By B1A4’s Jin Young is opening up about his upcoming teen romance drama “Summer Vacation”. In a new interview, the idol-turned-actor broke down his character, his chemistry with co-star Cho Yi Hyun, and the surprising behind-the-scenes secret behind his “swimming prodigy” role.
Jin Young as Jo Yu Gyeom (Credits: Soompi)
A Midsummer Story of Change
“Summer Vacation” stars Cho Yi Hyun as Kim Ha Yeon, an ordinary high school student who has a mysterious experience during her summer vacation before returning to reality. Jin Young plays Jo Yu Gyeom, a boy the same age as her who happens to be the son of the landowner of Upo Village and the eldest grandson of the head family.
With striking looks and exceptional swimming talent, Jo Yu Gyeom appears to have everything — yet he lives a mundane daily life under old-fashioned rules. Explaining why he took the role, Jin Young shared that reading the script felt like “looking back on memories of midsummer.” It was not just about bright, beautiful moments, he said — the story of characters with their own worries and wounds meeting one another and changing resonated with his own experiences.
Playing Boredom With Tiny Details
Jin Young described his character as someone who looks special to others but feels bored and stifled himself. What drew him to the role was watching that character “begin to look forward to tomorrow for the first time after meeting Kim Ha Yeon” — a transformation he wanted to portray carefully.
To capture Jo Yu Gyeom’s inner world, he kept his expressions and gestures deliberately minimal in the early scenes, acting as naturally as possible. He conveyed the character’s listlessness through small details: his gaze, the speed at which he responds, and his general air of showing little interest in anything. He hopes viewers will catch the subtle shifts in his eyes and reactions as the character slowly changes.
The Swimming Secret
Here is the fun twist: despite playing a swimming prodigy, Jin Young confessed, “Actually, I’m not very good at swimming.” He put in serious effort to become comfortable in the water, because for Jo Yu Gyeom, swimming was not just a sport — it was a special escape from his stifling reality. He wanted his character to look at least a little freer underwater. He joked that he spent so much time in the water filming this project that he feels like he has done “all the swimming I’ll ever need to do in my life.”
Chemistry and a Love Triangle
On working with Cho Yi Hyun, Jin Young praised her portrayal of Kim Ha Yeon’s bright and honest charm, saying it let him comfortably follow the attraction that grows in Jo Yu Gyeom. To his character, he explained, Kim Ha Yeon is “the person who made him curious about tomorrow for the first time.”
The drama also features a complicated love triangle with Sung Sae Ryung, played by Hong Ye Ji. Jin Young explained that although Jo Yu Gyeom and Sung Sae Ryung have spent a long time together, their relationship is tangled in guilt, fear, and responsibility. He carefully balanced two sides of his character: the familiar but burdened version around Sung Sae Ryung, and the livelier side that surfaces unknowingly around Kim Ha Yeon.
Looking back on filming, Jin Young said the atmosphere, scenery, and feeling on set remain vivid in his memory — and he hopes the drama becomes one that “comes back to viewers’ minds from time to time, even as the years go by.”
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Source: Soompi — read the full story there.
