A new “younger man” has arrived. From starting with “Our Blues” to “Lady Dua” and now “Yumi’s Cells 3,” actor Kim Jae-won has steadily expanded his horizons. By meeting his life-defining character, the “unicorn younger man” Shin Soon-rok, he has officially opened the doors to the “Era of Kim Jae-won.”
In “Yumi’s Cells,” based on the popular webtoon of the same name, the character Shin Soon-rok is incredibly special. As the third man in Yumi’s life following Goo Woong and Bobby, and the final winner who successfully marries her, Soon-rok is essentially the true male lead of the entire series. Naturally, before “Yumi’s Cells 3” aired, there were simultaneous voices of expectation and concern regarding who would play Soon-rok and whether he could surpass the “Yu-Bobby” of Season 2.
Kim Jae-won admitted, “It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel pressured,” but in the end, his performance was more than a passing grade. He received high praise for meticulously portraying Soon-rok’s journey, starting from a “hate-relationship” with Yumi to gradually falling for her.
“I felt so sad when “Yumi’s Cells” ended. I even wrote a long letter on Bubble; I wondered if I could get this attached. I really hope Soon-rok and Yumi live happily. Although I played Soon-rok, I was a long-time viewer who followed the story from Yumi’s perspective, so my honest feeling is that I want Yumi to be happy for the rest of her life.”
Kim Jae-won described Soon-rok’s dating style as “straightforward.” He mentioned that he wanted to capture Soon-rok’s no-nonsense approach compactly, adding, “Perhaps if it were a longer arc, I could have shown the emotional changes in more detail. But personally, my goal was to ‘express Soon-rok well’ regardless of the length, so I did my best with the role.”
“I didn’t think Soon-rok’s biggest strength or charm was his height or looks. While physical appearance is important since he’s described as handsome in the original work, I saw that as secondary. I believed Soon-rok’s real charm was charging straight ahead the moment he became sure of his feelings. Of course, like others, he must have faced reality while pursuing love. But I believe the biggest reason Soon-rok and Yumi could marry was that he moved forward without a single calculation once he decided, ‘I love this woman (Yumi) and I will protect her.’ I imagined a spark flew for Yumi in an instant, just like how Yumi fell for Soon-rok when she saw him laughing aimlessly on the train. People say moments of inexplicable love and the realization that ‘I want to marry this person’ come like a bolt of lightning. I think that’s how it was for Soon-rok with Yumi.”
Regarding the title of “Yumi’s final man,” Kim Jae-won said the reaction that fans “want to meet a younger man like that” was very positive. He shared a behind-the-scenes story that he received many messages after the casting news, including a reaction from his older sister: “Who do you think you are to play Soon-rok?”
“My sister is a fan of “Yumi’s Cells.” As soon as she heard the news, she clicked her tongue and said, ‘Who do you think you are? He’s my fantasy, can you even do it well?’ There was a sting in her words. That was before filming, but after the drama aired, she praised me, saying I did well (laughs).”
“I thought there was a thin line between ‘fluttering’ and ‘cheesy.’ Rather than forcing an emotion, I believed that since “Yumi’s Cells” has the ‘cells’ as narrators, the cells could express things even if I remained expressionless. I tried to keep it as clean as possible, focusing on subtracting rather than overflowing with emotion.”
Having shown great chemistry with older actresses like Shin Hye-sun in “Lady Dua” and Kim Go-eun in “Yumi’s Cells,” Kim Jae-won shared that working with them provided many learning opportunities: “Since I worked with such amazing seniors, there were many moments where I could learn.”
“Thankfully, people around me say I’ve been in some pretty significant projects for a rookie. I was lucky to work with seniors famous for their acting, especially Shin Hye-sun and Kim Go-eun recently. I learned a lot about acting, but I also learned the attitude, mindset, and heavy responsibility a lead actor must have. Watching them, I realized, ‘You don’t show it even when it’s hard.’ Since a drama is a group effort, I learned that the lead must use encouraging words and carry that weight. Because the lead drives the ‘tone and manner’ of the work, I learned to act responsibly without standing out too much or bringing the energy down in any specific scene.”
Kim Jae-won confessed that Director Lee Sang-yeop and Kim Go-eun helped him express Soon-rok cleanly. “Whenever I was overdoing it, the director would come and reel me in,” he said, adding, “I tried to keep it as simple as possible during rehearsals.”
