"Complicated girl problems!" I dream of becoming a top musical actor, but I have a huge weakness. "Oh, I love you, my prince." "I love you. Please take my kiss... Please take my kiss... Must I do this?" "Just do it! This is so aggravating." I have a fear of women. - On stage? / - That's why it's a girl problem. He has the opposite problem as Dongyeob. An actor gets nervous around women? This is how bad it is. When younger girls say hi... "Hello. How are you?" This is him. "Uh ah uhm h-he-lo-o." Really? Do it again? What does he say? "Have you eaten?" "Uh ah uhm y-yeah..." Really? Oh my. I can't talk to girls or even look at them. When I'm alone with a girl... "Oh my goodness! Coffee on your hands!" "What? My hands? Oh, it's hot! Hot!" My hands were trembling so much and I spilled coffee all over my hands. But I didn't realize that it was hot because I was so nervous. Even when I was ill and went to see a doctor... "You need to take off your shirt for treatment." "My... My... My clothes?" What am I supposed to do? I can't enjoy my college life. Please help me. When Shin Dongyeob reads the stories, he can't really speak in dialects. But you did so well today. He does well on anything related to women. The biggest problem is that he is an actor. He's majoring in musicals. What happens when he's on stage with a woman? He has to act on stage with women. When he comes down the slide later go look into his eyes. Go grab his hands. (Will he be all right?) - Okay. / - He could faint. Please come on out. (Who has a fear of women?) (Flinch) (He's coming towards the trap of women) (He gets nervous around women) (He's trapped) (Brace yourself) (What will happen?) Grab his hands. (Running away) (A cheetah has appeared on the set) (Unbelievable) What was that? (Seo Hwijeong) Let us help you. That's all right. I'm sorry. (Avoiding eye contact) Why do you say hello like this? (A new way of saying hello) Please introduce yourself. Hello. I'm Seo Hwijeong and I'm majoring in musical studies at Seokyeong University. Nice to meet you. Is it true? You really get anxiety around women? You're so handsome. I am 6'2" tall. Yes, you're tall. I eat 5-6 bowls of rice in one meal. - In one meal? / - Yes. Wow. People tell me that I am manly. But when I'm with women I get intimidated and self-conscious. It's not about being self-conscious. Let's say a girl asks, "Have you eaten?" (Mumble) Is it because you're shy? Or do you think too much when you talk to women? First we start talking then we do this and then... No way! Every time? Do you think too far ahead with women? No. I can't even have those thoughts because I get too nervous. Let me ask you. Haven't you ever had a girlfriend? Just once. But we went through a very sad breakup. We went out in senior year in high school. She said, "I like you, but it's too hard." Why was it hard? Because you didn't express your feelings? I couldn't hold her hands. (He couldn't even hold her hands) And... Oh boy, oh boy. - Oh my. / - How sad. You couldn't hold your girlfriend's hands? You mean that's the only thing you didn't do? Or you couldn't even hold her hands? You couldn't even hold her hands? She was the one to kiss me on the cheek or hold my hands. But I couldn't do anything. She gave her whole heart to me. Then that's hurtful. So she kissed you on your cheek but - you just sat there? / - You gave nothing back? That's... I cried as I listened to Jungin's "Rainy Season." It's true. I'm serious. No one said you're lying. I cried with so much sorrow. (Rain of sorrow in my heart) Didn't you try to make a move? I tried, but that... It... For her, it felt like you were forcing it? Yes, yes. (90-degree head bow) Stop asking questions. He's getting nervous. (Yes) He may go crazy if you switch seats. Ask him once again. Then... (Losing focus) You should look at her when she's talking to you. - I'm sorry. / - Then... Why are you looking at me? (His eyes were looking here...) Why are you looking at me? (I don't know where to look...) You've never kissed a girl? No, never. Really. You've never kissed a girl? Never. You said you girlfriend kissed you on the cheek? Yes. You could have just kissed her if you had just turned your head! That's his expertise. You didn't turn your head? (He needs to get used to this soon...) Some people can be very innocent like him. You're a musical actor. What are you planning to do on stage? That's why this is a serious concern for me. One time, I had to kiss a woman on her forehead for a scene. Everyone did it well, but I couldn't. Did you practice it? - You must've practiced. / - Yes, I did. How? By kissing the floor? What did you kiss? What did you kiss to practice? (How did he practice kissing someone?) How? By kissing a doll and a pillow. Unbelievable. Was it a princess doll? No. I really like Charmander. So did you succeed in kissing on stage? (All they did was ask him a question...) Well... I... This is it. This is it. Yes. I barely did it. Just lightly. Did you picture her face as Charmander's? It's acting. Why can't you do it? That's why it's so concerning. I need to become that character, but... You must've tried to overcome it. What have you tried? Make eye contact for 3-5 seconds every day. I've been trying to do that every day. How. Show us. Let me cover your eyes first. Look forward. Keep your eyes closed. Keep your eyes closed. You seem to be too nervous right now. Open your eyes slowly on the count of three. Keep your eyes closed. One, two, three. (She is sitting...) (Right in front of him) One, two, three. Oh, wait. Two, three. Oh, wait. (Beware of the heart skipping a beat) You must keep eye contact for 3 seconds. - But... / - Look at her from up close. Just for 5 seconds. All you have to do is look. What are you thinking in that head of yours? Why you little! Hani, come here. Hani, come over here. (It's so hot in here...) So how do you exactly feel when you're with women? Do you get nervous? Or are you scared of them? There are several examples. When I'm on a subway or a bus... I'm sure most people would do the same. If there's an empty seat next to a woman, - most people don't sit there, right? / - What? People sit no matter what if the seat is empty. Women and men sit separately? What are you talking about? When there's an empty seat next to a woman... I just feel... I just don't sit there. One time, the subway was quite crowded. A woman who was this tall was standing close to me. - It was crowded? / - Yes. I was afraid that she would feel disgusted if