Hello Master Hwang, it's very nice to meet you and welcome to the UK. You have been here since Thursday, what are your impressions of the country? [speaks Korean]
Hwang Zhang Lee: [laughs] I like the UK, but since arriving I've been interviewed by journalists every day!
Clearly, there are too many interviews, and here’s another one!
Hwang Zhang Lee: [laughs]
So, I'd like to start with this question: 30 years ago, Hong Kong and Japanese films were very popular. However, in the late 90s, Korean cinema broke into the mainstream. Do you have any favorite Korean movie?
Hwang Chang Lee: I really like Korean films, but these days most Korean films are either historical or drama, and I'm not very interested in those genres. If it's a martial arts movie, I'll watch it, but there aren't that many action movies anymore.
What about “City of Violence” and “Nowhere Man”?
Hwang Zhang Lee: I've heard about these movies, Won Bin is a very popular actor, but I haven't watched them yet.
Which Korean actor would you like to star in a movie with?
Hwang Zhang Lee: [laughs] Today's movie stars are so young, they look like children! I think I'm too old for them, we won't suit each other anymore!
What about Ahn Seung Gi?
Hwang Zhang Lee: Of course! But he's still too young!
[laughs] Let's go back 20 years. Few people knew about Korea back then, let alone Korean cinema. However, these days, thanks to the Korean Wave, we have become aware of Korean pop music (K-pop), food, and of course movies, which have brought Korea to the international market in a way that has never happened before. How do you feel about the fact that Korean culture has gained worldwide fame?
Hwang Zhang Lee: For this I am very grateful to my country. Now Korean products are in demand in many countries, and it is good that so many people know about Korea.
Agree! I read that you were an instructor in the Korean army. Even today, every Korean man must serve in the army for at least two years. Do you agree with this policy, or do you think that this is no longer necessary?
Hwang Zhang Lee: I absolutely agree. I think that every Korean guy is obliged to serve. This is very important for our country.
How do you feel about the current training in the Korean army? Is it very different from when you served, or not so much?
Hwang Zhang Lee: Hmm, basically everything is the same as before, but when I served, the training regime was much tougher and more demanding. Back then the emphasis was on individual training, but now training is mainly group training.
It's clear. There is no doubt that you have great love for Korea, so I wanted to ask about the time you were filming in Hong Kong. You worked there until the late 80s, after which, as I read, you moved back to Korea. Was there any specific reason for moving back?
Hwang Zhang Lee: One day, when I was in Seoul, my wife, who was living in Hong Kong at the time, called me and said, “Husband, I have decided that from now on I want to live in Korea!” And I didn’t contradict her. [laughs] We lived in Korea for a while, and planned to move back to Hong Kong in a couple of years. But when I got there, there was nothing there anymore! Martial arts films are over. And then we returned back to Korea. [laughs] You know, I thought my wife was joking, that’s why I agreed to the move so easily. [speaks English]
[laughs] It turns out that you were not the head of the family, but your wife?!
Hwang Zhang Lee: Exactly! [speaks English]
When you decided to return to Korea and live there, did you intend to continue acting in films or to find something else to do?
Hwang Jang Lee: When I first came back to Korea, I was invited to act by many people, and over the years I acted in a couple of films. After that, he became the owner of the hotel and decided to quit filming for a while.
I remember reading on the Internet about 10 years ago that you are the owner of a factory that produces golf products. Was there any truth to this?
Hwang Zhang Lee: Oh, yes, it happened, but not in Korea, but when I lived in Hong Kong. My factory produced ball coasters and was located in the Philippines. I had a contract with one of the American companies. [speaks English]
Thus, you are a taekwondo master, an actor, a hotel manager, and the owner of a golf tee factory.
Hwang Zhang Lee: Yes, so many professions! [speaks English] [laughs]
In 2009, you returned to Korean television with the role of Miyamoto Musashi in the series “The Return of Il Ji Mae.” Have you decided to return to acting for a while?
Hwang Zhang Lee: Yes, the owner of the broadcasting company asked me if I would like to star in the series. I talked to the director and crew, I liked the project, and I agreed to the role.
Then in Hong Kong you starred in many films that are still remembered and loved, but I want to ask: Do you like kung fu films yourself, or did you just want to act there?
Hwang Zhang Lee: Yes, I like them! Still would! [speaks English] [laughs]
Great! Which ones do you like best, old school or new?
Hwang Zhang Lee: I like them all! [speaks English]
I saw that you recently met with another famous Korean named Casanova Wong, a star of kung fu films. If you were given a chance to star in a film together, would you agree?
Hwang Zhang Lee: Yes, with pleasure! But there are too many historical films and dramas in Korean cinema, it is difficult to make a film focused on martial arts.
Indeed, this is exactly the case now. Speaking of Casanova Wong, I was wondering if there was any kind of community of Korean film actors in Hong Kong back then, considering how many Koreans were acting back then? Besides you and Casanova there were Kwan Yun Moon, Kim Tai Chun and a couple of others.
Hwang Zhang Lee: When I lived in Hong Kong, there were other Koreans acting there, but I already had a lot of acting experience, and many of them were just starting out. I didn't rule out the possibility that they might have problems with housing, or they might just be bored, but we were all so busy that such a community never appeared.
Okay, what do you remember most about your time living in Hong Kong?
Hwang Zhang Lee: You know, I couldn’t enjoy all the delights of Hong Kong back then because I had filming every day. And when the working day was over, I just wanted to come home and relax.
On various sites dedicated to kung fu, you can find polls for the title of the best “kicker” of all time. Of course, in these polls you are always in first place! I wanted to ask this: if Hwang Zhang Lee created his own poll for the title of the best movie fighter, who would be in his “five”?
Hwang Zhang Lee: Okay! 1 – Jackie Chan, 2 – Yuen Biao, then, hmm, 3 – Lo Lie, 4 – Ti Lung and, hmmmmm, 5 – Sammo Hung. [speaks English]
[laughs] No John Lew? Is he in sixth place?
Hwang Zhang Lee: [laughs] He's much lower on my list.
Note: In a previous interview conducted by two Spaniards filming a documentary about John Liu, when asked about John's fighting technique, Master Hwang said that he had problems with accurate timing: more than once during the filming of fight scenes, he got too close, causing... for which he accidentally received a kick or punch from Hwang (at full force), so Liu was often covered in bruises at the end of filming.
SECOND PART OF THE INTERVIEW
Author: Paul Bramhall
Translation: EvilDollaR
Interview from Raj:
youtu.be/gV75EraII38
Aaaaah!.... familiar physio)) EvilDollaR, thank you)
slidedancer, you give it... ;)
Ravenside, well, I don’t know his name either. And I immediately recognized him by sight. Although not such an expert on such things as many of you.
Johnson, come on...
youtu.be/a8OOlvSBacI
But I don’t know him at all....maybe someone will leave a couple of episodes with him here?
And what are the top 5 best fighters without Bruce Lee???
Thank you for the interview!! Very interesting and informative!
Thank you) I love this actor) After Snake in the Shadow of the Eagle and Drunken Master, I got seriously hooked on his films) He’s great)
What a surprise, thank you for the interview! I just recently organized myself a movie marathon of films with Hwang!