[Dispatch=Reporter Kim Ji-ho] "You live in hell too"

In Episode 1 of the Netflix series 'True Education', the brutal lesson by Na Hwa-jin (played by Kim Moo-yeol) made a striking impact. His target is Ryu Jun-hyung (played by Lee Seung-gyu), who led the school violence in Episode 1. Having lost his reason following his father's downfall, Jun-hyung spreads oil in the classroom.

But it is Hwa-jin who actually sets the fire. The flames spread across the oil and force Jun-hyung to submit. Jun-hyung collapses, avoiding the fire and weeping in terror.

"Everyone thought it was all CGI, but the fire was real. Even lighting the fire with a lighter and the oil—it was all real. We applied burn-prevention cream to my legs and shot with cloth layered on top." (Lee Seung-gyu)

Lee Seung-gyu, who played Jun-hyung, recalled: "There were paramedics on standby at the set, and there was a fire truck too. We shot safely," but added, "It was truly terrifying. It felt like becoming roasted meat."

Dispatch recently conducted an interview with Lee Seung-gyu at Samsung-dong headquarters. As the villain who opened Episode 1 of 'True Education', he is a rising star who left a powerful impression on global viewers.

◆ "True Education is real-world practice"

Lee Seung-gyu debuted in 2021 with the web drama '@Account Deleted'. Five years have passed since then, and he has been steadily building his filmography, albeit slowly. Naturally, he is hungry for opportunities.

Dispatch (hereafter 'D') : How did you get cast in 'True Education'?

Lee Seung-gyu : Through auditions, of course. The audition process took about two months. I remember not knowing what role it was until the final casting day. After reviewing the script again, it seemed Director Hong Jong-chan had tested all the male roles openly. At the end, he told me, "Your role is Ryu Jun-hyung."

D : Why do you think Director Hong Jong-chan cast you as Jun-hyung?

Lee Seung-gyu : The director asked me, "Seung-gyu, are you drawn to the role of perpetrator or victim? What do you think you'd be good at?" So I told him I wanted to try playing the perpetrator. I said, "I think I can do it well." I think the director made his decision after hearing that.

D :Episode 1 is so important for a drama. And you're the main villain in that episode. That must have been a lot of pressure?

Lee Seung-gyu : As soon as I got the role, I looked up the webtoon. Appearing as the top thug at school, I felt pressure at first. How could I pull off this role with my own color...? It's the first episode, and it's a role that has to set the initial message. Not just me, but the victim and perpetrator seniors and I had many discussions.

◆ "I created the villain's gaze"

Jun-hyung is a perpetrator of school violence who bullies other students believing in his politician father. He even drives a student to an extreme choice. As an irredeemable villain, he receives a harsh lesson from Hwa-jin.

D :How did you develop the character of Ryu Jun-hyung?

Lee Seung-gyu : When I meet any character, I approach it by thinking about their instability and deficiency. That's how I interpret and find my way into characters. This time, I asked myself first. What deficiency does this friend Jun-hyung have?

D :Jun-hyung is the son of a wealthy family with a congressman father, and he's handsome. What could his deficiency be?

Lee Seung-gyu : I thought Jun-hyung grew up witnessing his father's authoritarian, violent, and oppressive side. I thought he was evaluated constantly by his father and grew up without love. I imagined this child could also be a victim of his father's violence. His mental age is stuck in childhood.

D :How did you intend to convey such a character in your acting?

Lee Seung-gyu : Even when preparing the acting, it wasn't about "I have to be aggressive no matter what." Rather, I tried to express the anxiety of being conscious of others' gazes. For example, when Na Hwa-jin first appears, Jun-hyung watches the class friends' eyes a lot. That's when the kids giggle and laugh, or say "Look at him." I paid a lot of attention to Jun-hyung's pride being wounded and crumbling.

D :What I'm most curious about is Jun-hyung's final emotion. Did he genuinely reflect? Or is it submission due to overwhelming fear?

Lee Seung-gyu : The director also asked me, "Do you think he changed or didn't change?" He said, "There's no right answer, but I'd like you to open that up." So I told him I'd try it the way I thought. Originally I wanted to do it without a sense of remorse, but Moo-yeol senior's line struck my heart and I unconsciously shed tears of repentance.

