DAZED: The last interview we had with you was in April last year, a full year has passed. Do you know, today one of the on-site staff said “It’s the first time that I have seen Lee Min Ho like this” and everyone was also surprised.
Lee Min Ho: (laughs) It was a pictorial that I took after a long time but the concept was clear enough, so I think that I was able to create a different feeling than usual.
DAZED: You seem to be quite busy lately? There’s yet to be an update nor news on Lee Min Ho’s Film YouTube Channel but finally, a new episode has just been uploaded in May 2023.
Lee Min Ho: That is a project film that I made after discussing a lot about it since the year before last year. Ever since I was young, I have been feeling mesmerized and close to games and computers. I thought that I would like to create content based on such a virtual world. With the current awareness of ChatGPT, AI has become very popular. After watching that, I also thought that the beginning of a single-person content era had opened. So I started to try making something new.
DAZED: Your range of interest and things that you’d like to do, along with your activities is wide.
Lee Min Ho: I think that I’m the kind of person who can get interested in this or that just naturally. However, I don’t really like it when people say “I like this kind of thing, this is what I thought about it” while revealing their interests. I just think that I am working to the extent that people who are interested in me will say “Sure, that’s of course Lee Min Ho” and sympathize with me. I think that I am working to a level that I can relate to, just like writing a diary.DAZED: Do you perhaps also see Instagram Reels? Lately, videos of Gu Jun Pyo from “Boys Over Flowers” have caught our eyes here and there.
Lee Min Ho: Hahaha. It’s from 2009 so it should be over 10 years ago, right? At that time, I sincerely believed that all of his acts made sense (laugh) but now that I think about it, no it didn’t make sense.
DAZED: It made sense, since you’ve been sharing the memory with the public for a while.
Lee Min Ho: I was 23 years old when I acted the role of Gu Jun Pyo and at that time, I personally didn’t feel any “indifference” related to his conch hair, his unique attitude nor his gestures. It’s kinda the same with then I play as a Emperor riding a white horse and in the upcoming drama “Ask The Stars”, which will be released in the second half of next year (2024) since I would be playing the role of a obstetrician who got the chance to go to space. I guess I take all of it from the easy side. I tend to sympathize with works with the fantasy genre, since it has a lot more potential that other realistic and trivial stories.
DAZED: What are your thoughts on your current appearance, which lean towards calm and simple?
Lee Min Ho: I was so sad when I turned 30. I think I sang Kim Kwang Seok’s song “Around 30” continuously for 3 months. I really like the period when I was between 26 and 28 years old and I think it was a good time to go the way you want, this way or that way. You can pretend to be a boy, I think you can also be a little playful, but it’s okay to look like an adult as well. Back then when I felt that there’s something boiling inside me (fiery feeling), I took action in that direction to resolve it (laughs). But now..I can’t see it from the outside but I felt that there’s still some kind of that heart in this calmness, meaning something that seems to come out someday. Therefore, I am looking forward to it myself.
DAZED: But I think it would be exciting to discuss this with Lee Min Ho. Do you think the world is moving towards a better direction? On the contrary, are you the kind of person who thinks that things are getting worse in reality?
Lee Min Ho: It seems to be getting worse.
DAZED: You answer it so firmly.
Lee Min Ho: As our culture and time changes, I think that it seems our (sense of) humanity has gradually disappeared. So in the end, the era in this world continues to develop in pursuit of the people’s convenience but it has become a society where communication is no longer necessary. It’s an era where you don’t have to ask face-to-face to other people directly to get the answers you need. In fact, there’s less reason to really communicate.
DAZED: In a society like that, what do we need the most right now?
Lee Min Ho: Of course Content, hahaha, really. I believe that a certain unique emotion of humans can be found through and beneath various contents. Wouldn’t that help you to also feel that reason behind your existence and finally live an energetic life?
DAZED: Now I’m completely convinced and I’m imagining a better world.
Lee Min Ho: In that respect, the importance of content then seems to be increasing (laughs).
Director Choi Jiwoong
Text Kwon Sohee
Fashion Jung Hyejin
Photography Yoon Jiyong
Art Ha Suim
Hair Ahn Hongmoon
Makeup Seong Mihyun
Set Shin Hoseung
Original Article: Dazed Korea - August 2023 Issue
Korean to English Translation: Monika Setiono
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