[Interview②] Lee Bong-geun "BTS Songs, Pansori Reinterpretation? Exploring New Paths"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] Actor Lee Bong-geun shared the background of blending traditional Korean music and jazz into a BTS song.

Lee Bong-geun recently gave an interview at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, where he talked extensively about the film Sorikkun (director Jo Jeong-rae).

Sorikkun is a musical film set in the Joseon Dynasty that portrays the sorrow and humor of low-class sorikkun (traditional Korean singers) through the beautiful landscapes of the eight provinces of Joseon and the enchanting melodies of folk music. It reinterprets traditional Korean music and reconstructs it using a modern music system. This is the new work by director Jo Jeong-rae, who also directed Homecoming (2016). Jo Jeong-rae, a master of traditional percussion recognized for his skill, completed the feature film Sorikkun based on a short screenplay he wrote in 1998.

Lee Bong-geun majored in music at the School of Traditional Arts at Korea National University of Arts and is a seasoned sorikkun in the traditional Korean music scene. He gained attention by winning two consecutive times on KBS2's Immortal Songs. Since then, he has become popular as a young traditional musician with handsome looks, often called the "idol of the traditional music world." When this was mentioned, he shyly said, "I am grateful." He added, "I appreciate whatever title you give me. Attaching any kind of label is a form of affection, I think."

Traditional musicians are also actors who express emotions on stage according to our sounds. What is the difference between acting in films and performing on stage? Lee Bong-geun said, "When singing, we usually take formal gestures, but while filming Sorikkun, I struggled a lot. I focused on how to appear most human and natural. I imagined what kind of gestures and facial expressions would have been used at that time when singing. I tried to forget all my previous movements. Traditional Korean musicians might find the film puzzling. I tried hard to find only Hak-gyu’s gestures."

Lee Bong-geun recently appeared on JTBC variety show Knowing Bros and reinterpreted BTS’s song "Boy With Luv" in a pansori & jazz version, which attracted attention. He said, "I like absorbing and rearranging existing songs. I also studied jazz in 2002. Naturally, I ended up blending songs into various genres. The production team suggested it, and I thought the most popular BTS song would be good. There is fun in combining different genres. Please see this as another attempt to explore a new path."

In Sorikkun, Lee Bong-geun plays the protagonist Hak-gyu, delivering beautiful Korean melodies. He portrayed the character of sorikkun Hak-gyu, who grows as an artist singing while searching for his wife, with his own unique color. To become Hak-gyu, he lost about 12 kg in two months.

"I tried not to eat as much as possible and exercised a lot. Singing makes you lose weight. That means the calorie consumption is huge. So I had to eat, but I couldn’t, and it was tough (laughs). In the film, I appear stooped, but that’s not acting. I really couldn’t muster strength. Hak-gyu also couldn’t eat while searching for his wife, so I thought the situation was similar. It helped with emotional expression."

It is said that Lee Bong-geun’s singing moved about 200 staff and extras on set to tears. That scene is the climax that powerfully completes the film. He said, "On the day of filming, the atmosphere was peculiar. Everyone was sensitive because it was cold, but they waited for me until I was ready to focus. I tried to feel real emotions in a solemn atmosphere. The extras also seemed to catch the mood. I wasn’t singing alone. Afterward, everyone cried a lot. My emotions were complex and subtle. I was completely immersed. Senior actor Park Cheol-min, who was beside me, was shedding tears and running nose. At that moment, he looked like a great tree. Compassion was conveyed, and we connected."

Sorikkun will be released on July 1.

Photo = Little Big Pictures

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.