Another farewell interview

This is an English translation of Jo Hyun-Jae's interview with "Korean TV Drama Magazine" (October 2008 issue) by misa123 first published in EVERjohyunjae on 2009.1.6

JHJ interview before entering the military

On August 5, 2008, having completed his final pre-enlistment role as a stingy papa in Three Daddies with One Mommy (2008, KBS), popular actor Jo Hyun Jae entered the military. On the day of his enlistment, a crowd of fans from Korea, Japan, and Thailand crowded around the front of the 306th replacement battalion, located in the city of Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province, hours before his scheduled arrival. At around 1:40pm, a shorthaired Jo Hyun Jae appeared before the fans and press encampment looking slightly nervous. He spoke briefly about his emotions right before entering the army while being watched over by so many fans, and then in an instant he had disappeared into the unit.

report: Woo Sang-Mee

☆ Interview

—What are you feeling right now?

**Until a moment ago, I wasn't thinking about anything, but I'm really happy that so many fans have come. Thank you very much.

—Were you able to sleep well yesterday?

**Yes, I went to sleep early at my house.

—What was your family's reaction?

**They are so worried, so I tried to put their mind at ease, telling them, “I'm going to finish up my duty in good health, so don't worry.” We had dinner together last night, and we were together just before I came here.

—Have you received any advice from your friends who have finished their military service?

**Some of my friends served as entertainment soldiers (members of the Defense Media Agency),and many other friends have finished their service as regular soldiers, all anyone told me was, "Don't worry" (laughs). Other than that, I didn't hear anything specific.

—What were you most concerned about?

**First, since I'm going to be living with people who are much younger than I am, I worried about how to get along with them. But no matter how much younger they are, since they joined the army before I did, they will of course be my superiors and I'll be their subordinate. No matter how young they are, this is the army, so I have to interact with them as my superiors and obey whatever ordersthey may give me. I'm going to give it my all to lead the military life.

—Do you plan to become an entertainment soldier?

**I'm not planning on that yet.

—Can you give us a message to your fans?

**I am really and truly grateful for the many people who came to see me whenever, wherever, and no matter what I was doing - whether it was on the set of a drama, at fan meetings, or wherever. (Fans say, "We'll be waiting for you!") I won't forget this love, and I will try to work even harder than everyone else to do my service and return to you!