a young age -- about 2,000 dollars a month when I lived in Canada opposed to my friends who made 50 to 100 dollars. I just really enjoyed making money back then. I actually learned to drink and smoke a bit early and my mother had told me that both are bad for my health and that there's nothing worse than asking your parents for money for your alcohol and cigarettes so I should pay for it myself if I wanted to keep doing both. That's when I told myself I should make money to drink and smoke. (laugh) Of course, my mother had intended on teaching me that I need to make money myself so I would be able to spend it properly later. But I liked it back then because I could buy my friends meals and give my girlfriend nice gifts.
10: So it may be due to that lifestyle from the past that you work in such a variety of fields in the entertainment industry.
Alex: I once took a week's break because everyone kept saying I should. But my hands started shaking after about the third day. That's when I realized I was a workaholic. I was also telling myself what I was doing, that I should be trying even when others are sleeping, when I see people on TV working so hard. I haven't even traveled for the past seven years. I think I'll probably end up dying early. (laugh) Because I overwork both my mind and body too much. But I can't not do anything when there are groups like Girls' Generation which shine so brightly by themselves. I can't be like an entire machine but I can be a part to it which plays a certain role. I think that's what I need to do -- tell myself that I am being consumed while taking on roles which suit me.
10: But it seems you are letting people know who the real you are bit by bit rather than just being consumed. You made your voice known first, then showed the romantic side to you through "We Got Married" and your solo album. Then your book "Spoon" and drama "Pasta" revealed more of how you live your life. I think you've gradually come to show more of who you are as an entirety.
Alex: After "Pasta," my friends have been asking me why I don't act when I'm being paid for it. (laugh) They said I'm not that different from my character in the show. And now that I think about it, that's what is so strange. Before "Pasta," people used to ask me if I really act like how I did in "We Got Married." Of course I won't take photographs and wash a woman's feet just anywhere. (laugh) But I would definitely do it for my girlfriend. And it turns out that while people had been curious about this for the past couple of years, there are people who now think differently of me after "Pasta." Rather than wondering who the real me is, I think they are just naturally starting to figure who I really am through the media.
10: How do you plan going about with your career in the future?
Alex: Well I want to keep doing music as long as the general public will let me. I do think though that the lifespan of celebrities is becoming shorter. I realized I've already been in this industry for seven years. In between, about four years into my career, I was so busy that I had thought that I'd burn out and end up in nothing but ashes. I still think that from time to time. I wonder whether there is anything left inside me to burn. But I think I've done okay so far. I may be a consumable but one that is being consumed well.
PART 3
10: It seems that the people who became your fans after watching MBC's "We Got Married" and your fans from much earlier feel a difference in your image.
Alex: My fans are taken aback by my image from "We Got Married." I lost some things from doing "Married" but I also gained a lot from it too. Once when I was wearing my helmet and riding my motorcycle down the Dongho bridge, when this woman asked for my autograph. I asked her how she knew it was me and she said she knew from seeing the lower part of my face. Her husband was sitting next to her, holding onto the handle, and he did not look too happy. (laugh) It's inevitable to lose something as you gain more attention. And I had been working on my solo album first, and then took on "Married," but most people think I released the album in a rush because I became popular from the show. Of course thanks to the public, my album was a success but I didn't like how people regarded me as someone who did the music I did because of the image I had portrayed from the show.
10: Are you working on your next solo album?
Alex: For now, I am working on Clazziquai's acoustic album. I want to think about my next solo album when I have time to focus on it. I hadn't planned on appearing in "We Got Married" in the beginning either because of my album although I ended up doing it because everyone persuaded me to, but I really couldn't find time to record.
10: Do you have plans to have your sister Christina participate in your solo or group album?
Alex: My sister has been involved in our albums and she did in my solo album too. Christina is a member of Clazziquai and I think her voice will always be a part of our songs. Only she's working in Korea and I think it will be hard for her to perform on stage with us.
10: Do you have any plans on doing radio again?
Alex: I really want to. But I think I was recognized as someone who did it because I love radio too much. That I was just someone who really wants to do it while failing to understand what my listeners would want to hear. I think I'd do a better job when I become more experienced.
10: You were giving advice on how to love earlier on a radio show. What is your way of loving someone?
Alex: I think it depends on who the recipient is. If the receiver is someone who wants to be fed love, that is what I will do and if the person wants a "give and take" sort of relationship, then I'll do that as well.
10: So it's a customized sort of love. (laugh)
Alex: Sort of like a tailor? (laugh)
10: How do you think you came to think in such a way? Do you think living in Canada for a long time has influenced you?
Alex: Canada is a land which formed when various ethnic groups came together. That is why people there think in a multi-cultural sort of way. And that is why if you say one wrong thing, it'll be considered racial discrimination. When you live there, you learn how to laugh and be kind to others. You learn that nothing comes out of being inconsiderate to others. And their way of life is completely different from how it is in Korea. Coffee shops are places where beggars go to order coffee and stay the whole day talking about how much they've made. It came as a cultural shock to me at first because it was the first time I've seen beggars beg for cigarettes and go around watching hockey games. Canda is a country which acknowledges everyone's rights to live a happy life. So I really learned a lot because I worked hard to make money in such a country.
10: It seems you were the only hard worker amongst everyone else who was laid back. (laugh)
Alex: That is why I had lots of concerns while I was in Canada. Canada is a great place to live but it doesn't provide young people with many opportunities to make money. While I wanted to work hard. That's why I thought about whether I should go to the United States or to Korea. On top of that, my mother had let me go out into society to make money in order to do what I want. I was very frustrated at the time because I was only 17.
10: Is that why you are active in a variety of areas in this industry. You are constantly working without rest.
Alex: That's why people tell me that I have a starting point but keep going like I'm running a marathon which has no ending point. That I'm somewhat like a cow. I keep ploughing my field and when I'm done, I'll plough another field. I'll probably be sold off when I become old. (laugh) My company doesn't make me work like a cow. I just do it to myself. I do sometimes think I'm working like a cow but I like things to be rough for now. I'm still strong enough to plough my field all I want.
10: Then what sort of person do you want to be in ten years? You had once mentioned you would want to run a restaurant with your older brother.
Alex: If my health and mental age allows it, and if there are people who still enjoy my music then, I want to keep singing. I do want to run a restaurant with my brother too. That's the reason I worked at a Japanese restaurant before -- so I could run a sushi restaurant with him.
10: So are you really considering running a restaurant?
Alex: There are so many [things I want to do.] Even if it's not under my name, regardless of whether I do business or not, I am definitely going to run a shop which I can open up whenever I want to drink wine. I'll go when I'm in a good mood or not open it if the part-time worker isn't there. I've come to realize I need a place I can go to comfortably to drink. It's different from sipping on wine at home. It's kind of sad drinking a pile of alcohol at home. (laugh)
10: You are talented in every way. What's your driving force?
Alex: Fodder? (laugh)
SOURCE: Asiae Part1, Part2, Part3
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