A rising actor revealed the story behind the handwritten letter announcing his military enlistment and shared his honest feelings ahead of joining the army.
On July 3rd, tvN’s You Quiz on the Block released a video titled “Last broadcast before military enlistment! D-18, what is Lee Jun Young’s state of mind before enlisting?”
In the video, Yoo Jae Suk asked Lee Jun Young, who is about to enlist, “Your handwritten letter announcing your enlistment made headlines. What mindset were you in when you wrote it?”
Previously, Lee Jun Young personally announced his enlistment with a handwritten letter last month. At the time, he said, “I struggled for months over where to start the story, and after much thought, I ended up writing this myself. I was already on my tenth revision.” He drew attention by also revealing the letter showing multiple corrections.
Regarding this, Lee Jun Young confessed, “I didn’t want it to come off too stiff, so I tried to add humor by numbering the letters in the order of mistakes from the first letter. But some said that made it even sadder, so I thought, ‘This is a failure,’ and felt self-critical.”
Yoo Jae Suk responded, “I heard you wrote and discarded it about ten times. I even saw some crumpled papers in a corner.” Lee Jun Young then explained, “That was intentional—I wanted it to be funny.”
Facing enlistment on July 21, Lee Jun Young shared his current feelings: “It’s like riding a roller coaster. Sometimes during filming, I suddenly feel down, and I get emotional even in scenes that aren’t emotional.”
He added, “I’m starting to notice things I hadn’t before; these days, it feels strange. Although I haven’t experienced military life yet, the army seems like a huge event for people around me. Even when a project does well, I get more messages saying, ‘You’re going to the army, right?’ rather than congratulations,” making viewers laugh.
Meanwhile, Lee Jun Young is currently playing a double role in JTBC’s drama “New Employee President Kang.”