D :So is Jun-hyung's future that of a model student?

Lee Seung-gyu : Hmm, after finishing all the filming, I thought Jun-hyung might go down that same path again. And now my thinking is different. What if Jun-hyung has been reformed to some degree and now lives educating kids like himself? If 'True Education' Season 2 comes out, I've even imagined him going in as a superintendent of the Educational Staff Protection Office.

◆ "The set was acting school"

D :Were there difficulties during filming? By the way, the scene where you get food dumped on you was impressive.

Lee Seung-gyu : It was physically demanding. In terms of acting, between scenes, I had many concerns like "What intensity of energy should I give in this situation?" or "Should I tone it down?" The food was dumped on me very quickly and that was it. Just one take. (Laughs)

D :How did you resolve your acting concerns?

Lee Seung-gyu : Fortunately, senior Kim Moo-yeol and the director helped me a lot. They monitored in real-time and gave me feedback on points where I needed to give more energy. I took that feedback, and the scenes turned out well because of it, so I'm proud.

D :You said you learned a lot from senior Kim Moo-yeol.

Lee Seung-gyu : Even though Kim Moo-yeol senior is the lead, whenever he comes to the set, he always greets junior actors first. He asks, "How's your acting going? Are there any difficulties?" As a junior, I'm truly grateful. There are many moments I won't forget. I've always thought of Moo-yeol senior as a role model—a great actor and a great person. When I actually met him, he was even better. Working with him is an honor.

D :You must have memories with the late actor Song Young-kyou (who played Ryu Kwang-pil) as well.

Lee Seung-gyu : The senior asked me, "What's your name? Where do you live? You're about the same age as my daughter," and was very kind to me. I was nervous because he was such a senior, but he deliberately eased my tension. After filming, he gave me a compliment, saying "Your hitting expression looked good." I remember being so happy the day I received that compliment that I felt like flying. Later, while I was working in Gangwon Province, I heard the sad news on TV, and I came to Seoul right away to see him off.

D :You must have become close with your fellow cast members too.

Lee Seung-gyu : Before filming, we met several times, went to action school, and did a lot of rehearsals together. Even after the drama ended, we continue to meet. Recently, we had drinks near Jongak and talked about various things.

◆ "The world is crazy for True Education"

The catharsis of 'True Education' is refreshing the entire world. In its second week of release, it achieved No. 1 on the Global Top 10 Non-English shows, ranking first in 46 countries including Korea, Japan, and Singapore.

Just like the leads, there's also keen interest in the supporting cast. Lee Seung-gyu also expressed joy, saying, "I received a lot of messages from friends and acquaintances around me. Viewers from various countries send me DMs."

D :Did you think it would be loved globally to this extent?

Lee Seung-gyu : I never dreamed of it. I think those appearing in other episodes might think the same way. In fact, we (students) only appear briefly within Episode 1. Yet to receive such great love is nothing but gratitude.

D :Were there any interesting viewer reactions?

Lee Seung-gyu : A student sent me a DM saying their future dream is to be an actor. They said, "I was so moved by your acting, and it will be a great source of strength as I prepare to act going forward. Let's work hard and see each other on the same set later." That message stuck with me.

D :What do you think is the secret to 'True Education's' popularity?

Lee Seung-gyu : Whether a drama does well or a film does well, there's always a clear reason. I think it aligns well with the points that people living in this era want to resolve. I think it hit the mark on the desire to protect teachers' authority and rights.

D :By the way, you made a donation, didn't you?

Lee Seung-gyu : Our company's CEO has been consistently donating for a long time. She's also donated sanitary pads for vulnerable youth and such. Watching such a CEO, I always thought, "That's cool, I want to learn from that."

D :It's meaningful that you chose 'BTF Blue Tree Foundation' as your donation recipient.

Lee Seung-gyu : Before filming 'True Education', I saw a story on 'You Quiz on the Block' about a father who lost his son to school violence. Then I met 'True Education' at the right time. I wanted the drama to lead to actual recovery for victims, not just be entertainment. However, the amount I'm donating isn't much due to my circumstances, for which I'm sorry.

