Steve Yoo Seung-Jun is one of the lead actors in Jackie’s new film, Big Soldier [currently filming in China]. Some people might be asking, “Who is he? Is he a new artist?” If you thought he was a new artist then you’ve only guessed half of it correctly. In the eyes of Chinese people, he is new but to people in Korea, he used to be a well known and favored artist in the Korean music industry and an idol to many young Koreans. But after an incident that quickly turned the tables and caused his popularity to spiral downwards, the ever-so-popular artist who was once loved by millions became a banished person blacklisted by the Korean government and denied entry into the country. What actually happened to Steve that resulted in this outcome? Why did his misfortunes have so many twists and turns? Let’s gain a better understanding about him through this interview.

Question: Hi Steve. Were you born in America?
Steve: No, I was actually born in Korea. When I was very young, my family immigrated to America and I grew up there.

Question: Why did you go back to Korea to develop your career?
Steve: (Smiling) Actually, ever since I was a young kid, I had a dream to become an actor and I wanted to make it big in the entertainment industry. I just never thought that I’d end up being a singer. The main reason why I wanted to become an actor has a lot to do with Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. I’ve always watched Jackie’s and Bruce Lee’s films ever since I was a little kid. After all, they did have a great influence on a lot of Asians during that time. Anyway, because they were high achievers and they had a great influence on other people, I also hoped that I could become someone like that, and that is why I wanted to become an actor.

I think everybody already knows that the majority of young people in America like listening to Hip-Hop and African-American music. I grew up in America so I was no exception and I really enjoyed listening to that style of music as well. Afterwards, I met with some people who made music and that was the first step that led me onto my music business journey. My friends wrote songs for me and I produced my own music videos where I sang and danced in them. I then sent the videos to various record companies around Korea and I was very lucky because they really liked my songs and dance moves. So, they got in contact with me and then I was off to Korea, filled with enthusiasm and energy.

Question: So what was it like when you went back to Korea?
Steve: I was very lucky. I released my first album in the Korean music industry and the songs on my album received a very good response because at the time there weren’t as many Hip-Hop or rap style artists as there are today and I quickly became one of the best singer-dancers in Korea. I guess you can say that I was instantly shot to fame.

Question: It seemed like that you ran into some trouble afterwards and there were some changes that happened to your career and your livelihood. Do you mind telling us a little bit more about it?
Steve: I think that you’ve all heard about the compulsory military service for all men in Korea. Well, I am also no exception. Seven years ago, just before I went to fulfill my military duties, I announced that I’d obtained my American citizenship. Because of this, I was categorized as an “unwelcome person and forbidden to enter the country” by South Korea’s Ministry of Law. Up until this day, I still haven’t been able to go back to my country. I deeply regret that this happened.

Honestly speaking, I grew up in America and I simply didn’t understand the point behind compulsory military service or its importance in Korea’s society. On top of that, I was just too young at the time and still a little immature, otherwise I wouldn’t have made such a big mistake.

Question: Since you couldn’t return to Korea after this incident, what did you do?
Steve: Afterwards, I went to China to expand my career.

Question: Do you feel that what has happened is unfortunate?
Steve: When I settle down and quietly think about it, I do feel that what happened in the past was very unfortunate. But I also think that if this particular incident didn’t happen in my life, I wouldn’t have come to China to develop my career in this huge marketplace and I definitely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet Jackie. So after experiencing this rather difficult incident, I still consider myself a very lucky person and I’m also a very happy person.

I won’t blame anyone or anything for what has happened and I won’t make excuses for myself either. I’m just the type of person who will never give up. I won’t give up my dream just because I made a mistake or suffered one setback. Even though I used to be the most popular guy around in those days, and I suddenly experienced the extreme coldness of human sentiments, I still continued to work hard, tried my best and quietly chugged away at my own work. I first concentrated on doing the best of my own ability, hoping that one day everyone would notice my hard work and achievements, forgive me for the ignorant mistake that I made that day, and accept me once again as a new person. I would be very happy and satisfied if this were possible.

