Kim Byung-wook [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

<#10LOGO#> When you think of the past "High Kick" series, viewers sided with the couples in the show that they rooted for and those couples sometimes even became more talked about than the level of completion of the show itself.
Kim Byung-wook: The actors may not actually fall in love with each other but I believe that the process through which they do so with the show should seem realistic. It would be too mechanical if from the very beginning, there were arrows to who would fall in love with who and who. And I've been asked who'll become couples with who this time as well. But I haven't decided on any of that yet. That's why I'm sure the actors are nervous as well. I mean, of course I have a rough idea but I believe that in the end, what's supposed to happen will happen naturally. I've left things open-ended to sort of just go with the relationships that viewers believe will be good ones.

<#10LOGO#> In that sense, I think "High Kick 3" is closer to a reality show. You're devilish producers who'll naturally make actors work hard because they'll be worried about getting left out if they don't become a couple with someone. (laugh)
Kim: Oh no, I'm not of such an arrogant mindset. I'd be much too snobby if I was thinking, 'I'm going to see how well you do.' Rather, I do want to see the natural chemistry that gets created between the actors. Luckily, our viewers and producers haven't been under very different mindsets when it comes to that. I think the couples that viewers wanted to see together naturally became couples. It's also a bit uncomfortable to receive such interest because it's as if we're pressured to make a couple out of all ten characters although we know their romance forms much of the story. Of course, I don't have anything to say if people respond, 'But you're going to raise your ratings with that!' (laugh)

<#10LOGO#> But in the case of "High Kick 3," there are many characters who can be dating so I do think there may be an excess of romantic relationships.
Kim: People have said, 'Kim Byung-wook will probably go all out with the romantic relationships since he got good response with them in the two 'High Kick' series' and some are even expecting me to form love hexagons. (laugh) But to tell you the truth, I don't feel like doing that. In works like "Friends," the characters are constantly forming some sort of relationships but not necessarily as lovers. They are linked by accidents or experiences as well. So unlike expectations, I'm focusing on the comedy rather than romance at the beginning of the show.

L|02<#10LOGO#> How did you spend the year and a half after "High Kick 2"?
Kim: The aftereffect of it lasted quite a long time. Just like you have a long lingering feeling after reading a novel when you're young, I always suffered from the aftereffect of having to let go of the characters that were alive in my projects. But there was something more fundamental to the sadness I felt after "High Kick 2" ended. Similar to depression. You may remember but I choked with tears while interviewing with you after "High Kick 2." It's actually a bit embarrassing to call it depression because that in itself seems to somewhat beautify my condition. Nonetheless, that's how I spent three to four months. And it was probably worse because I had turned 50. I'd think of when I'll have to stop doing what I do now, whether it's of my will or someone else's. And then I'd get depressed from worrying over what I'd do if I can't produce even this when I still have the rest of my life to live after it, what I'd do if lose even the small amount of sensitivity I have or whether I'm just living like a machine.

<#10LOGO#> Was there a particular reason you felt such fear because human beings are bound to be scared of such things all the time.
Kim: My father was sick last fall. At first he said he just didn't have much of an appetite so I told him he should eat well but it turned out that he was so sick that he had to go into surgery immediately. And because of it, he slowly lost some of his memory. He'd also ask me the time after having laid quietly in the bed of his hospital room. And one day, I looked at my father laying alone in the living room when I realized how long a day must be for him. He'd always said he's okay whenever I call him but he'd actually been fighting with all of that time ahead of him. At one point, I too would have to maintain that sort of life and I may not be able to even remember my emotions or memories so I guess that sort of made me depressed. And then in January of this year, my child didn't get good college entrance exam scores and decided to study another year for it so we went to an academy in a different region on a snowy day. It hurt my heart to think he'd be out in that empty plain wilderness-like place all alone. And my school years were like a nightmare to me so I told him he doesn't have to go if he doesn't want to but he kept saying it's okay. So I said I'll sign him up for it next year and returned to Seoul but I was so sad while watching TV that night. As if I felt a rush of loneliness. And I went to my child's room after that but saw he wasn't sleeping although his lights were off. So I asked, 'Are you okay?' when he said he actually isn't and that he said he was because he felt bad for me and his mom. So in the end, it seemed like I had consoled myself with how they tell me they're okay when the two people I love the most in the world weren't okay. And I wasn't okay either. So I talked with my child about a lot of things for a long time for the first time in a while that night. We also decided he'd go to an academy in out neighborhood and from then on, we spent a lot of time together, watching the news and talking a lot.

<#10LOGO#> Well you've set Lee Juck, who does the overall commentary for "High Kick 3," as someone who suffers from depression as well. It made me think that his character reflects you the most.
Kim: I know this because I've suffered from it before (laugh) but you come to observe others more while looking back on yourself as well. And although Lee Juck is depressed, he sets up a proctological clinic where he has to look at people's anus' everyday to make money. In a way, it may largely reflect myself who keeps making sitcoms amidst the depression. Lee Juck's narration will open and close every episode of the show in the beginning.

<#10LOGO#> I was surprised that the show is about families again because it was expected that you'd make something that's like the Korean version of "The Office."
Kim: "The Office" is about people, not related by blood, who somehow find affection for each other whether it's by family or some other way and "High Kick 3" may seem like it's about a single family because Yoo-sun and Ji-won's houses are linked by an underground tunnel but there are actually few people that are blood related. I wanted to make something that's like "The Office" but the time slot "High Kick 3" shows in needed to be a family sitcom so it couldn't take it to the office and instead, compromised for it in this way. (laugh)

<#10LOGO#> But an underground tunnel! How did you come up with that?
Kim: I'm just someone that really likes to crouch down and hide in places. Even when I was young, I used to like crawling between stacks of mattresses so such a cozy space is very special and crucial for me. There were times I missed spaces that are incomplete and not self-sufficient. The biggest strength to having an underground tunnel is that it'll physically be easy to pull off comical scenes because you need to crawl there and can roll off from it. The philosophical aspect to it will emerge later when that space transforms. At first it'll just be a hideout but later on, it'll become a living room for someone and the spot for a secret love affair for another. I want to show the process of how that space changes because it'll mean that the people who enter that space will be changing too.

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10 아시아 Senior Reporter : Beck Una one@
10 아시아 Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@
10 아시아 Editor : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
10 아시아 Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@
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