Jung Sung Il On How His Life Has Changed Since Starring In "The Glory," His Love Of Acting, And More

Mar 20, 2023

Jung Sung Il of hit drama “The Glory” has posed for Dazed Korea!

Penned by hit writer Kim Eun Sook, Netflix’s “The Glory” tells the story of a former victim of brutal school violence who swears revenge on her bullies after becoming the elementary school homeroom teacher of her bully’s kid. Song Hye Kyo stars as the vengeful protagonist Moon Dong Eun, while Lee Do Hyun plays the complicated male lead Joo Yeo Jeong. Jung Sung Il plays Ha Do Yeong, who gets tied up in Moon Dong Eun’s revenge as the husband of her bully Park Yeon Jin (Lim Ji Yeon).

Given the drama’s huge success, the interviewer mentioned that Jung Sung Il’s life has likely changed in a lot of ways and the actor responded, “Which I am thankful for.” He explained, “While I now have more to do, I’m receiving offers for more diverse scripts and roles than before and as an actor, it’s meaningful that my range of choices has widened.”

On what he focuses on most before choosing a role, Jung Sung Il shared, “Above all, my standard is the script itself. The role is important too but when the script is fun, I’m drawn to it a bit more. In terms of characters, even if they have similar personalities, they’re each faced with different situations so depending on the interpretation, new directions can be presented.”

Despite Jung Sung Il’s tendency to look at script over character, the interviewer touched on the impact Ha Do Yeong had on viewers, making the role a bit more special. Jung Sung Il commented, “Of course that’s true, but I think the role this character has in this project is important. For example, there are characters that have incredibly clear roles in a story and characters that just flow, even though they are in important positions. In dramas, I think I like characters that have a clear idea of what they must do.”

Aside from dramas, Jung Sung Il revealed that plays and musicals are his favorite types of work. He elaborated, “When I’m performing, I always feel like I’m studying. Everything’s like that. If you’re doing something and you let go in the middle, you could forget it. If I act without rest, I accumulate experience and gain precious assets that can be studied.”

Expanding on his love of acting, Jung Sung Il shared, “It’s fun. The fact that it’s hard. That rather makes me want to know more and do better, and there’s that feeling of not quite being able to get a hold of it. In my thirties, there was a time when I mistakenly believed that I was really doing well because people around me always said I was doing well. I once got in really big trouble while practicing the performance I was doing at that time. I cried a ton and even drank, which I don’t typically do. After getting scolded like that once, I thought, ‘I had such impertinent thoughts’ and ‘there is no end to acting,’ which made me fall for acting all over again.”

Lastly, Jung Sung Il was asked what makes him happy these days. He answered, “These days, really everything is happiness, but what makes me happiest is seeing my family be happy. One day, my seven-year-old son came home from kindergarten and asked what an autograph was because his teachers had asked for mine. I felt happy that I could do something for my young son who doesn’t even know what an autograph is. Seeing my family happy is my greatest happiness these days.”