Question: Can you tell us a bit about how you met Jackie?
Steve: When I first came to China to expand my career, the company that helped me organize my work was in fact a Korean company. The people working in the company were Korean so they didn’t really understand the needs of the Chinese market either. Actually, there are quite a few Korean artists wanting to develop their careers in China at the moment and they’re also not very familiar with the Chinese market. Because of this unfamiliarity, it has created quite a few problems for them as well. So after I arrived in China, I felt as though I was facing difficulties everywhere. Furthermore, China is an extremely big country. Traveling to another city is like going to a different country because sometimes people in the city speak different dialects that sound like a different language. It’s definitely not an easy task to establish and expand my career in this particular marketplace. However, this was my dream and deep inside my heart, I still had a lot of enthusiasm. I had to keep doing it; I had to keep working on my career. I didn’t want to give up just like that. I have to continue my dream and my journey in life. I’ve always thought that my life was like a blockbuster movie and it hadn’t finished showing yet. My film still hasn’t ended. It would be absolutely meaningless if it just ended like that!

Now I’ve found my feet and I’m standing up again, I’m trying my best to expand my career. When other people look at the movie of my life, they might think that I’m not a bad person at all because they will see that even though I bumped into a really big obstacle, I’m still trying my best and relentlessly working hard. I went to another country, learned the local language, and began to re-establish myself. Later, I felt like I became one of their close friends and even part of their family. I think that my experience will give many Korean people a great sense of encouragement. I continued doing my best with work and participated in a television program, followed by an event that was similar to an evening gala. At the time, Jackie and Jet Li just finished filming The Forbidden Kingdom. Even though they didn’t like watching television programs, I heard someone say that on that particular evening, they happened to watch TV and they saw me sing, dance and perform some kung fu. They commented that the person they saw on TV was pretty good. Sitting next to Jackie at the time was a Korean friend he’d known for a very long time. He told Jackie my story and I have no idea why but when Jackie saw me on TV, he had a feeling and he wanted to help me. Afterwards, Jackie told me that he also encountered some tough times in the past and when he was young, he also did some wrong things. But he said that as long as you can learn from your mistakes and not make the same mistakes again, then it shouldn’t be a problem. Jackie thinks that I’m a person who doesn’t give up easily; even if I do something wrong, I won’t give up, I still work hard, and my Chinese speaking skills are pretty good. (At this point, Steve couldn’t help but smile and said, “Actually, I’m still a long way off compared to Jackie.”)

As a result, Jackie asked his Korean friend to contact me and when they did, the Korean friend said, “Do you know who Jackie Chan is?” I replied, “Are you joking? Of course I know who he is.” Then the Korean friend said, “Jackie Chan wants to meet you. Do you have any time? If you do, I’ll call you again in a couple of days.”

After I hung up the phone, I felt shocked and surprised. Honestly, words simply cannot describe the feeling I had at that moment in time. I even cried. I was so touched and grateful. When I was in Korea before the incident occurred, I was just like Jackie – extremely popular and loved by everyone. But after the incident happened, there weren’t many people who wanted to help me and I didn’t want to beg or ask other people to help me. When I arrived in China, the environment was different and I was like a new artist again. I had to start everything from scratch. So when Jackie called me and asked to meet up, I was seriously very touched.

However, I waited for one month, two months, three months and Jackie still hadn’t called me back. I honestly thought that maybe he had forgotten about me. So I decided that after waiting for six months, if he really did forget about me, I would go and look for him myself. During the days while I was waiting for his call, I continued to practice my kung fu and even made a few video tapes of myself. I wanted to bring some information about myself when I’d go to meet him. It was at this time when I received a call from Jackie’s Korean friend and she said, “Jackie is currently in Beijing, do you have any time to come over and meet with him?” I couldn’t help myself and asked, “You’re not joking with me, right? I’ve already waited for six months and you’re asking me if I have any time? I certainly have the time. No matter what, I will always find time to see Jackie Chan!”

I made arrangements to meet with Jackie at 6.30 p.m. however I didn’t show up until 8.30. Why is that? Well, it’s because there are two hotels in Beijing with the same name as the one that Jackie was staying in and I went to the wrong one. After I discovered that I went to the wrong hotel, and by the time I arrived at the correct location, I was already two hours late. I was so nervous and I couldn’t stop sweating. I kept blaming myself for what happened and I thought, what if Jackie doesn’t want to see me, what do I do then?

However, Jackie was waiting for me all along. When I saw Jackie, the first thing that he asked me was, “Are you hungry?” We’d initially made arrangements to have dinner together so when I heard Jackie ask me this question in Korean, it felt very friendly and heartwarming. I also gave him an honest reply and said that I was indeed hungry. Jackie then said to me, “Eat more…it’s fine with me because I ate while I waited. I think you, who rushed to get here, would have suffered a little more than me and would be nervous.” Hearing Jackie say these words was my first experience with his kind, friendly, and caring personality.

