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"The Silent Sea" Gong Yoo, Proud of a Small Change

"The first step to the barren land".

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That was how it was for actor Gong Yoo (42) who recently starred in the original series "The Silent Sea" which was released on Netflix. It is the first Korean drama to be set in the moon. He plays the role of Han Yoon-jae, a cool-headed exploration captain. He traveled around the universe with space biologist Bae Doona to find a solution to the serious water shortage on Earth.

"It wasn't an easy challenge. It was hard to digest the action scene of falling and bumping from a high place while wearing a heavy space suit. But I'm really satisfied with the results. I believe it was pretty good for Korea as the first step in the universe of SF dramas".

As the drama was evaluated as fresh, it ranked fourth on Netflix's "The World's Most Watched TV Show" (Flix Patrol tally) as of the 2nd. However, there were also harsh criticisms that it was boring. Gong Yoo calmly said, "It's a presumptive reaction".

"Because of the nature of the SF genre, I expected different reactions as there were various approaches to the work. However, for me, a drama with a humanity message as a subject of science was attractive. I think it well depicts the ambiguous point that technology can be human hope and forbidden fruit at the same time".

While dealing with the water shortage, he even developed a "habit of turning the tap off when taking a shower. Even my fans thought about saving water", he said adding, "I'm proud of the change".

He has consistently expressed his willingness to 'change' as can be seen by the movies "Silenced" which deals with sexual violence cases in deaf schools, and "KIM Jiyoung: Born 1982" which contains gender discrimination experienced by women.

"As an actor, I think it's best to be part of a work that delivers a message rather than making a voice directly. If it's a story worth recording, I will appear in it regardless of the size of the role. Someday, I want to make a story that I want to tell like Jung Woo-sung, who produced "The Silent Sea" although it may not be as good as Jung Woo-sung's passion".

Thanks to the supporting actors and main cast, he also boarded Netflix's "Squid Game" which swept the world last year. He made a strong impression as a 'takji man' who attracts the main character Lee Jung-jae to the game. He burst into laughter, saying, "The best thing I did in 2021 was to make a friendship appearance with director Hwang Dong-hyuk".

"I heard "Squid Game - Season 2" is going to be aired. What will happen? Director Hwang hasn't said anything yet. As always, I will judge based on only one script regardless of my friendship with him. Hahaha!"

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