During a press interview celebrating the conclusion of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama "Agent Kim Reactivated" (written by Nam Dae-jung, directed by Lee Seung-young and Lee So-eun) held on the 27th at a cafe in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Yoon Kyungho introduced the efforts he poured into building his character, Park Jin-chul.
In the series, Yoon Kyungho plays a former special agent known as the "God of the Battlefield" who looks like an ordinary middle-aged man on the outside. He harmoniously portrayed explosive superhuman action during moments of crisis alongside his signature witty banter, earning praise for successfully bringing a three-dimensional "Yoon Kyungho-style Park Jin-chul" to life.
He explained, "In the beginning, Park Jin-chul had the image of an ordinary guy wearing glasses, so his strength probably wasn't visible through his appearance alone. I wanted to deliver a pleasant surprise through the striking impact of the action when viewer expectations were low. If he changed too drastically during action scenes, it might have felt unfamiliar, so I tried to maintain Park Jin-chul's characteristic talkativeness and relaxed demeanor."
He also discussed the ad-libs that became a hot topic in the show. Yoon Kyungho shared the behind-the-scenes story, saying, "Park Jin-chul shouting 'Rock and roll' was entirely improvised on set. The scene in episode 3 where he claps alone was also done while thinking of Queen's 'We Will Rock You,' and because the reaction was good, I kept pushing with it."
He candidly confessed his pressure regarding the expectations of fans of the original webtoon. "When I was first offered the role, I was scared of whether I could physically portray Park Jin-chul, who is like the 'God of the Battlefield' in the original work," he said. "However, director Lee Seung-young gave me confidence by saying, 'I want to use Yoon Kyungho's unique strengths,' and by combining the strengths within me with the action, I completed my own version of Park Jin-chul."
He did not hide his ambition for a second season. Yoon Kyungho stated, "Because it received so much love, if we can go to season 2, I want to show even more. If season 2 is produced, I want to prepare a much healthier and more powerful physique than now to show even higher-intensity action. I also hope the narratives with the actors who suffered together will be covered more deeply."
Meanwhile, "Agent Kim Reactivated" is a revenge action drama about an ordinary father setting out to get his daughter back, and it came to an end on the 25th. The final episode of "Agent Kim Reactivated" achieved massive success, recording a national viewership rating of 23.0% and 23.4% in the metropolitan area (based on Nielsen Korea). In addition, the work continued its popularity in the global market by ranking first in the Netflix non-English TV shows category for three consecutive weeks.
In this work, Yoon Kyungho took on the role of Park Jin-chul, perfectly portraying everything from the image of an ordinary head of a household to the comical friendship of "guys wearing glasses" and the overwhelming action of the so-called "God of the Battlefield," solidly anchoring the center of the series and leading its box office success.
[Photo=Agent Kim Reactivated]
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)