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Choi Soo-jong: 'I Fight War Every Week'

Choi Soo-jong: "As I am filming a war drama, I have to fight a war every week and there are always battles. And because the actors have to fight for their lives in many battle scenes, I am always acting desperately".

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Actor Choi Soo-jong is coming back to TV dramas as squad commander Lee Hyun Joong in the remake drama "Comrades", which was loved nationwide in the 1970s. During the production presentation held at KBS International Conference Hall on June 9, Choi Soo-jong said, "When we filmed a battle scene in which shells are bursting and bullets are flying, it was very frightening. Every cast member has scars on their face or somewhere on their body. Remembering the places where shells were buried was more difficult than memorizing script lines".

"Comrades" will portray the story of squad members who had advanced to the Amnok river region after fighting at Nakdong River to defend the region and successfully complete the Incheon Landing Operations during the Korean war. The story was already produced as a drama in 1975 with main actor Ra Si-chan, and it enjoyed tremendous popularity at that time. The drama had been produced for a second season with main actor Kang Min Ho in 1983. In 2010's "Comrades", Choi Soo-jong will play the veteran soldier and squad commander Lee Hyun Joong, whom Ra Si Chan portrayed in the original drama.

Squad commander Lee Hyun Joong is a principled person who is like the other soldiers' older brother. Choi Soo-jong actually takes care of other actors on the set like their older brother. Choi said, "Before we film a scene which could be very dangerous, I talk with the other actors about the scene in advance and suggest they pay special attention to safety when we film the scene. There is a junior actor who is always following me when we film a scene which includes a bomb explosion". He also confessed that even though he had played a main actor in other blockbuster historical dramas such as "Emperor of The Sea" and "The King Dae Joyoung", a war drama is much more difficult to film.

He stated, "We are trying to present the horror and tragedy of war through a picture tube, so we had to film many cruel scenes. I do not know how it will be portrayed through TV, but I tried not to make any mistakes and errors and to keep angled towards viewers".

Even though he debuted 20 years ago, he said that he continues to have more desire for acting, which is why he decided to act in a war drama, which is difficult to film. He uttered, "I was seriously concerned about many things and wanted to show something special, so I chose the drama "Comrades" as my next work. There is a problem though that the more I act, the more I become greedy for acting. What do I have to do from now on? Anyway, I want to remain as a good actor as I put more effort into managing myself".

The drama "Comrades" will air its first episode on KBS 1TV on June 19 at 9:40 pm, when the World Cup preliminaries are at their height.

Choi Soo-jong, who is known to be a soccer lover, delivered the message that he is confident in winning in a competition of viewers' rating with World Cup preliminary games. He said, "With luck, there won't be a Korean team game on the broadcasting day of "Comrades", but I will definitely watch any game of our Korean team even on the set. I had exercised for training by playing soccer before I began filming the drama. Of course, I will watch the Korean team play".

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