[ENG] 강하늘 ELLE korea 화보 인터뷰 220126

220126 ELLE KOREA
https://www.elle.co.kr/article/63359
#KangHaneul 's wonderful voyage
Trans. @sky_n_moon

"I'm not as good as you think. I just love myself." The sea called Kang Haneul is upright but unstoppable, and even though it looks calm, the inside is extremely dynamic.


Q.HAPPY NEW YEAR! You look busy this year.

Now <A-year end Medley> is released, and I'm promoting <The pirates2> and shooting <Insider> too. Time flies like an arrow.


Q.It was already fun to see him smiling wildly with a ‘bomb hair’ on the poster for <Pirates 2>. You did a perm every two weeks for 'Muchi'.

It wasn't that hairstyle at first. It was the hair of a typical Joseon man with long hair that you would see in historical dramas (laughs). I struggled with a style that would reveal Muchi's personality at once. Shaved hair and pigtails were also candidates, but after a long meeting, the ‘bomb hair’ was born.

Q. Probably the best 'visual member' among the pirates.

If you do just one perm, you won't feel the visual well. You need to mix a direct perm on the sides and the middle, and a foil perm on the rest. He(Muchi) is a friend with a very sensitive and detailed visual.


Q. It's also a comic character that you decided to show off after a while. I think I might have felt a sense of liberation as I played Muchi, full of bravado and lax, but full of vigorous vibes.

I was free to jump from above and crawl out from below, and could do anything. The cinematographer also moved the camera without fixing it, and I moved accordingly (laughs)... Rather than being a very funny character, it can be said that he is a 'sloppy one' who works hard but doesn't work out well. I tried to make that part taste good.


Q. Looking back, I think you are more familiar with works based on realistic mise-en-scène than CG.

I guess I was. It was filmed in the sea of Jeju Island, but since the ship doesn't actually sail, it was hard to get a sense of how it will turn out. When you see a flower bloom and react, if you put on an expression that is more exaggerated than the splendor of a flower, it is an act that does not fit the situation. But we can make a flower that fits in the scene. That's a charming point of CG. However, it cannot be a pure reaction to seeing something in front of you. Rather, it feels like a real ‘acting’.


Q.Just like when you met the character,Dongbaek in 'When the Camellia Blooms', the female character Haerang in 'Pirates 2' was also a factor in choosing the work.

Of course, the script itself was fun and it was good to deal with the story of a pirate that is hard to find in Korea. It was wonderful to see Haerang, the leader of the ship, as the leader. She thought it would be nice to be able to stand by her side.


Q.What kind of character do you feel 'cool'?

Characters who are upright in their own will. I try to be like that too, but it's not easy. I fall in love with a character who has unwavering strength and strong will to keep his will.


Q. Looking at the promotional activities, you often joke with Han Hyo-joo as Haerang and Lee Kwang-soo as Mak-i, and I feel like you got along with people who get along very well.

I have never taken more than three shots with Kwangsoo hyung. We always get ‘Okay’ sign right after acting. Each cut had different fun. Even with Hyojoo noona, I fought with her(act) a lot. There is a lot of scene that remains under the water, and it is sorry to see only one cut selected by the director.


Q. Regarding your actions, Han Hyo-joo said, "It seems like he is just doing it, but he is good at it acting quickly and coolly. He is talented."

Hey, where can I find such a person? She appreciated my acting more than my real ability. I just did what the martial arts coach told me to do. When I am asked to do it, I work hard.


Q. Now, if you define yourself as an actor, are you an effort type or a talent type?

Hmmm, is it an 'Idle type'? I don't worry too much about what kind of role I'll play or what kind of environment I'll be in. What I'm trying to do is just trust my colleagues and staffs. Nothing will change whether or not I believe them, and rather than remaining as a bad memory, I firmly believe them. Then the film site becomes fun. So, I don't have a lot of greed for success. I don't want this word to be taken in a bad way: 'If it was fun, that's it.'

Q. Is there any work that became a special inflection point in your enjoyable life as an actor? Like “When the Camellia Blooms” was widely loved by the public, “Moon Lovers” was a work that was criticized as “Bad Guy”, and “Dongju” was a work that gave a glimpse of your acting attitude.