◆ "This is the kind of person I am"

At a young age, he took the stage for the first time and felt an indescribable sensation. He recalled, "While making mistakes, the moment the audience looked at me felt like a movie. Time stopped, and I felt like I was alone in that space." That moment led Lee Seung-gyu down the path of acting.

D :Now, let's finish talking about 'True Education' and talk about actor Lee Seung-gyu. How did you start dreaming of acting?

Lee Seung-gyu : I first encountered acting in elementary school. I participated in an audition for a church children's musical and went on stage. I loved that stage so much that I kept it in my heart. During school years, I told my parents I wanted to try acting, but they opposed it at the time. Because the profession of actor is unstable. So I didn't pursue that path.

D :But you didn't give up on your dream? You're acting now.

Lee Seung-gyu : During military service, I looked back and thought, "When I get out into society later, I want to do something that makes me happy—what should I do?" Suddenly, the church musical from childhood came to mind. Until three days before discharge, I thought about and worried over wanting to be an actor. That's how I jumped in, and fortunately, I'm still acting.

D :You came full circle and achieved your original dream.

Lee Seung-gyu : All this time, I wanted to do it countless times and faced parental opposition saying "You can't." Because of that, my desire grew stronger. I thought, "I really want to live, I want to live vibrantly." I read acting books on my own, studied acting, and practiced. So my obsession grew even bigger, and it all exploded during military service.

D :But becoming an actor isn't something you can just do as you wish, is it?

Lee Seung-gyu : I just started auditioning blindly. Without a profile at that. (Laughs) A director was so bewildered asking, "Why don't you have a profile?" I was so ignorant. But the director watched my acting that day and gave me a new script, saying "Practice for 20 minutes and come back." Three days later, I got a casting call and ended up passing. That was my first film, 'Dream Maker' (2022).

D :That's a great start!

Lee Seung-gyu : I was so happy about the first casting that I screamed at home. After that, I appeared in several web dramas. I did commercials and thought, "Now a smooth path is laid out." But I realized work doesn't go exactly as I want. I deeply realized it and went through a difficult period.

◆ "The future I dream of"

He jumped in because he loves acting. But he can't become a top star overnight. The past was difficult, the present is uncertain, and the future is unknown. Yet he dreams of eternity. "I want to act for a long time. Until I leave this world," he says.

D :It seems you went through a slump.

Lee Seung-gyu : For about two years before 'True Education' opened, I struggled. There weren't many projects, and there were family issues—it was complex. There were practically various problems. It was hard to endure on passion alone.

D :People say over 90% of modern people's troubles can be solved with money. Did you struggle with living expenses?

Lee Seung-gyu : Money is always lacking. I always work hard. When there was no filming, I reduced my sleep and did three jobs a day. There's hardly any job I haven't tried. Construction, logistics, fish markets, flower farms, animal feed companies, cleaning companies, interior design. I'm confident that I have far more job experience than people my age.

D :Such experience becomes good nourishment for an actor.

Lee Seung-gyu : I think I give better acting when meeting and moving with people, gaining social experience, rather than just looking at a script. I have a notepad where I record details about each job I do. When I meet a good role, I plan to pull out these people one by one and show them. I'm confident I can handle all of them well.

D :Why do you love acting so much?

Lee Seung-gyu : What's fun is that inside the camera, within that frame, I can be free. Later, after I die, when I take out the movies and dramas I appeared in, what would that be like? I imagine that I could feel my youth, which no longer exists, alive. An actor can be eternal in the camera even after the body dies. Living an eternity—it's truly a wonderful profession.

D :Finally, how about a bit of self-promotion? Tell us the charm of actor Lee Seung-gyu.

Lee Seung-gyu : My MBTI is INFJ. It's an MBTI that imagines a lot. My N (imagination) comes out at about 99%. Imagination is important for actors. I have the advantage that even reading the same line or looking at the same script, I interpret it from a slightly different perspective. I can create a new character that's uniquely mine, not a common one. Just give me the chance. I'm confident I can handle anything well!

<Photos=Photographer Lee Ho-jun, Netflix>