Seo In Guk has been stealing hearts for the past few months with his role as the abrasive, yet sweet and romantic Yun Jae on tvN's popular drama 'Reply 1997'. Yun Jae had been in love with Siwon, played by A Pink's Eunji, but decided to give up on her initially when his older brother, Tae Woong, confessed his feelings out loud first.

However, Yun Jae was not the only one who suffered from unrequited love during the earlier episodes for Jun Hee, played by INFINITE's Hoya, had been harboring intense feelings for Yun Jae, his best friend, throughout high school. Yun Jae finds out much later and ends up feeling bad about not recognizing Jun Hee's dilemma earlier.

Seo In Guk sat down for an interview with Newsen about 'Reply 1997' and stated, "I could really relate to the love lines in 'Reply 1997'. In love, everybody is the same; it's only the time that is different, but the feeling of love stays the same."

He spoke of his own experiences, continuing, "My first love was in high school, and I consider it a very beautiful memory. Of course, before that, I experienced unrequited feelings. But first love is not just liking someone, getting together, and breaking up. Instead, it remains as a beautiful memory. I was young so I didn't really know how to act. So maybe that's why it didn't work out in the end."

Seo In Guk was then asked who was closer to his ideal type - down-to-earth Siwon or cute Yoo Jung, played by Shin So Yul. He responded, "Yoo Jung is closer. She's cute, lovable, and knows how to treat guys. I don't like the phrase 'let's break up' being used so often (a line the actress frequently uses in the show), but she's so lovable. My actual ideal type is an innocent girl. I can't pinpoint a person or name, but it's a girl with an innocent image."



There are many heartbreaking love lines in 'Reply 1997', but Seo In Guk referred to one in particular. He confessed, "My heart was in pain for Jun Hee."

He continued, "Honestly, when Jun Hee confessed to Yun Jae, we were actually going crazy on set. There's nothing that makes us cringe usually, but at that time, we were cringing out of awkwardness. We kept laughing because we're both guys. But our director said, 'This is a really important scene' so we kept our feelings in check and tried again. When we did try again and finished shooting the scene, it really did hurt. Although same-sex emotions might not be completely well-received in Korea and I did not understand Jun Hee's feelings 100%, I still could feel his pain. Of course, we wondered if this would get through to the audience. Our director is amazing for getting this scene to really speak to people."



Seo In Guk also pointed out what was so charming about Yun Jae as a character. he stated, "He's not someone who tries to look cool. He doesn't care about things he doesn't care about, and he's honest about the things he is interested in. This is the same for the girl he likes. He becomes an idiot for her."

"When I see dating-related articles, I want to start dating. I'm not dating right now, but I wonder why when I see the articles. Does first love come true? Mine didn't. But when I look around, I do see people who it has worked out for. When I was 19, I followed my dreams more than I did love. I wanted to become a singer and went up to Seoul. I respected Kim Jeong Min sunbae a lot in 1997, to the point that I wanted to become a singer too."

You can catch more of Seo In Guk and the other cast of 'Reply 1997' on the last episode airing on September 18th!



Source + Image: Newsen via Nate