Pyo Ye-jin Interview, Arena Magazine: Pyo Ye-jin’s Now

LOVE this interview with Pyo Ye-jin (표예진) who plays Jang Ye-jin in Fight for My Way. She is owning her part as a super sweet and innocent young woman who just wants to love the man she wants to love AND have him love her back. I mean, don’t we all? Okay, I know, we should all hate her because she is stealing young Sul-hee’s Oppa, but I just can’t because – I don’t know – I just can’t. She is just so naive and unknowing. I don’t even think she knows the damage she caused. But, honestly, Joo-man should have shut her down cold in the beginning. I mean really, she didn’t even know he had a girlfriend he loved until practically the end of the show.

Anyway, I digress. Pyo Ye-jin, the actress, is burning down the house with this role and she seems like a chill person as well. In the article she goes a little bit into her background and talks about how she became an actress. She was initially a flight attendant and, though she said she enjoyed that job, she decided it was not for her. She felt too bottled up in the service industry and felt like she needed a job where she could express herself. She hadn’t thought about acting before, but then one day it hit her as the perfect profession to do what she wants with her life, so she quit her flight attendant job and enrolled in acting classes against her parents best wishes. Her first job was in the internet TV show Deux Yeoza and her TV debut was with Marriage Contract. She continued acting after that, though she said she didn’t know what she was doing and had to learn on the fly.

I did an Instagram Roundup on her recently and I looooved her Instagram. It is so breezy and was packed with food, flowers, books, parks, movies, and coffee shops, which is my kind of life; I instantly loved her. I’m not the only one either because her followers more than doubled in the time I did her first roundup (oh, I’m doing a second one ^_^) and it wasn’t even that long ago, so I think she is about to explode; which I am all for. The full interview is below, check it out if you get a chance.

INTERVIEW: Pyo Ye-jin’s Now
Arena Magazine | June 19, 2017 | Translated by: Bah+Doo

‘카르페 디엠’, 이 말을 몸소 실천하며 사는 사람이 몇이나 있을까? 신인 배우 표예진은 대한항공 승무원을 그만두고 배우의 길을 택했다. 단아한 그녀의 입버릇은 다름 아닌 ‘오늘 하루만 살아요. 나를 위해서.’
How many people actually practice the phrase ‘Carpe Diem’? New actress Pyo Ye-jin quit her job as a flight attendant with Korean Air and decided to be an actress. The elegant Pyo Ye-jin always says, ‘I live today, for myself.’

승무원 대학교 2학년 때 승무원이 돼서 대한항공에서 1년 6개월 정도 일했어요. 일은 만족스러웠어요. 다만, 서비스직은 진짜 ‘나’를 숨겨야 하는 일이잖아요. 자유롭게 내 안에 있는 걸 꺼내 다양한 도전을 하고 싶은데, 당시에는 해외 호텔에서 노트북에 담아온 드라마나 영화를 보거나, 비행 마치고 직장 선배들과 공항에서 뜨끈한 어묵 먹는 게 낙이었어요. 사람마다 성향이 다르잖아요? 그런 생활이 제 기질하고는 맞지 않았던 거죠. 미련은 전혀 없어요. 
Flight Attendant. After my second year of college, I became a flight attendant and worked for Korean Airlines for a year and a half. I liked my job; however, working in service is a job that required me to hide “Myself.” I want to let all the things inside of me out and I want to try new things, but the only things I could do back then were watching dramas or movies, that I saved on my laptop, in a hotel room in a foreign country; or eating some warm fish cake soup with my seonbae’s after the flight. Everyone is different, right? That lifestyle didn’t agree with me. I have no regrets.

배우 연기에 대한 꿈이 있던 건 아니에요. 워낙 영화나 드라마 보길 좋아했고, 내 안의 다양한 면을 표출할 수 있는 게 연기라고 생각했어요. 무작정 승무원을 그만두고 연기를 배우자고 마음먹었어요. 1년 정도 혼자 아등바등했어요. 대학에 진학해 연기 관련 공부를 하고 싶었는데 부모님이 반대하셔서 잠시 연기 학원에 다녔어요. 당시 공부할 수 있는 여건이 아니었어요. 그러다 우연히 웹 드라마를 시작하게 됐어요. 아무것도 모르는 상태에서. ‘네이버 TV’에서 방영한 72초 드라마 〈두 여자〉가 이슈가 됐고 이듬해 2016년 드라마 〈결혼계약〉으로 공중파에 데뷔했어요. 그 후 드라마 〈닥터스〉와 〈월계수 양복점 신사들〉까지 출연한 거예요. 
Actress. I didn’t have a dream to be an actress. I really liked watching movies or dramas, and I thought that acting was a way to express various sides of myself. I decided to quit my job and learn how to act. I struggled for a year by myself. I wanted to go to college and study acting, but my parents opposed that so I went to an acting academy. I didn’t have the right circumstances where I could study. Then by chance, I participated in a web drama without knowing anything about it. It was a 72-second drama called Deux Yeoja | Two women on Naver TV and it became a hit. I later debuted on TV with the 2016 drama Marriage Contract. After that, I was in Doctors and The Gentlemen Of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop.

