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| Actor Yoon Doo-joon played the character of a tech startup founder in the series "Never Give Up." Courtesy of KT Studio Genie |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actor and singer Yoon Doo-joon was building solid ground as an actor taking the lead in TV series before being called up for his mandatory military service in April 2020.
About four years after his last series, "Let's Eat 3," the actor has taken on the first series since his discharge from the military with the lead role in "Never Give Up," while also resuming his K-pop activity with group Highlight upon the release of its new album "DAYDREAM."
"Filming this series has taught me a lot. I was involved as both the singer in Highlight and filming this series. And I've learned that you can't get anything easily and that detail matters greatly," Yoon said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.
He added that although juggling two activities wasn't easy, he learned to put his heart into the projects he takes on.
"(The series') production period was longer than I expected. So it could get exhausting physically sometimes. But I've learned so many valuable lessons so it was so worth it," he said. "Doing this series has become a chance for me to look at my acting and other career moves from a new perspective. I came to have confidence that I can do anything."
The heartwarming series follows the story of 40-something Goo Pil-soo (Kwak Do-won), who runs a restaurant, and Jung Seok (Yoon), an aspiring entrepreneur in his 20s.
Yoon plays a genius software developer who had an affluent life until his father's company went bankrupt. Losing his investment from his father, he struggles to run his tech startup and the smartphone application he developed. Amid the struggle, he happens to live with the hard-working breadwinner Pil-soo and they help each other build their futures.
The series is led by director Choi Do-hoon, whose previous work includes the 2019 thriller series, "Possessed," and scripted by Son Keun-ju, the writer of the 2020 rom-com series, "Backstreet Rookie."
Yoon said he felt great pressure to return to acting after four years, but was able to get back on his feet thanks to his co-star Kwak and the director.
"I got a lot of help from Kwak for this series. Whenever I asked him about the parts I felt unsure about, he gave me precise and clear answers … he would give me a detailed explanation of the technical aspect (of acting) like breathing," he said, referring to Kwak as the best teacher he ever had.
"Never Give Up" ended its 16-part run on June 23 and is available on Netflix and Seezn.
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