“My previous work was “Lady Dua.” It seems the way of speaking of a character who worked at a host bar remained. There were moments when Kang Ji-hwon’s speech patterns would pop out, and whenever that happened, Go-eun nuna would gently give me her opinion. What I appreciated most was that she respected my acting. She would come up and ask, ‘What’s your opinion?’ and ‘Let’s pick the best parts and create it,’ and that’s how we built Soon-rok and Yumi. The confession scene was specifically created with the help of the director and Go-eun nuna. While wondering how to express Soon-rok focusing on emotion as his reason crumbled, we came up with ‘reddened eyes,’ and as I immersed myself, tears actually flowed. I had forgotten about it, but watching the making-of video, I realized I was deeply immersed at that time.”
“Yumi and Soon-rok decide to marry shortly after meeting. I wondered how good the atmosphere must have been, and at the same time, I researched how to create a gaze that shows love for Yumi. Creating a loving gaze wasn’t hard because nuna was so lovely (laughs). Every day on set, I thought, ‘Yumi is really cute,’ to the point it was engraved in my mind, and I looked at her with a gaze that simply found her lovely. At the time of filming, Go-eun nuna had a short cut, and she looked so much like the character Ponyo. Even though she’s my senior, I sometimes called her nuna, and I remember filming while calling her ‘Ponyo-Ponyo’ affectionately.”
Regarding Soon-rok’s very large “Sly Cell,” Kim Jae-won explained, “I thought of it as expressing the ‘boldness of a younger man’ rather than slyness.”
“I didn’t know Soon-rok’s Sly Cell would be that big. Looking back, I was like, ‘Was it really that big?’ haha. But I think that’s the boldness and charm of a younger man. I think the ‘Sly Cell’ expressed the spirit and courage of a younger man. Soon-rok often had ‘straight-shooting manly man’ moments, and I viewed the Sly Cell as Soon-rok’s straightforward romance, which is why I thought the boldness of a younger man was cool. We say Yumi and Soon-rok started with a ‘hate-relationship romance,’ but that’s from Yumi’s perspective. I wonder if Soon-rok ever treated Yumi with hate. From Soon-rok’s perspective, he just simply wanted to eat a ‘strawberry cream bungeoppang’ without any other intention. Looking at it from a different perspective, I found it interesting.”
“My number one criterion for choosing a project is ‘showing a side of me that I haven’t shown before.’ I think the biggest advantage of being an actor is being able to live various lives. That’s actually why I started acting, and I’m fascinated by that, which is why I continue. Since “Yumi’s Cells” did well, rather than being limited to the ‘romance’ genre, I want to keep switching to new faces. Rather than taking a stable path and only doing genres that highlight my strengths as Kim Jae-won, I feel a greater thrill when I express vivid characters in a three-dimensional and different way. Therefore, I will continue to dive into projects from this perspective.”
Regarding the acting or genres he wants to try after “Yumi’s Cells,” Kim Jae-won emphasized again, “My clearest criterion for choosing a project is challenging something new, a ‘face I haven’t tried yet.'” Mentioning that he wants to do everything from action to historical dramas, he confessed, “There is a project I decided to join because I wanted to challenge the movie genre. I don’t know when it will be released, but I filmed it without regrets.”
Kim Jae-won, who said he wants to remain an actor who does his best in every moment, shared that his biggest dream and wish is “to be a person who doesn’t lose the ‘rookie’s attitude’ I have now.” This also meant not losing the preciousness of acting and the desire to express each role well.
“I want to remain an actor who challenges things I’ve never done, isn’t afraid of challenges, and ‘consistently acts well.’ Rather than letting this heart be corrupted by prioritizing material things or thinking, ‘I’ve made it now, so I won’t do these things,’ I want to be someone who can act with gratitude, maintaining a ‘rookie’s heart from start to finish.’ I have many role models. They change with every project, and this time I learned a lot through Go-eun nuna. Specifically, what I want to emulate about Kim Go-eun is ‘the way she respects the other person’s opinion.’ During “King the Land,” my role model was senior Lee Jun-ho, and it seems my ‘role model list’ grows with every project (laughs). I want to create a better version of Kim Jae-won.”