고비 생판 모르는 일을 해야 하니까 처음에는 막막했죠. 여기저기 발로 뛰어다닌 적도 많아요. 심적으로 많이 안 좋았는데…. 기억이 잘 안 나요. 힘들 때는 힘든 대로 받아들이고 잘 잊는 편이에요. 촬영장에서 혼나더라도 당연하게 받아들여요. ‘내가 모르는구나. 배우면 그만이지!’ 하고요. 이런 생각은 여전해요. 연기력이 많이 부족하지만 혼나더라도 즐겁게 배우자는. 주변 사람들은 제가 정신력이 강한 편이라고, 긍정적이라고 보기 좋대요. 
Crisis. I had no idea what to do since I was not familiar with working at all. I had to run around a lot, I had a hard time… I can’t remember it well. When times are hard, I accept them as is and easily forget about it later. If I am yelled at on the shooting site, I just accept it like, “Well, I don’t know about it, so I can just learn it!” I still think that way. I am still not good at acting, but I am happily learning even if I am yelled at. People around me have told me that I have a strong mentality and positive and that they like it.

‘나?’ 최근 친구랑 수다 떨다가 희한한 점을 발견했어요. 평범하고 행복한 가정에서 큰 문제 없이 잘 자랐는데, 상처가 많은 캐릭터에 관심이 많은 거예요. 이뿐만 아니라 전에는 단순했는데 이젠 나를 둘러싸고 있는 ‘나’에 대해 자꾸 의구심이 생겨요. 성찰한다고 하잖아요. 흔히 ‘나는 누구인가. 나는 무엇인가’ 하고요. 최근 그렇게 지내고 있어요. 그나저나 정말, 사는 게 뭘까요?(웃음) 물론, 전이나 지금이나 하고 싶은 건 도전하고 즐기는 ‘무데뽀’ 정신은 투철해요. 
“Myself?” Recently, I found out a peculiar thing about myself while chatting with my friend. I grew up in a normal, happy family without any big trouble, but I am interested in wounded characters. Moreover, I was a pretty simple person before, but now I question myself, what is the ‘me’ surrounding me. People say this is being introspective? Constantly, questioning yourself ‘Who am I? What am I? I live like that now. By the way, what is real about living? (laugh) Of course, like before, I still have my stubborn spirit that does what it wants to do and enjoys it.

기록광 쉴 때는 주로 카페에 가요. 커피를 즐기지는 않지만 책 보고 글 적는 걸 좋아해서요. 손 글씨로 쓰는데 딱히 장르나 주제는 없어요. 일기처럼 하루를 정리하기도 하고 힘든 일이나 열 받는 일, 슬픈 일 등 가리지 않고 죄다 적어요. 속 깊은 얘기를 쓰다가도 치킨 먹고 싶은 심정을 적을 때도 있어요. 일종의 생각 노트인데 벌써 10년째 계속 써서 집에 노트가 쌓여 있어요. 잘 찾아보면 욕도 있을 거예요.(웃음) 무언가를 기록하다 보면 생각이 정리돼서 좋아요.
Obsessed with Documenting. When I take a break, I usually go to a café. I don’t enjoy coffee that much, but I like to read and write. I write down things by hand with no theme or genre. Sometimes, I summarize my day like a journal, or what gave me hard time, something that made me angry, sad things, I just write down everything. Sometimes I write things from deep in my mind then switch to my feelings about how much I want to eat fried chicken. It is kind of just documenting a free flow of thoughts; have been doing this for 10 years. I have stacks of notebooks at home. If I carefully look through them, I may find some curse words (laughs). Writing helps me think straight.

지금 이 순간 아마도 부모님의 영향이 클 거예요. 뭘 하든 틀에 얽매이지 않고 열린 태도를 유지하게 이끌어주세요. 그만큼 저를 믿으세요. 어릴 때부터 계속 그런 태도로 저를 대해주세요. 그래서인가, 저는 지금 이 순간이 중요한 사람이에요. 지금, 현재요. ‘오늘 하루만 산다’는 얘기를 자주 해요. 단순히 입에 붙은 말이어서가 아니라 그런 마음 상태를 유지하는 게 좋아요. 그래야 무엇이든 도전하고 잘해내는 것 같아요. 과거에 집착하지 않고 미래를 두려워하지 않고요. 결국 지나면 경험이고 다가오는 건 그때 그 순간에 즐기면 되잖아요? 영화 〈죽은 시인의 사회〉의 명언이기도 하잖아요. ‘카르페 디엠’.
At This Moment. I guess my parents influenced me a lot. They guided me to be open minded and not to be trapped in a mold when I am doing something. They trust me that much. They have treated me this way since I was young. Maybe because of that, I am the type of person who values the present moment. Right now. Here. I say this phrase a lot, “I only live today.” l like to maintain that mindset whether I say it all the time or not. I think when I do that, I can challenge anything and get good results. No obsession to the past, no fear of the future. Eventually, the past becomes my experiences and I just enjoy each moment when we face them, right? It is a well-known phrase from the movie [Dead Poets Society], ‘Carpe diem’. (Seize the day).

