[Interview] A Love Letter to Life, Humanity and Korea: ‘Journey There’ Star Justin H. Min, Part 2

※The interview with Justin H. Min about 〈Journey There〉 continues from Part 1.

As we discussed earlier, music plays an important role in this film, and you play a conductor. The concert scene at the end was especially striking. How did you prepare for it?

The conducting scene was the most nerve-racking moment for me as an actor in the entire production. To practice conducting, you need the music first, right? So throughout the shoot, I kept pleading with the director, “Please send me the music as soon as you can.” But the music was still being composed toward the end of filming, so I hadn’t received it, and I was really anxious because there wasn’t much time left. When the piece was finally finished, my incredibly kind manager drove six hours round-trip from Gangneung to Seoul every weekend to take me to lessons. I met with a professional conductor who, thankfully, taught me everything. Through that process, I realized conducting is probably 10% technique and 90% understanding the emotions of the piece, the relationship between the conductor and the orchestra, and what you’re trying to convey through the music. That was what I thought about most when conducting the piece. And, of course, so much of the piece is connected to Chun-hee. That made it easy to immerse myself emotionally. I was thinking about Chun-hee the whole time. Still, I was really nervous on the day of filming. They were all actual professional orchestra musicians, and they stared straight at me as if I were a real conductor. I was extremely nervous, but they were patient and kind. The director told me, “Conduct while thinking only of Chun-hee.” That helped me let go of my nerves and focus entirely on the emotion.

Your co-star Kim Hye-ok said that as soon as she saw you, she thought you were “an actor who brings out maternal instincts.” Why do you think she felt that way?

People around me often say that when they look at me, they somehow “feel sorry for me.” (Laughs) It’s not that they pity me, exactly; they say I make them want to come over and help. Maybe Ms. Kim saw something like that in my eyes and felt a maternal instinct. Onscreen, that kind of energy can be a positive thing. When people watch a movie, they tend to root for an underdog who’s missing something rather than someone who’s perfect. If there’s something about my appearance that makes audiences take a character’s side and want to protect him, I’m grateful for that as an actor. This is embarrassing, but I’m only repeating what other people have told me! (Laughs)

Kim Hye-ok said she was disappointed because she asked you to eat with her and you didn’t. (Laughs)

I want to set the record straight on that! (Laughs) Ms. Kim took the KTX from Gangneung back to Seoul every night. So there simply wasn’t time for us to eat together. I have no idea what she’s talking about. (Laughs) Also, I tend not to eat a lot of carbohydrates while I’m filming. The problem isn’t that I dislike rice; it’s that I love it too much. Eating a lot of carbs makes me sleepy and tired quickly. I needed to stay clearheaded and energized on set, so I chose salads or light meals. She teased me about it the whole time. We ate together to our hearts’ content this week, so she has to stop being disappointed now. (Laughs)

〈Journey There〉 is about forming new relationships, but it also makes us think about the end of life. Did making the film change how you think about a “good life” and a “good death”?

What I thought about most while filming was that nothing in this world lasts forever. As the film says, we come from dust and return to dust. I think what remains is the relationships we form with one another and the love we can give. That’s how I want to live. What will stay with me most from this shoot is asking myself, “How can I be of help to the people around me?” and “How can I really try to understand that everyone is fighting their own battle, even if I can’t see it?” Making this film was truly a life-changing experience. It made me see my mom in a new light. I’d never made a film about a relationship like this before. Chun-hee isn’t Min-jun’s mother, but they have a mother-and-son relationship. Filming with Ms. Kim kept making me think of my mom: the life she’s lived, what she went through to come to the United States and the sacrifices she made. What’s interesting is that, in my mind, my mom has always seemed frozen in time at around 40. But when I look at her now, she’s an older woman in her mid-60s, well past 60. Realizing our parents won’t be with us forever is sobering. It made me think about what we can do for them in the short time we have together.

At the press conference, you described this as “a film about people who have lost someone finding connection again.” That theme seems to connect with your earlier film 〈After Yang〉. You’ve done genre work like 〈The Umbrella Academy〉, but you’ve also played Yang, an android who felt human, in 〈After Yang〉, and portrayed the pettiness inherent in people in 〈Shortcomings〉. Min-jun in 〈Journey There〉 is also a character with a genuinely human heart. Are you most interested in playing characters like that? What kind of story would you like to tell next?

Thank you so much for seeing it that way. Those are exactly the kinds of roles I’ve always sought out: three-dimensional people who are far from perfect, full of flaws and prone to mistakes, but who are still doing their best to get through it. I love stories that reflect the full breadth of human experience. What story I’d like to tell next is a hard question to answer. As with 〈Journey There〉, if a script resonates deeply with me when I read it, that’s a project I want to do, regardless of genre. But if I had to choose one thing, I’d like to explore a tortured genius. 〈The Queen’s Gambit〉 was really popular in the United States. I mean a character like that: a brilliant chess player who’s deeply troubled and struggling internally.

*The following section contains spoilers for 〈Journey There〉.

It’s hard to discuss 〈Journey There〉 without talking about assisted dying. Recently, more works dealing with assisted dying have begun to appear in Korea, and discussions around it have taken different directions. How did you personally approach the issue?

To be honest, I’m not sure I’ve thought deeply enough about it to have a firm opinion. I’d never had to confront a question like this directly before. I think it would be hard to give a definitive answer unless I were actually in that situation myself. But one of the beautiful things about this film is that it doesn’t try to argue for either side or persuade anyone. It simply follows one woman’s journey and the decision she makes for herself. And it asks us in return, “Then how do you want to live?” I think it’s the same in American and Korean society: people instinctively avoid even saying the word “death.” That’s why films and stories like this are all the more important. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and it’s only when we face the finite nature of life that we realize how we should live today.

As the title suggests, we’re all on our own “journey” right now. Just as the film has both joy and sorrow, when are you happiest and saddest these days as Justin H. Min, apart from acting?

The interesting thing is that what makes me happiest also makes me saddest. What I mean is that I’ve spent almost the entire year traveling around the world for work. My home is in LA, but I’ve spent a total of two days there this year. I spent the first four months doing a play in New York, then shot a film in New York, worked on another project in London, filmed a Korean drama in Korea, went to Australia, and now I’m back in Korea for the film’s release. Exploring new cities and meeting people around the world brings me tremendous joy and happiness. I’ve been so happy to meet people all over the world this year. At the same time, it’s also the hardest part. Sometimes I feel really lonely, and I’m not even sure where home is anymore. Of course I miss my family, too. I think much of life is like that. The things that bring us tremendous joy can also be sources of tremendous sadness and loss.

If your life as an actor is a “journey,” what chapter are you in now that you’re meeting audiences through a Korean feature film?

Hopefully, somewhere right in the middle—assuming I don’t die tomorrow. (Laughs) I’ve always dreamed of working more in Korea, so I’m really happy and honored to be starting a new chapter here and getting to do more projects. As my career continues, though it probably won’t work out this way, in an ideal world I’d split my work evenly between the United States and Korea.

You’ve gained a lot of fans in Korea. They want you to stay here and keep telling you not to go back. (Laughs)

I’ll definitely be back—100%! (Laughs) I recently filmed a Korean Netflix drama, and it was a lot of fun. I’m excited for you to see it next year. I really hope to come back more and more often, and I know I will.