Jung Ho-yeon drew attention with her bold answer to the rude question from the U.S media, “What are you going to miss most about being anonymous?”
The way actress Jung Ho-yeon firmly responded to rude questions from the U.S media is attracting keen attention.
On the evening of February 27th, the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) was held in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. At the awards ceremony, Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon won Best Actor and Best Actress in the TV drama category for their performances in “Squid Game”.
Immediately after the award ceremony, the two had an interview with local media backstage. During the online press conference, a local media asked a somewhat rude question.
A reporter from the U.S media “Access Hollywood” congratulated Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon on winning the awards and asked, “Now that you’re SAG winners what are you going to miss most about being anonymous?”
Upon hearing the question through an interpreter, Lee Jung-jae tried hard to hide his shocking expression and smiled. However, he didn’t answer it. Meanwhile, Jung Ho-yeon, who understood the intention of the question, stared straight at the camera and confidently replied, “Nothing!”. The reporter who asked the question then said, “You deserve it. Congratulations”.
The question is considered extremely American-centered. Lee Jung-jae has received the Best Actor in Korea and has been known as a top actor for 30 years. Jung Ho-yeon has been a top model not only in Korea but also in foreign countries for about 10 years. In 2018, she was also listed in the “TOP 50 Worldwide Female Model Ranking” by Model’s.com, an overseas information site about fashion models.
Of course, foreigners consider the two actors unfamiliar from the perspective of their own country. However, just because Americans don’t know them, it doesn’t mean they are anonymous. Attending a press conference on behalf of a media outlet, the reporter should have conducted brief preliminary research into the people they interviewed. Moreover, the reporter should have asked the questions in a more flexible way so that the opponent would not be offended or misunderstand the question’s intention.
Overseas viewers who watched the video on YouTube also expressed discomfort at this question. In particular, they pointed out the expression “being anonymous” and criticized the reporter, saying, “Lee Jung-jae has been a top actor in Korea for 20~30 years, and Jung Ho-yeon also has a splendid modeling career.”
Moreover, this was not the first time. When attending a screening event for “Squid Game” held in the United States in November last year, Lee Jung-jae was treated as a “lightning star” by the local media.
At that time, a reporter from NBC’s “Extra TV” in the United States asked Lee Jung-jae, “I’m sure you can’t leave the house anymore without people recognizing you. What has been the biggest change for you since the series came out?”
Lee Jung-jae replied, “That’s right. It seems like the biggest change for me is that I get recognized by so many people”. He also added, “Ah! In the United States!” It was an answer emphasizing that it was limited to the United States to consider him a rookie or a lightning star.
He then continued with a witty answer, “When I go to restaurants or just walk on the street, I’m surprised that many people recognize me. When I look at them, they instantly talk about ‘Squid Game’. So those moments make me feel that this series is truly a huge success. Thank you for enjoying it.”
“Squid Game” made history as the first foreign language drama to be nominated and won three awards at SAG. However, a question from a media outlet in the backstage interview that day turned out to be a fly in the ointment.
