'Winter Sonata' stars Bae, Choi hope fans enjoy 'anime' version+

TOKYO, Sept. 29 Kyodo -
South Korean actor Bae Yong Joon and actress Choi Ji Woo, who rose to fame in
Japan for their leading roles in the drama ''Winter Sonata,'' expressed hope
Tuesday that their Japanese fans will enjoy the animated version of the series
set to be released on pay TV in mid-October.

Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, Bae and Choi also spoke of the
difficulties they have experienced in doing the voice-overs for their
respective characters, highlighting the differences between acting in front of
the camera and voice acting.
''I feel as if I've gone back to seven years ago,'' the 37-year-old Bae said,
looking back to the time when the original drama series was first released in
South Korea. ''I'm thankful that I'm able to feel once again the passion,
warmth and happiness of first love which I felt when doing 'Winter Sonata.'''
In the drama series, Bae plays Kang Joon Sang and Choi plays Jung Yu Jin --
high school sweethearts separated by a twist of fate and reunited by chance 10
years later before going their separate ways to New York and Paris,
respectively, and then meeting again in an emotional ending.
''The story line of the animation isn't all that different from the drama
'Winter Sonata,' but there are parts that have been added, including the three
years that were left blank (in the drama) after Joon Sang and Yu Jin went their
separate ways,'' said Bae, known affectionately as ''Yon-sama'' in Japan.
Choi, 34, nicknamed ''Ji Woo hime'' (princess Ji Woo) here, said she first
thought voice acting might be easier than acting in a drama but found the task
to be much more intricate than she had imagined.
''We work in a very small studio and it's tough expressing ourselves there,''
she said. ''For example, in a scene where the character is running, I do the
voice-over by actually running in that small studio and it's embarrassing to
think how funny that might look. But I've gotten quite accustomed to such
things now.''
Bae attested to the difficulties of conveying various emotions using only his
voice, saying voice actors must make their presence felt by making some kind of
sound, such as just breathing, even in scenes where they have no lines.
But he said one of the advantages of animation over drama is that the cast and
staff do not need to travel abroad to shoot scenes in foreign settings such as
when the characters go to the United States and France.
Asked if the pair -- making their first joint appearance in person in Japan --
would work together again in the future, Choi said, ''In the drama, we two just
kind of clicked. So if a good scenario comes along, I think we will be able to
produce a good piece of work together again.''
The ''anime'' series, which has 26 episodes, will be broadcast on a Sky
PerfecTV channel from Oct. 17.
==Kyodo