In our first blog giveaway, we asked our readers the following question:

WHICH Ha Jung Woo role (drama or movie) is your favorite and WHY?

The following are the BEST THREE answers and each will receive an English-subbed VCD of The Unforgiven. Congratulations to our three winners!

Heather Harding:

My favourite Ha Jung Woo role would have to be Yu Tae-jung in The Unforgiven. The reason being is that it’s the first film I saw Ha Jung Woo in and was immediately drawn to his screen presence and his amazing, yet subtle performance in the film. Not one time in the movie did he overact or go over the top. I think he gave a very controlled performance and I really liked how he made the transition from his character whilst he was in the army to his character when he was no longer in the army.

Even though he is playing the same character throughout the film we do see a change in his character from when he was in the army and when he isn’t and Ha Jung Woo makes this change very well, still keeping his character the same but making the viewer wonder what could have happened to Yu Tae-jung to make him react differently with his old friend, Lee Seung-yeong. I loved the chemistry between the two actors too and kept wondering what Lee Seung-yeong wanted to talk about and what Yu Tae-jung wanted to keep in the past.

Ha Jung Woo really captivated me in this movie and whenever he was on screen I found that I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I found myself really liking his character at points in the movie, feeling a bit annoyed with his character some times and feeling really sorry for his character at others. Only a great actor can make you feel so many emotions towards a character like Ha Jung Woo did in this film. He gave an amazing performance and it has made me want to see all of his other movies. This movie is the only one I have seen Ha Jung Woo in (his others are hard to get hold of where I live but I’ll keep trying!) and this one and only performance I have seen him give has turned me into a big Ha Jung Woo fan. I hope to see many more things from this very talented actor.

Peggy:

Impossible to answer this truly because I have not yet watched all his films and dramas.
I really liked his appearance in the drama H.I.T and I thought he was charming and indeed he ‘hit’ the right note with that character, Without his presence this story would have been rather a dull police drama. He brought everyone into his light and they were all so good reacting to him.
 
I found his role in the film ‘Never Forever’ was one to be studied carefully. It was an impossible situation to believe in from the start. HJW was the magnet that kept me watching this film. I have yet to finish ‘The Chaser’ which is very compelling. He is indeed such an actor to make you watch every second.
SO… which is my favourite so far????
 
It has to be his performance in THE FOX FAMILY.
 
Why??  because he explores his talents here and brings us surprises. Song and dance man??  Didn’t know about that.  Comedian?? well a hint here and there in drama ‘H.I.T’
Hints of evil…Oh yes indeed.
this role was one that had the full menu
 
This is my favourite Ha Jung Woo.

luff panda:

I have been able to see quite a few of his films but not nearly enough (I sadly haven’t seen “The Unforgiven” ;__;), and I must say it’s quite extraordinary to see what Ha Jung Woo brings to each role. His manages to bring such a uniqueness to each character, from the chillingly haunting psychopathic killer in The Chaser, the sullen and conflicted Jihah in “Never Forever”, and lets not discredit his hilarious scene stealing cameo in “Forever The Moment” (practically stealing the whole film for me). Who knew that such an amazing talent was tucked in such a minor supporting role in “The Fox Family”.

At heart, I feel that Ha Jung Woo’s portrayal as Youg min Jee (The Chaser) is a role that will live on as a prominent figure in Korean cinema history. Pitch perfect acting (and lets be honest, would that chase scene wouldn’t be half as amazing without that infamous “slip”) and fantastic writing and Directing from Na Hon Jin. However, there is one role that I feel is definitely my favorite solely because, even though the script was good, it really took the acquired skills that ha Jung Woo possesses to take it to the next level, and that is his role in 2008’s “My Dear Enemy”.

In the film, Ha’s character (Jo Byeong Woon) is understood to be quite immature, free spirited, undependable, and not in the least serious. In any lesser hands, this character could have been so cutesy and over the top in immaturity, leaving the viewer on the verge of pulling out their hair. As a complete reciprocal, Ha preys on subtlety to convey what the the story was about, adults. By the end of the two characters one day together, I wished it would have lasted a week and is truly one of my favorite films from this year.