My name is Jung Yong-hwa [鄭容和]. It’s a name that means “his face is peaceful.” I was born on June 22, 1989, in Seoul’s Yeoksamdong. I moved to Busan when I was two and lived there until I graduated from high school, so I think of myself as a Busan citizen. I have two parents and a brother four years older than me. We are all cautious A blood types. Like Kang Shin-woo, after I moved to Seoul, I worked hard to get rid of my Busan Saturi accent. When the drama’s first episode aired, a Busan friend called me and the first thing he said was, “Yong-hwa, now you’re using standard dialect.” Haha. I auditioned for You’re Beautiful with the scene where I tell Mi-nam, “Come sit here, have some warm tea.” To be honest, my acting wasn’t very good, but I know how to play guitar and I was already in a band, so I wonder if the director went easy on me because of that. I even played him the title song “Now or Never” from our Japanese single album, which I sang and played on guitar. Maybe the Hong Sisters writers were uneasy about me acting for the first time, but they called me up separately to explain the character. They didn’t want him to come across sleazy or corny, so they gave me homework to figure out ways to express him in a natural way. So I worked hard, but I think it still came across a little uncomfortably. Actually, the scene when I hold Mi-nam and declare, “She’s my girl!” is kind of a cheesy scene, but I found it refreshing. Whenever I got the scripts, I was waiting to find out when I’d confess my feelings, so it was gratifying to finally be revealing them. Shin-hye (”Go Mi-nam”) was born in early 1990 so we were the same age and became friends. We acted in a lot of scenes together and she was a really big help to me. Since she was always dressed as a boy in the drama, whenever she came out dressed like a girl, I’d say, “Oh, you’re dressed as a girl today?” I had a lot of worries about Geun-seok hyung (”Hwang Tae-kyung”) before we started shooting. I thought he’d be scary. Haha. But he’s not like that at all, and he acted like the eldest hyung on set, helping us by letting us go or holding back when needed. I always felt thankful for that. Hong-ki (”Jeremy”) is with the same agency, so we were already friends. A little while ago, a picture cropped up online where we’re at the airport and Hong-ki’s using my lap for a pillow. That was because we’re friends and he was tired, and we’d always have a long wait. The picture that showed up online that got called “ski resort hunnam*” was taken before my debut when I went skiing with my family and friends. I had no idea that would show up online, but since the photo came out well, I’m relieved. I’m the oldest in the band. My bandmate Jong-hyun also sings and plays guitar, and he’s very masculine while also being pure. Our youngest is drummer Min-hyuk, who has a real baby face and has a very tidy personality and does a lot of the cleaning. Ah, but we don’t make him clean. [Laughs] Jung-shin is our new bassist and he’s the same age as Min-hyuk, but he looks after the members well. More than anything, they all really love music. The other members made sure to watch the drama and always encouraged me. When we went to Japan, they told me I did a good job and carried my luggage for me. Haha. I was actually okay because all I had was my guitar and effects, and even though there’s a lot more to carry with drums and such, they disregarded that and helped me, which I really appreciated. I’m well-rounded in my music tastes. Band-wise, I like a refreshing style such as Bon Jovi, while I like the vocals of Placebo or The Calling, and I have a lot of interest in R&B and hip-hop as well. That’s why I sometimes follow rap, too. Dancing? Um… I’d like to dance well, but it’s difficult. It’s the most difficult thing for me...