여행 최근 뉴욕에 다녀왔어요. 승무원일 때도 자주 갔는데, 완전히 새로운 곳에 간 기분이었어요. 확연히 다르더라고요. 일할 때는 짬을 내서 둘러보는 정도였거든요. 이번에는 카페에 멍하니 앉아 있기도 하고 천천히 또 오래 걷기도 했어요. 못 가본 브루클린도 갔고요. 확실히 일이 아니라 그런지 전과 비슷한 시간대에 같은 곳을 방문했는데도 모든 게 달라 보이더라고요. 귀국한 뒤에 세상을 보는 시각도 달라져서 좋아요.
Travel. Recently, I went to New York City. I went there a lot when I was a flight attendant, but this time I felt like I went to a totally new place. It was distinctively different. When I was working, I made time and just looked around. This time, I was sitting at a café absent minded or just took slow leisurely walks. I went to Brooklin as well. Maybe because it wasn’t for work, but even though I went to the same places at similar times in the day, they all looked different. In addition, I like traveling because it changes my view of the world after coming back home.

굳이 해외가 아니더라도 시간 나면 틈틈이 여행 가는 편이에요. 서울 근교 등산도 생활 속 여행이라고 생각해요. 인터넷에 검색해보니까 ‘관악산 짱잼 코스’가 있더라고요. 보자마자 친구랑 다녀왔어요. 운동도 되지만 자연 그 자체에서 오는 느낌이랄까. 굉장히 좋아요. 그래서 말인데, 기회가 된다면 아마존 같은 곳도 가보고 싶어요. 물론, 벌레만 없다면.
I like traveling when I have time, but not just in foreign countries. I think hiking in the mountains around Seoul is a good way to travel as well. When I checked online, I found a really cool Kuanak mountain trail. As soon as I saw it, I went there with my friend. It’s good for exercising and moreover the feel of nature itself is really cool. So, if I have a chance, I would like to go to somewhere like the Amazon jungle. If they don’t have bugs.

신작 5월 말부터 방영하는 〈쌈, 마이웨이〉에 출연해요. 청춘의 현실과 꿈 그리고 사랑을 찾아가는 드라마고요. 저는 금수저 캐릭터를 맡았어요. 부유한 집안에서 부족함 없이 사랑받고 자라 세상이 행복하다고 믿는 해맑은 애예요. 동시에 감정이나 의사 표현이 매우 솔직한 사랑스러운 캐릭터고요. 많이 기대해주세요. 
New Work. I will be in Fight for My Way, which will air in May. It is a drama about the reality of young people and chasing their dreams and loves. My character is a girl from a rich family. She grew up in a rich family, she was always loved, and she believes the world is beautiful. She is a lovely character who is honest and straightforward with her feelings and expressing her emotions. Please look forward to it.

목적지 배우로서 어떻게 보여야겠다는 생각은 없어요. ‘나’를 위해서 하는 거니까. 사람은 누구나 다양한 모습을 가지고 살잖아요. 다양한 역할을 맡으면서 죄다 끄집어내보고 싶어요. 나라는 수많은 캐릭터를. 그러다 우연히 색다른 ‘나’를 발견하면 엄청나게 희열을 느낄 것 같아요. 그리고 진짜 배우가 되고 싶어요. 진짜가 무엇인지는 잘 모르지만, 어떤 배우는 진실돼 보이고 깊이가 느껴지잖아요. 저는 배우 한예리 선배를 보고 그렇게 느꼈어요. 가만히 서 있는 것만으로도 ‘아, 그 사람이구나’ 싶었거든요. 저도 어떤 역할을 맡든 늘 ‘진짜 배우’이고 싶어요.
Destination. I don’t have any intention of presenting myself a certain way as an actress. [Acting] is for “Me.” Everyone lives with different sides of themselves. I want to go all out with various roles; numerous characters of “Me.” Then if I find a new ‘Me’, I will be super excited. And I want to be a real actress. I don’t know what a real actor is, but some actors look like they are sincere and have substance. I felt like that when I saw Han Ye-ri seonbae. She was just standing motionlessly, but I felt like, “Ah, she is that person”. I want to be a “real actor” regardless of the roles I play.

Credit
GUEST EDITOR 김민수 Kim Min-su | PHOTOGRAPHY 레스 Les | STYLIST 한혜림 Han Ye-rim | HAIR
재황(에이바이봄) Je-whang (A.by Bom) | MAKE-UP 모란(순수 도산점) Mo-ran (Soonsoo Dosan branch)

FIN

That is the end of this interview, but I will probably post another one about her as soon as Fight for My Way is over. I haven’t found one yet, but I have a feeling she will be offered several in the coming months. If anyone runs into any then let me know.

Source Arena

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