'Cooking Soldier' Lee Hong-nae: Calling Park Ji-hoon 'younger sister' was an insult... He is an extremely upright bamboo [Interview ①]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Lee Hong-nae shared his impressions of working alongside Park Ji-hoon in 'Cooking Soldier'.

On the afternoon of the 18th, Lee Hong-nae conducted an interview with StarNews at a café in Gyeongdong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Earlier, on the 16th, he successfully concluded the OTT TVING original 'Cooking Soldier: Becoming a Legend' (hereinafter 'Cooking Soldier') and spoke about the series.

'Cooking Soldier' concluded with a high viewership rating of 7.6%. It received immense love, drawing more paid subscribers than any other TVING original work released in the past three years.

In the drama, Lee Hong-nae played Sergeant Yoon Dong-hyun, a veteran cook, delivering a passionate performance. In particular, he showcased perfect chemistry with Park Ji-hoon, who played Private First Class Kang Sung-jae, Yoon Dong-hyun's successor, driving the drama's popularity.

Lee Hong-nae also remarked uniquely, "From the moment I first read the script, the most important thing for Yoon Dong-hyun was his first meeting with Kang Sung-jae and the process of gradually opening his heart to him."

He continued, "I wanted Yoon Dong-hyun to appear as a reliable big brother figure, a supportive force, in the process of Kang Sung-jae transforming into the legendary cook. We had many discussions with Director Jo Nam-hyung regarding this dynamic, and through those conversations, we developed the character."

Lee Hong-nae then humbly credited Park Ji-hoon, saying, "I truly wanted to be Park Ji-hoon's helper. I thought I needed to help him act well, but in the end, it was the opposite. I actually received a lot of help. The reason viewers think of Yoon Dong-hyun so affectionately is all thanks to Ji-hoon."

He added, "In fact, Yoon Dong-hyun's actions might have seemed exaggerated or overly comedic. However, the reason it felt convincing was because Kang Sung-jae was by his side. Watching it on broadcast made me feel this even more. If Yoon Dong-hyun was a bit over-the-top, Sung-jae would tone it down. Park Ji-hoon really expressed it with such delicacy. I wondered if all the actors could have been loved like this without Park Ji-hoon. I was grateful because he made it possible for everyone to shine."

He further praised, "Ji-hoon taught me a lot while filming. I'm not saying this to be humble; it was truly the case. He is an actor like an extremely upright bamboo. He had a lot of screen time, and amidst that busy schedule, he even managed to handle the release and promotional schedule for 'The Man Who Lives with the King' in between shoots. I learned a lot from his unwavering presence."

In particular, Lee Hong-nae corrected his earlier description of Park Ji-hoon as a 'younger sister.' He emphasized, "I didn't say 'younger sister.' It seems my response of 'it would be nice to have a younger brother like Park Ji-hoon' was misinterpreted as 'younger sister.' Calling a cool friend like Park Ji-hoon 'younger sister' seems inappropriate. I want to correct it to 'friend'."

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*This content was translated by AI.