〈Dongju〉 changed the life of 'Kim Haneul', not an actor. After filming, I was like, ‘Oh, I need to stop acting'. I liked the poet Dong-ju so much, and I was so stressed that I couldn’t even sleep because I wondered if my way of expressing it was right. It's okay to just believe in the 'OK' sign, but life wasn't enjoyable that time because I was caught up in the burden and worry. I was like, ‘I think it’s over here’. After that, I started overcoming it through meditation. I came to the conclusion that the answer is to enjoy acting again because it is something I do for joy.


Q. You're good at listening to your own voice, for better or for worse.

Maybe I'm a really boring person. It is my inner agitation that gives me strength every day. It's good to question yourself and approach it. At first, I thought acting was everything in my life. I wasn't fierce with others, but I was fierce with myself. As I listened to my inner self, I came to think that acting was nothing more and nothing less than just a means to have fun. I don’t even want to frame it in the field of ‘work’, it’s just something fun.


Q. I can't imagine you meditating in silence.

Usually people think of meditation as grandiose, but there are also walking meditation, running meditation and swimming meditation too. It's just being preoccupied with one thing and not thinking about anything else. This includes cleaning and bruising in daily life. Even during the interview right now, I don’t think about ‘what if I get stuck on the way home?’ It’s just meditation.


Q. The public likes your friendly and lovely appearance, but the creators also say that ‘Kang Haneul suits the villain role well’. It's a subtly different point of view.

Did my evil side come out on set (laughs)? Maybe they're talking about something like.. my instantaneous concentration. It must be a little different when acting, right?


Q. You enjoy meditating, but it's surprising that you are active riding a bike.

Because of my claustrophobia, I mostly rode a bicycle rather than public transport. It's cold these days, so I rode my bike more. In the past, I kept it a secret because people around me worried a lot, but I enlisted as a ‘motorcyclist’ and eventually everyone found out that I like bikes. Now I talk everywhere (laughs).


Q. In 〈A year end medley〉, you played Jaeyong, who failed the civil service exam five times, and nothing goes well. Director Kwak Jaeyong gave his name only to him, who has the most boring side among the cool characters.

The director is pure like a child. He brings his personal camera to the film site and takes pictures, and he says he has his own photo album. Jaeyong said, “Jaeyong's story is about my youth,” so we smiled and filmed it. "Really?"


Q. Jaeyong's sense of inferiority and defeat is a word that is quite far from Kang Ha-neul's hard and relaxed side.

Of course, that's what I have as well. But I'm not the type to bring something that I've experienced into acting. I always try to find the answer in the script.


Q. I think the pleasant words that come out of our beliefs about your acting or character can sometimes make you push yourself harder.

Not at all. It's just that I'm grateful that they see the way I live my life good. I don't care someone saying ‘Kang Haneul is -----blabla’, and I don't push myself too. As I always say, I'm not that kind and polite (laughs). I'm just having fun. I just hate frowns, so I don't want other people to frown either.


Q. A kind and friendly person, but surprisingly, you are not conscious of the thoughts of others. Is it possible for two aspects that seem to be placed in opposite directions to coexist?

If you simply look at it, you can see it as being at the opposite end, but I believe that I need to have fun so that things work out easily and I am not influenced by my surroundings. The focus of my thoughts or the temperature of my emotions is within myself rather than outside. I'm not smart enough to worry about what other people think (laughs). Having a happy mind, I can never bother people around me. After all, these are attitudes that come out of love for myself rather than others.


Q. How is that attitude created?

The human brain thinks of negative or failed events first. So, it makes us think, 'Why am I like this?' or 'I didn't do this before, but why am I doing this now?' But when I slowly think back from the past, I realize I've laughed so much then. When I think of things that made me laugh, not sad and painful memories, I can have the strength to feel how good I am.


Q. What is the most recent memory that will sustain you this year, and that made you laugh the most?

It's really funny when I think of the memories of <Insider> in the middle of filming, especially playing with Choi Dae-hoon, an actor I've been close with since I was a student. If the Korean version of 'A Flower For Love' is filmed, he will fit in the Yang Jo-wi role. He is an attractive bro that much (laughs). I hope that this year too, I will be able to meet such good people often, laugh and build up materials for happy memories.