KBS YouTube capture

Actor Jang Keun-suk confessed to a tender one-sided crush on actress Ha Ji-won, with whom he worked in the drama ‘Hwang Jini’ when he was twenty.

On the KBS2 variety show ‘Problem Children in the Rooftop Room’ aired on the 5th, Jang Keun-suk appeared and shared various behind-the-scenes stories connected to his acting career. In particular, he drew attention by candidly revealing the fresh feelings he had while filming his first kiss scene with Ha Ji-won in the past.

That day, Jang Keun-suk unhesitatingly chose ‘Hwang Jini’ as the most memorable work of his acting life. He recalled his desperate mindset at the time, saying, “Back then, I truly thought intensely that without this project, I might not be able to continue an acting career. I did a children’s drama and then went straight into Hwang Jini,” and, “I thought that if I could not make a proper jump now, there might not be another opportunity in my life.”

KBS YouTube capture

For the twenty-year-old Jang Keun-suk, who needed to shed the child-actor label and step up as an adult performer, ‘Hwang Jini’ carried special meaning. In that project, he filmed the first kiss scene of his life with his counterpart, Ha Ji-won. Jang Keun-suk vividly conveyed the intense tremor of that first kiss scene, saying, “My heart was thumping and everything went wild. I was twenty at the time.”

He did not hide that it was a genuine feeling rather than mere acting. When Hong Jin-kyung asked, “Honestly, did you not like Ha Ji-won?” Jang Keun-suk answered immediately, “I did.” He went on, “I even told her. Ten years later, when we talked again, I said on a broadcast that I really liked her, that I loved her.”

To Hong Jin-kyung’s mischievous question, “If Ha Ji-won had said, ‘Let’s date,’ would you have dated her?” he smiled and replied, “It makes my heart flutter. I think we could have dated.” He added, “Actors might not realize it, but the editing room knows everything. In the editing room, it shows: ‘They are dating,’ ‘There is something there,’” expressing the sincerity he could not hide even off camera at the time.

Meanwhile, regarding the label that symbolizes him, ‘Asia Prince,’ Jang Keun-suk said, “At the time, I was often called a Korean Wave star, but that looked to me like it lacked individuality. I wondered what I should coin it as, and then I improvised and said, ‘I am the Asia Prince.’ After that, articles came out using ‘Asia Prince,’” revealing with a laugh that the label was self-made.