Wi Ha Joon Shares How He Transformed into an Academy Instructor for "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon"

Actor Wi Ha Joon sits for an interview with local reporters to commemorate the successful conclusion of The Midnight Romance in Hagwon.

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon tells the story of star lecturer Seo Hye Jin (Jung Ryeo Won) and her cheeky student Lee Jun Ho (Wi Ha Joon), whom she helped get into a prestigious university ten years earlier. Jun Ho quits his job at a prominent company to work as a hagwon teacher.  

In the K-drama, Wi Ha Joon was praised for convincingly portraying a private academy instructor, to the point where he was said to have resembled an actual teacher. Dishing on the behind-the-scenes preparation for his character, he said, "I met with an actual academy instructor and talked to him, and I also went to the academy and practiced writing on the board. However, it's a bit disappointing that there weren't as many scenes showing me writing on the board as I expected."

He continued, "You have to write on the board while using your body [a lot] and ensure there are no pauses in speech, so I recorded myself and watched the videos. Without any know-how, I just copied the teacher and imitated him. Since my body language and appearance are different from the teacher, I thought I could develop my own style. But it's unfortunate that that aspect wasn't shown enough [in the drama]."

The actor played a language teacher in the series, but admitted that he was weak in the subject: "It seems like I focused more on literature while preparing for this project. I wasn't good at the Korean language subject when I was young. I don't know why, but language was difficult for me. However, I think I can do well if I try now."

It is said that even the actual Daechi-dong instructors acknowledged that the K-drama, in some ways, reflected the reality of Daechi-dong hagwons. Wi Ha Joon said, "When I only saw the script, I didn't know how it would unfold, but my best friend worked as an assistant at Daesung Academy in Gangnam for about five years. He said that the incidents and accidents that happen there are worse than [what was portrayed in] The Midnight Romance in Hagwon." He added, "In reality, there are even more lawsuits and accusations [made], and the part where books were piled up as props was exactly the same. It felt like everyone made tremendous efforts to achieve this level of authenticity." 

Comparing himself to his character, Wi said, "Our backgrounds are completely different. I grew up in the countryside, while Jun Ho was from Daechi. Our educational settings are [also] completely different." However, he noted, "In terms of the things we want to do, in personal, and professional life, there's a reckless side to both of us."

Wi Ha Joon, when he moved to Seoul without any plans during his senior year of high school, is in a way similar to Jun Ho, who tried his hand at becoming an academy instructor after working at a renowned company. When asked if he would have made a similar choice as Jun Ho if he was in the same situation, he said, "I think I would have."

He elaborated, "My high school teacher was sorry for my transfer because I had good grades and could have gotten into a good university through a special rural admission program. But I gave that up. During my senior year, I left a letter for my parents and went to Seoul. In some ways, I was probably more extreme than Jun Ho." He added, "I went to Seoul and majored in theater and film, but I dropped out after one semester because I thought it was a waste of tuition. Then I went to the military. After being discharged, I decided to pursue acting in media, so I jumped back into it from scratch. [Because I experienced something similar to Jun Ho], I really sympathized with him." "His struggles resonated with me. I kept trying little by little, and now I'm here doing interviews. If you have something you want to do, I say you should definitely try it."

Talking about working with Jung Ryeo Won, Wi said, "She's a senior [actress] who's been working for nearly 20 years, but she's never late, and seeing her work so hard made me work harder." 

When asked what Wi Ha Joon wants to graduate (the K-drama's Korean title) from? "I think it's my inner self," he replied. He said, "Beyond how people describe me or my image, I've often seen myself as anxious, small, hesitant, and weak. Although I live pretending not to be, I think I've lived hiding so much that I express fear when I'm actually scared without pretending. I haven't been able to escape from that weakness. I want to graduate from that stage to live as an actor and person who is more honest and confident."

Sources (1)(2)(3)