Question: So have you signed as an artist under Jackie Chan’s Entertainment Management Company?
Steve: Not yet. Initially I wanted to sign a contract with him but the person in charge at Jackie’s Beijing office is extremely busy and hasn’t had time to meet up with me. And unfortunately, there are already a lot of news reports in Korea that have said that I’ve already signed a contract with Jackie. Even though I haven’t signed anything yet, Jackie still asked me to film Big Soldier and cast me to play a character in the movie. I think I will sign a contract with Jackie but it’s just a matter of when.

Question: What impression do you have of Jackie Chan after meeting with him?
Steve: Before I met with Jackie, I was extremely nervous and worried. I’ve previously met with some very famous people before, for example Michael Jackson, but when I met him, I felt that there wasn’t much I could learn from this person. I actually felt that he was very lonely and his life didn’t seem very happy at all. However, when I met Jackie, I noticed that there were a lot of people working for him and his staff members were just like his friends and family. Furthermore, I’ve heard people say that he’s done a lot of charity work and has helped many people. This is when I realized that I could learn a lot of things from this person. As an artist, he is definitely a very good role model. I never used to have a role model or set anyone as an example, especially when I was the hottest topic in Korea. During that time, I certainly didn’t listen to what anybody said. I guess you can say that I was very arrogant. But standing in front of Jackie made me very nervous. I was so nervous that I was too afraid to even speak to him. I think that Jackie is definitely a person worth learning from. He’s like my teacher, my mentor, and my friend. He is someone I highly respect and I’m also deeply grateful to him.


I think that Jackie is the type of person who never gets tired. As long as he’s working on the set, he’s like an activated engine; he immediately does things whenever he thinks of them. I don’t think it’s that easy to learn this special kind of quality in Jackie even though I really want to. You need to have the natural talent, the wisdom, and the experience to be able to do those kinds of things. I truly hope that I will be able to learn these things from Jackie one day. Also, Jackie is very professional and he knows what he’s doing. As long as it has something to do with film making, no matter how big or small, he has knowledge of it and he has the ability to take care of the matter. He also has the ability to bring everyone together and form a united team. When he’s taking care of everyone, he’s like a big brother; when he’s filming on the set, he’s like a leader. Furthermore, I think that he’s a very easygoing and approachable big brother who doesn’t have that arrogant boastful attitude that some famous actors tend to have. When he goes back to the hotel after work, he takes care of his own cleaning; he sweeps, he vacuums, and he washes his own underwear and socks. Wow! I never imagined that a famous super star like Jackie would do these kinds of things and I don’t think that there would be many people around who would do what he does. If you think about it, Jackie isn’t that young anymore in terms of being an action star. Other actors in the same generation as himself are either not very active or are no longer that popular, yet Jackie is still going strong and standing tall. I think that this is absolutely admirable!

Question: What hopes and expectations do you have now that you’re working together with Jackie?
Steve: I hope to continue doing my best with my work because Jackie gave me a chance and I feel that I should grab hold of it and make the most of it. Basically, I don’t have any expectations or demands. The greatest thing I hope for is to work with Jackie. I think that Bruce Lee, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, The Beatles, and Elvis Presley, they’re all part of history. As for Jackie, he’s not only a part of history, he’s a legend. I don’t think that there will ever be a second Jackie Chan. I feel extremely honored just being able to work alongside him so I didn’t actually have any high hopes or expectations. I just want to work hard and do my best, and then maybe through this wonderful opportunity, if I am able to go back to Korea, then that would be very very good. My goal in life is the same as Jackie’s, and that is to make movies in Hollywood and bring Asia’s culture into the West. I think that I’m still continuously learning, still trying my best, working hard making movies and producing music.

I’ve noticed that Jackie has done a lot of charity work and public welfare related things; he’s helped a lot of people. He’s like the representative of Asian people. When you think of Jackie Chan, you start thinking about the Chinese culture that he’s infused overseas, allowing people all over the world gain a better understanding of the Chinese culture. He explains to foreigners how wonderful and impressive the cultural is and how long it has lasted. He has influenced a lot of Asian people like me who live overseas. He’s like the representative of all representatives who actively promotes the cultural exchange between the East and West. Jackie has had a great impact on me and I also hope that I can help other people. I want to be someone who can influence other people and also take Asia’s culture and spread it to all corners of the world.

