“Bulgugyeong was fun” Lee Jin-seok, a true gamer of ‘Solo Hell 3’ [Interview]

[Seoul Economic Daily]

Lee Jin-seok, who appeared in Netflix’s ‘Solo Hell 3’, shared his thoughts on appearing and his future plans.

Lee Jin-seok attracted attention by becoming the final couple with Ahn Min-young, a member of the opposite sex who first went to Heavenly Island together in ‘Solo Hell 3’. In particular, he was caught on TV listening to concerns in a quiet manner compared to other contestants, and he gained popularity for his serious charm.

Lee Jin-seok, whom we met at the Seoul Economic Star headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 18th, gave photojournalist ‘cat heart’ Even though he was embarrassed by the request and said, “I don’t know how to do it,”he drew a heart with his hands. Although it was still awkward, he did his best to be honest and made people laugh. In the following interview, he told stories about ‘Solo Hell 3’ and himself in an unpretentious manner.

Q. ‘Solo Hell 3’ has ended. Has anything changed in your daily life?

I showed myself as best I could. I think it will remain as a refreshing, fun, and good memory. After appearing in ‘Solo Hell 3’, many people recognize me. He also asked me to take a picture. Living as an ordinary person or business person, I feel good because many people recognize me, and although it is burdensome, it feels good.

Q. Actually, you declined to appear on the show once.

Originally, I was just self-employed. While working hard at my job, a close friend of mine who works in the entertainment industry offered me a job on YouTube and advertising. He said he had an idea and asked if we should set up a meeting. ‘Solo Hell 3’ I connected them with the production team. At first, I said I had no intention of doing so, but we still had a meeting with the mindset that we had to lose to make up for it, and the results were good. Actually, I refused at first. It’s a very big program, and there are situations where things get worse after you leave. However, the PD personally came to Daegu and persuaded me, and an acquaintance of mine also recommended, saying, “When would you like to stand on a stage around the world?” so I changed my mind.

Q. It seems like things have worked out in a good direction in the end. Do you tend to look for a lot of responses?

Yes, look for a lot of reactions. Actually, I was not good at studying and was living my life thinking that I was stupid, haha. However, ‘Jinseok is smarter than I thought’, ‘has an innate ability to analyze people’, ‘he seems to be smart’ There are a lot of comments like this on YouTube. When I saw that, I felt good inside, haha.

Q. You were single when you appeared, right? How did you prepare for the broadcast?

yes. Netflix also prepares a lot of things, including contracts, to prevent accidents. It’s true that it’s a program where you can’t appear if you actually meet someone. It was about a month before the start of filming that I announced that I would not appear, but that I would return. At that time, I gained a lot of weight, so I went on a hard diet and went out. I think I lost about 10kg in one month. The muscle loss was a bit severe, haha.

Q. ‘Solo Hell’ Didn’t you preview by watching the previous series?

I haven’t watched seasons 1 and 2. Even though I watched it, I just fast-forwarded to see what the game was doing. I didn’t watch season 1 at all except for the shorts. All I know is that Mr. Freesia was famous. When I watch previous seasons, I become conscious of the cases that did well, and then I thought that my idea of ​​showing a pretty and cool side might be viewed negatively, so I went out in complete ignorance. I want to show you my raw side. However, because I have a competitive spirit, I only watched a few games. I have to win to go to Heaven, haha.

Q. The rawness is also what viewers find most attractive in dating programs.

yes. Even my acquaintances said, “You’re so pretentious, why did you do it that way?” Other acquaintances also said that it was fun because I appeared as I was. There was no need to get used to the camera. It’s not that I’m worried about my bad side, it’s because I want to show my true self. I was nervous, but I adapted quickly. Oh, there’s a camera, at least.

Q. I’m curious why you chose Minyoung as the final couple.

We had the most conversations in ‘Solo Hell 3’… I think love is also loyalty. It didn’t fit my philosophy to abandon what was originally there just because a good, new, or stimulating medium was created. My feelings for Minyoung were also big.

Q. This is a very different philosophy from broadcasts that constantly throw contestants into new and provocative situations. Was there any stress while filming?

That’s just the picture the production team wanted, and I wanted to show it as it was, so I didn’t just move it the way they wanted. If I had talked and flirted with a lot of kids and went to Heaven Island, I would have survived as survival of the fittest and there would have been a lot of screen time, but I didn’t think that way. This show is reality. I thought it was right to show it as I am.

Q. Then, is the vivid Daegu dialect also “steamy”? There was also talk of ‘catching Gao’.

After I started working with my agency YGK Plus, I appeared on ‘Solo Hell 3’ and the people involved said, ‘Please don’t use dialect. He said, “You have to fix it and get out.” But I didn’t have time to fix it. Since I only lived in Daegu, I thought it would be unseemly to use standard language awkwardly. In that case, let’s use the dialect coolly. As a result, I suffered a lot of misunderstandings. ‘Don’t grab Gao’ It’s like this, haha. It’s also my personality to not say much. When I talk a lot, I get discouraged not by others but by myself.

Q. So you provide a lot of consultation.

yes. I could see the entire flow of the final couple. I listened to Ha-jeong and Si-eun when they were worried, but I didn’t necessarily convey Gwan-hee’s feelings.

Q. Strangely, you seem to have no interest in others.

Yes, haha. I’m interested, but I think it’s rude to be heavily involved in other people’s lives. I haven’t lived long, but I’ve learned that no matter how close a friend you are, people only hear what they want to hear.

Q. So what did you think about the hot topic, Lee Kwan-hee?

It was a hot topic there too. It was fun. It was a fun element for me because I don’t really care about other people. Even if Kwanhee created a problem, he was the one who would overcome it anyway, and I thought he would do well.

Q. As I was listening, I realized that Jinseok was the best ‘fun gamer’of ‘Solo Hell 3’ Looks like it.

you’re right. They say the most fun thing is watching someone else’s house catch fire. I had a lot of fun with it. Still, I thought a lot about my feelings about Minyoung.

Reporter Heo Ji-young heol@sedaily.com