Sunday, March 01, 2009

[09.03.01][Trans] Eric - Split Personality (feature article)


The soldier and the celebrity, Mun Jung Hyuk and Eric.

It would be such a great thing if a person could have two identities.

Mun Jung Hyuk, with his alternative views of life, tackles each and every of his roles very well. That proves that a workaholic who goes on stage despite all odds, and a laidback angler who likes to idle, do co-exist.

Private Mun Jung Hyuk reporting for duty!

It seems like it was just yesterday when Eric announced the last postponement of his enlistment for military duty. Many people have still yet to adjust to the fact that he has started work as a public service officer, and some even feel that it’s not the most reliable decision to let someone who has been used to idling around has to now punch in on time for work every day… That’s how a trust crisis comes about. He’s the first member of Shinhwa to sport a buzzcut and stand in front of the army training camp. Wearing a dark top and casual jeans, looking so healthy that he looked as if he was going to burst out of his top.

He’s someone who can’t express his feelings and thoughts in a serious manner, and he even stops others from thanking him or apologizing to him in all seriousness. Apparently on the night of 7th October, just before he enlisted, he had a gathering with the Shinhwa members. Knowing Eric, the members naturally didn’t allow the atmosphere to be filled with the sadness of separation, and for the whole night everyone was in ‘last revelry” mode. But Eric - who seemed to have spent the last 10 years cheekily laughing away - unexpectedly got upset. “Hyesung and Junjin looked sad, but Andy seemed the happiest, his lips curled upwards the whole time. It seems that he was really happy to send me away…” Even so, it’s hard to tell what he was thinking when he said that: was he really sad to go, or did he just want to kid around with his human pet? Indeed, after understanding his prank-playing tendencies, it becomes hard to believe him.

A fine young man who takes the path less traveled

For all these years, he has been asked too many times: why did you give up your US citizenship? The answer is simply, and it’s the same thing, but he had to repeat it time and again. That’s why in a final interview before his enlistment, he simply answered, “I don’t know.” Is that the standard Mun-style? Moon Heejun once said, “The choco pie that I barely bothered about, even that tastes different in the army.” While we find that funny, we would think about the tough training in the army. Showbiz seniors told Eric, “military duty is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, you have to go through it with a positive outlook and come back healthily.” That is why, despite some feelings of sadness, it wasn’t to the point of tears. He even thought about the games he wanted to play when he’s done with the army, and he sounded so laidback that it seemed as if he was going on an excursion. “I want to thank all the fans who have loved and supported Shinhwa all this time. Very soon, all the members will be back from the army, until then, please wait for us!”

He should have done an outstanding job during the 4-week basic training course, or else he wouldn’t have received an award at the end of it — the award of commendation from the chief of the training center is a level higher than one from the commander. After that Eric was assigned to serve as a public service officer at Seoul Metro, at the Sports Complex Station on Line 2. But on his first day of work, he still got into trouble - he was late for a good 35 mintues. The reason was, “We weren’t too familiar with the roads and got lost, so we wasted some time there.” Clearly, we can’t stop worrying about him, can we?

Rapper Mun Jung Hyuk

Firstly, he cheated us of our feelings! T9tally, completely, mercilessly.

Everyone had high expectations of an album from rapper Mun Jung Hyuk, starting from the time he jokingly said that he wanted to price his album at 5 hundred million won each in an interview. After that we caught a rare glimpse of him in the recording studio in a making-of special of Lee Hyori’s album: so at least he has stepped in the studio, he hasn’t been idling, that’s one less thing on our minds.

After that, his management agency announced that he’d be releasing his solo album before enlistment, and that it would include his collaboration with Lee Hyori, but until now, there’s nothing like that. That’s a grudge we bear.

Although we understand his health condition after the filming for the drama wrapped up, but just thinking about how we’d only get to hear songs that were recorded this year in another two years, that’s a little hard to take lying down.

While we get all flustered, he seems to taking it easy: Eric’s album isn’t just Eric’s, it belongs to the 6 Shinhwa members. Whether or not he releases one, it doesn’t matter since there’s someone to hold the fort — “Shin Hyesung will take care of it (our place in the music industry)!” His own confidence stems from his trust in the members.

Even when everyone is serving his military duty, as long as Shin Hyesung is holding the fort, the voice of Shinhwa will not be forgotten.

The Unchanging Promise

At the 10th anniversary concert, Shinhwa and their fans made a promise: when all the members are done with the army, Shinhwa will definitely reunite and hold a concert. During the concert, his back injury recurred, and was so bad that he had to take pain-relieving injections to complete the concert. The force that kept him going on stage - the fans. “Sometimes when I look around, I’d find that I’m alone, and there’s no one on my side. But when I’m on stage and I see the fans, I know that you are 100% on my side. I feel comforted thinking of that.”

He’s someone who doesn’t like to beat around the bush, and to avoid any misunderstanding, isn’t it best to express his stand directly? Regarding the disbanding rumours that have been circulating in the media, he said that he would have though about taking legal action when he was younger, but as he got older, he learned to take things more easily, and he just outright ignored the rumours.

“Even if Shinhwa wanted to disband, we can’t disband. If in future people say things like, ‘They’re still not retiring yet?”, then I’d start thinking about this issue. Right now all the members are focusing on their solo careers, but that doesn’t mean that Shinhwa will disband. Shinhwa is simply moving forward to bigger things. Having the honour of being the longest-running idol group, it’d be such a pity to give up now. Isn’t it better to continue breaking the record? (laughs)”

Eric and Mun Jung Hyuk

He’s someone who would sort out his feelings after a break-up, and doesn’t hold on to people or things, but this doesn’t mean Eric is a cold, heartless Casanova. It’s because when he likes someone he would only focus on the other party, and not let anything from the past affect that. “I think true happiness is when you meet someone you really love when you’re experiencing difficulties physically or mentally.” His sleeping habits are somewhat poor, not only does he grind his teeth and snore, he would even sit up and start rapping in English, but these weird habits only happen when he’s really very tired. He can fish in the lake on a dark night, but the still time and air makes him uncomfortable, and only 50 Cent’s ‘Candy Shop’ can help to balance his mind a little. Obviously, the rowdy showbiz life has changed his behaviour.

When he’s being Eric, he is the leader of Shinhwa, the rapper, the oldest member who has the most childish behaviour, and the one who has the final say on important matters. As Mun Jung Hyuk, he is an actor, but also someone who doesn’t pay attention to his appearance and lives in his own mental world. “When I come back in two years’ time, I’ll have higher expectations of myself in acting and music. I’m a composite of 50% Mun Jung Hyuk and 50% Eric, and it’s just a temporary break for now, I’ll be back as a better Mun Jung Hyuk and Eric. I’ll work hard towards that.

Source: FevEric+book2700
Trans: midnightgirl13@absolutshinhwa.wordpress.com

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