Question: Is this your first time making a movie? How did it feel?
Steve: Yes, this is my first time making a movie. Actually, the music videos I used to make when I was in Korea had storylines behind them. It was very similar to a making a movie except that there were no lines for me to say in the music videos. Apart from that, the other main difference with making this movie is that I have to say all my dialogue in Chinese for the entire time. So for me, it was rather nerve-wracking. When it came to shooting the film, Jackie taught me how to do things. He said, “If you don’t know how to ride a horse then just say that you don’t know how to ride a horse, otherwise you might end up hurting yourself.” He is very caring and is always concerned for us. I am deeply grateful to him. Also, when Jackie is on the set, he makes everybody feel so comfortable. He manages to make every single person feel at ease, yet at the same time, he is also very professional, conscientious, and thorough. I truly admire him so much.

Furthermore, the cast and crew members are very nice to me. We work together, eat meals together and play basketball together. We’re like a big happy family. I am very grateful to them as well. I feel as though I’m starting the second chapter of my life here in China. I’ve seen many nice people and I’ve met with Jackie; we’re even working together. I think that I’m already very successful. I used to only dream about what it would feel like if this actually happened to me in real life. In fact, I really want to let Korean people know that I went to China, I’m expanding my career, and I’ve continued to work hard with my job. I want to let the young people in Korea know that as long as you try your best and you never give up, one day you will succeed. Also, I have to say a heartfelt thank you to Jackie. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity he’s given me. I will continue to do my best with my work and give my love to him.

Question: This is your first time participating in a film. Did you do any preparation work beforehand for this production?
Steve: Yes! First, I had to practice my Chinese speaking skills. I have no problems with casual talk and conversations but this particular production was not only a film where I had to speak Chinese, it was a film based on ancient Chinese history so the way I had to speak needed to comply with the way people used to speak in that period of time, including their manner, style, and expressions. All these things were a little unfamiliar to me so in order to do a good job of portraying my character, I put in a lot of effort and worked extra hard with my Chinese speaking skills. What do you think about my method? It might not be suitable for everyone but it was very useful for me.


Apart from practicing my Chinese, the second thing I prepared myself for was fitness. Actually, before we started making this movie, I was already keeping myself fit and doing a lot of exercise. However, Jackie said that actors with too much muscle don’t really look that attractive at all. He recommended that I should try and lose some of my muscle mass. So I took his advice, started toning down my muscles and controlled the foods I was eating so that it made me look a little skinnier.


The third thing I did in preparation for the movie before we started filming was that I watched a lot of movies related to ancient historical battles and absorbed a lot of experiences from them.

Question: Do you want to continue expanding your career with singing and acting in the future?
Steve: Definitely. My first ever dream was to become an actor but it just happened by chance that I became a singer. I’ve never made a movie before mainly because when I was in Korea, I didn’t come across a script that was suitable for me; the opportunity just didn’t seem to come. Yet when I came to China, the chance was there for me. So, I will certainly continue with these two branches of my career that I enjoy the most.

Question: You are Korean, grew up in America, and then went back to Korea to start your work as a singer, and now you’re expanding your career in China. What do you think is different between these three places? Which country do you like the most?
Steve: I actually like all three places, but my home is in America because I grew up there. I also feel that living there is more comfortable. In terms of work, I think Korea and China are more suitable for me. I think that I have a good understanding of the different cultures in the three countries so I think that it makes things a lot easier for me to express my feelings and emotions. The feelings I have towards all three countries is roughly about the same. But the feeling that Korea and China have given me is that they have become even more open to the public. What I mean by saying “even more open to the public” is really from the point of view of an artist who is trying to develop and expand his career. For example, it’s very difficult for a new non-Korean artist to start a career in the Korean entertainment industry or even establish themselves as an artist. This is just the style of the Korean entertainment industry. But when I came to China to expand my career, they actually gave me a lot of encouragement. As long as I was willing to put in the hard work, they were willing to support me. So that is why I think that China is an easier place for new artists to develop themselves because they are more willing to accept people of different nationalities.

We hope that through this interview, everyone will have gained a little more knowledge about Steve Yoo Seung-Jun and be more familiar with his name. If you want to see him in action, you’ll have to watch Big Soldier when it starts screening in cinemas near you. Tell him what you think and give him your feedback and comments!

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