[Dispatch=Reporter Lee Ah Jin] "Acting always seems difficult."

Jung Sung-il has 39 films and dramas to his name so far. By now, he has established himself as an actor who clearly shows his own color. With each work, he has drawn up the immersion of the narrative through weighty acting.

Director Woo Min-ho took note of that strength. He cast Jung Sung-il because he is "an actor who conveys weight without having to express anger or burst with emotion." He saw that Jung could express the image of a figure of power in the South Korean government of the 1970s.

Yet Jung Sung-il did not rely solely on his strengths. He looked into the character in detail, understood it, and dug deep to find his own answer. That attitude became the force that completed Cheon Seok-jung in three-dimensional form over two seasons.

Dispatch recently met actor Jung Sung-il. We heard about the process of completing Cheon Seok-jung in Disney+ "Made in Korea 2" and his values as an actor.

◆ The Weight of Power

"Made in Korea 2" tells the story set nine years after the original. The desires of Baek Ki-tae (played by Hyun Bin), who stands at the pinnacle of power; Jang Geon-yeong (played by Jeong Woo-sung), who has been preparing a counterattack; and Baek Ki-hyun (played by Woo Do-hwan), reaching toward another peak of power, collide and create massive cracks.

Cheon Seok-jung, played by Jung Sung-il, is a figure in the midst of that power. An elite who graduated first from the Korea Military Academy and held various important positions, he is also the presidential chief of staff. He is so powerful that he is called the second-in-command of power, and his ambition is strong.

Most of the characters in the drama evoke real historical figures of the time. Cheon Seok-jung also recalls a specific person in position and background. However, he is not a character faithfully transposed from the life and personality of a real person.

He is closer to a fictional character created anew within the work. That is why, from season one, it was important to meticulously build what kind of person Cheon Seok-jung is, what personality and grain he has.

Jung Sung-il said, "What the director emphasized most was that 'Cheon Seok-jung is the most fictional character in the drama,'" and added, "Within historical events, I pondered how to make such a character exist naturally."

He focused on the weight of a person in power. However, he tried to maintain a dignified attitude rather than display force. He believed that by revealing Cheon Seok-jung's status through the reactions of surrounding characters, and that those who wield power through force desire dignity.

"I first suggested using the dialect of Gyeongsangdo, the region where power was held at the time, to reflect the era. A dialect can contain multiple nuances in a short phrase. I wanted to show weight without saying much. By directing the head upward, I also tried to add the image of a person in power who governs everything beneath their feet."

◆ The Collapse of Power

If season one built the aura of a person in power, season two had to depict the process of that power crumbling. As the balance of power shifts, Cheon Seok-jung is dragged into an interrogation room overnight.

Jung Sung-il said, "I pondered how I could maintain the weight created in season one while allowing it to collapse," and recalled, "The difficulty was much higher, but as an actor, there was so much more I could do that it was more fun."

He especially put effort into scenes in the interrogation room. A space where power can no longer be wielded. Even amid the fear that remaining power might disappear, Cheon Seok-jung tries not to lose his dignity.

"Cheon Seok-jung was someone who had no reason to bow his head. But as I was being interrogated, my head naturally dropped. I acted while reminding myself to keep my head up."

There were moments when he intentionally broke dignity. When Hwang Dae-sik aims a gun, he flinches. It was a setting not in the script. However, Jung Sung-il wanted to reveal Cheon Seok-jung's human face in that moment alone.

"I didn't flinch excessively. But I wanted to show how humans become infinitely small in the face of death. It's a scene that passes quickly, so you might miss it. But if you watch such instinctive reactions carefully, I think you will find the character Cheon Seok-jung even more interesting."

◆ Changed Relationships, Deepened Acting

Cheon Seok-jung's transformation was revealed even more three-dimensionally within his relationships with surrounding characters. To that extent, the density of acting exchanged between the actors also increased. Especially Cheon Seok-jung and Baek Ki-tae, having spent nine years together, have become much closer than before.

Jung Sung-il said, "In season one, Baek Ki-tae was someone Cheon Seok-jung kept by his side purely out of necessity. But in season two, they've become close enough that he seeks him out and relies on him first," and explained, "Yet still, they don't completely trust each other. I wanted to portray a relationship where intimacy and wariness coexist."

Hyun Bin's acting became a stimulus. Jung Sung-il recalled, "From the first scene, I felt that the way Hyun Bin called me and the way he sat had become presumptuous," and "I could feel how much Baek Ki-tae had climbed close to Cheon Seok-jung's position."

"Hyun Bin created the changes over those nine years so well that I was immediately immersed. Because of that, more varied acting came out. In the narrative, we have a subtle relationship, but in reality, he was a grateful collaborator and partner."

He experienced new breathing in the interrogation room scenes as well. He faced new characters he hadn't met in season one, such as Baek Ki-hyun (played by Woo Do-hwan) and Hwang Dae-sik (played by Heo Jeong-do). When confronting actors who had already perfected their characters, instantaneous reactions spilled out before the calculated preparation.

"At that moment, I didn't really think of it as acting. Because the other actors had already become those characters, I naturally reacted as Cheon Seok-jung. Especially when Hwang Dae-sik goes 'bang, bang,' I was suddenly so annoyed. (laughs) After filming ended, I immediately hugged Heo Jeong-do and told him his acting was so good."

◆ "There's No Free Lunch in This World"

In fact, he could react instantaneously while colliding with other actors because he had delved so deeply into Cheon Seok-jung. Jung Sung-il identified everything from the arrogance of wielding power within a character of great fictiveness, to anxiety and survival instinct.

"I don't think you can act by understanding only with your head. If there's a part where I can fully reach that character, I try to feel it as much as possible. And I try to make viewers of my acting question, 'What would I do in this situation?'"

There was also a change in his attitude toward acting recently. Last year, he performed in the play "Capone Trilogy," during which he had to live as one character for an extended time. Even after the performance ended, it took a long time to escape the character. Through that process, he gained new insight.

Jung Sung-il said, "As the time I spend as a character in a work grows longer, the time I actually spend as Jung Sung-il disappears," and "So these days, I try to shake it off quickly when it ends. I think that's how I can balance work and life."

After a long career, a standard remained. Filling the given time in a way that he can be proud of to himself. Jung Sung-il has built up his time that way so far, and plans to continue walking the path of an actor in the same manner.

"I think there's no free lunch in this world. Of course, it's not something that just happens by spending time. I believe that depending on how hard you spend that time and how sincerely you try to be proud of it to yourself, you can seize opportunities when they come."

<Photo provided by Walt Disney Company>