[Exclusive]Lee Jun-young to join the military this year... declares 'retirement' as a singer [Interview ②]

*This content was translated by AI.

• Interview with Lee Jun-young, winner of the 'AAA 2025' Best Actor Award

-Following Interview ①

Lee Jun-young, who saw his luck with awards explode last year with wins such as the 'AAA 2025' Best Actor Award and the 'KBS Drama Awards' Excellence Award for Male Actors, has been running nonstop without a moment to rest.

Lee Jun-young himself reflected, "I really lived my hardest last year. It was a year where I poured everything into it," while shaking his head. He added, "Actually, this was impossible. I had to split my time into tiny pieces and push myself to handle the schedule. I wondered when I would ever be this busy, but I truly lived an incredibly busy life, which was both fun and difficult. It was a year where I released a solo album, appeared on MBC's 'What Do You Do?' variety show, and took on many other challenges."

Just last year, he appeared in five works, including three Netflix series: 'Melo Movie', 'I Was Caught in a Sweet Lie', and 'Weak Hero Class 2', a special appearance in the TVING original 'The Long Way Home', and the KBS 2TV drama '24-Hour Health Club'. Moreover, Lee Jun-young also completed special appearances in two films, 'Such a Useless Love' and 'Autograph' (working title).

In addition, Lee Jun-young is set to unveil two leading roles this year without a break: JTBC's new Saturday-Sunday drama 'New Employee Kang (Chairman)' and tvN's new drama 'Four Hands'.

Notably, Lee Jun-young drew attention by directly mentioning, "I am preparing to enlist this year, so I filmed some works in advance."

Born on January 22, 1997, Lee Jun-young is scheduled to enlist in the military this year. However, as he has rapidly emerged as a 'top star' on the small screen, one might wonder if he feels any regret about facing a 'military gap' (군백기, combining 'military' and 'gap period').

But Lee Jun-young immediately replied, "I don't feel regretful at all. I actually feel relieved. I was physically exhausted for so long."

It is no surprise, given that Lee Jun-young has been running faster than anyone else. So much so that he even experienced a dizzying moment of collapsing due to overwork.

Lee Jun-young said, "When the filming schedules of two works overlapped, my body, which I thought was sturdy, broke down. I had only one or two days off per month, sleeping for two or three hours before filming, and one day I suddenly fainted. Not only me, but my manager and the staff also suffered greatly. That's why I feel even more relieved."

Since Lee Jun-young will enlist at the age of 30 by Korean age reckoning, he has been receiving related questions for several years. However, Lee Jun-young has never avoided these questions, instead confidently stating his intention to enlist each time.

Even when asked by a reporter, "Didn't you get tired of the repeated questions about your enlistment plans?", Lee Jun-young calmly responded, "Not really. It was time for me to go, and I didn't know when I would go, so I consider it a natural curiosity." He further shared, "Even I think I'm going later than expected. So my only worry is this: my knees hurt a bit, and my back hurts a bit, but will I be able to return safely and healthily? If it were a few years ago, I think I would have returned safely and had fun, but now I just think about how to get through this healthily."

Continuing, Lee Jun-young said, "Aside from health concerns, I have no other thoughts. I just think I should work hard and do what I'm told in the military. I don't want to attach any special meaning to it. As a late-blooming soldier, there will surely be difficulties, but I am keeping my mind clear."

Additionally, Lee Jun-young revealed a detached attitude, stating, "I think it's easier to consider popularity as not mine. After returning from the military, I can work with those who support and like me. If they are not there, I will think about it then. That doesn't dictate my mood. Right now, the work in front of me is more important to me."

He also shared details about 'New Employee Kang (Chairman)' and 'FourHands', which he will showcase before enlistment. Lee Jun-young stated, "In 'New Employee Kang (Chairman)', I will switch souls with senior actor Son Hyun-joo and take on the role of dual characters for the first time. It was a huge challenge for me. I think it will be a work that makes people say, 'He could do this too?' Senior actors Son Hyun-joo, Jeon Hye-jin, and Jin Goo, who appeared with me, also praised me, saying, 'You're doing great.'"

Regarding 'FourHands', he expressed confidence, saying, "It is a work filled with the bromance of two friends who truly love the piano. I acted alongside Song Kang, and it is quite different from 'New Employee Kang (Chairman)'. It offers a different kind of fun."

However, Lee Jun-young surprised everyone by declaring 'retirement' from his solo singer activities. Especially last year, after a five-year hiatus from singing, he met fans with his solo mini-album 'Last Dance'. He performed on stage in front of 55,000 audiences at the 10th anniversary 'AAA 2026' and also showcased a special new song stage at the AAA Festa 'ACON 2025' held the next day.

But Lee Jun-young stated, "As a singer, I actually have no future plans. My last album was 'Last Dance'. That's why I named the album 'Last Dance'. I don't know what might happen later, but for now, this is my thought. I consider 'Last Dance' as a proper farewell."

When asked for the reason, he gave a serious answer: "To those who make singing their profession, I might be doing this in an event-like manner. (As a former member of the group U-KISS) Singing was once my main job, but that main job changed, and I became an actor. Releasing albums and being active as a singer is a huge effort for them (singers), just as filming is my work. When I asked myself if I could do everything for singing just like acting, I thought I couldn't. If that's the case, it would be disrespectful to them, so I feel like, 'Well, you've had fun so far, so let's send you off.'"

Before being a former member of U-KISS, Lee Jun-young's roots are as a 'dancer'. He said, "As an actor and as a dancer, I think I need to think hard about how to live the rest of my life well. But I don't think it will be very different from now. Human Lee Jun-young will move as he likes."

He added, "My beginning was dance. I want to dance even when I'm 60 or 70 years old. I love it that much. At that time, I wonder what kind of movements I will prefer, and I also want to dance without pain. Even now, if a dance battle is held on the weekend, I go out and get inspired there, dance, and feel healed. I have a strong desire to continue both dancing and acting for a long time. And I have a strong feeling that I must not be ashamed to those who support me. So, 'let's not cause trouble,' that is my number one rule."

-To be continued in Interview ③.

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*This content was translated by AI.