she felt my breath on her hair. So you didn't breathe? I got off at the next stop to breathe. He got off to breathe. He got off to breathe. So you don't enter a store if there's a woman? If a female employee approaches me and asks, "Are you looking for something?" Then I say no and just leave. If a male employee comes, I ask for my size. I'm just scared of women. What about in elevators? A woman is in the elevator. You don't get on? I don't usually get on unless I'm in a hurry. It must be quite upsetting for that woman. She's on the elevator and the door opens... (Just go, hurry and go) I pretend to look at my phone and turn around. Can you talk to women on the phone? Yes. I can't bear to look at women, but on the phone, I can be myself. That's why many people have misunderstood me. So you don't have any females you're close to besides your sister and your mom? No one you're comfortable with? You're not close to any women? I have some college friends. They know me and understand who I am and are nice to me. You don't get nervous with them? No, but I can't look into their eyes. - Even now? / - Even when they're friends? 5 seconds is my limit. - That's serious. / - This is a serious concern. I think this is the most serious concern ever. (The man with the most serious concern...) Let's meet his friends. Hello. Is he really that scared of women? When we are together as a group and a female friend comes by he just starts to mumble like you did earlier. He does that often. Since he does it, we're used to it. "There he goes again." One time he told me, "I want to look good in front of female students." We were in a discussion about a musical and he said, "Professor, in my opinion," and then he stammered, "Uh, urgh, uhh..." We felt so bad for him. Since I'm a girl, when Hwijeong acted like that I thought he was weird at first. Whenever I called out his name, he got nervous and stopped me from approaching him. He used to avoid me. But I've known him for 5 years now. I'm quite used to him now. Can you look at her comfortably? She's one of the friends I talked about earlier. The one who calls first and approaches you? Yes. I can look at her for 3-5 seconds. She approached me first. That's one second per year. I think the biggest problem is when we prepare for a musical. He doesn't know what to do when he's supposed to look into a woman's eyes or physically get closed to them. So we told him to look between the woman's eyes, but he can't even do that. So that often caused trouble during practice. I was his partner that he was supposed to kiss. I was that actress. We were a married couple, so he was supposed to briefly kiss me on my cheek. I was annoyed because he couldn't do it, so I yelled at him. He kept apologizing and said he would do it. He kept apologizing and said he would do it. Since he couldn't, the professor made us all line up and made him kiss us us one by one since he'd never kissed a woman before. He kissed all of you by himself? It was a kiss relay. After a while, he got the hang of it and finally was able to do it on stage. There must've been an incident that made you fear women. Was there an incident that changed you? When you were young? I thought about it. In middle school, we played soccer during breaks and got changed quickly before class. I took off my vest, and my armpits, feet and back were covered in sweat. Of course. You played soccer. Most boys in middle or high schools are like that. But my friends said, "How gross." "You stink." "Go away." - Girls? / - Especially girls. It was a coed school? So it was tough in middle school. I think that's when it started. You think that might've caused your fear? I've lost confidence since then, I think. I thought, "I'm a stinky person." Everyone stinks when they sweat. Some people sweat more than others. I'm sure they smelled, too. I'm too introverted to accept that. But the more you try to avoid women, the more they might misunderstand you. This happened once. I'm always the youngest in a group. I lock arms with guys and ask to go eat. When girls see that they suspect that I'm gay. Because you don't do that to girls but do it to guys, that's why they misunderstand. (It's not like that...) As his friends, what are you most worried about? He is scared of women and he has really low self-esteem. Since he has such low self-esteem, when someone approaches him he thinks, "What are they doing to me? Why are they like this to me?" And closes himself off to others. He is insecure about his looks. Why? He looks fine. We joke around among guys and divide us into handsome and ugly teams. I'm in the handsome team. That's what being confident is about. He says, "I'll just join the ugly team." That's what he does. He's supposed to joke back, right? That's what we wanted from him. You're supposed to joke and say, "Go over there." Yes, so it's no longer funny. Hwijeong isn't able to say what's on his mind. Hwijeong isn't able to say what's on his mind. When we first entered college... The hardest part is being stage staff. You have to stay up all night and people criticize you for everything. That's tough. He couldn't say no and took that job. He ended up doing that? For the whole year. He was so stressed and hurt. Besides having a fear of women, why do you think you have such low self-esteem? I think it's because of my family background. I was born in Seoul and moved around a lot from Daegu, Chilgok and Incheon. Since we were poor, my parents sent my sister and me away. My parents got divorced. - They got divorced? / - Yes. My aunt raised us at first and then we lived with our grandparents. Then we lived with my dad starting in fifth grade. Now it's the three of us. My dad told me, "Don't become a musical actor. I have no money. I can't support you." So now, I practice acting 6 days a week and on my day off. I work part-time loading packages or at a construction site to earn money for the following week. That's why I always lack confidence. In December, I decided to end it all and took the action. I did, but... When people are in your situation, they usually give up or take the wrong path. But you've grown up to be a great man. You're such a great person now. You've come this far. I was able to come this far thanks to my friends. Two weeks ago, they called me over and gave me money. They gave me $400. I refused to take it. They said, "We are your family and your siblings. We want to see you eat well. Please accept it." I cried for the first time in front of them. They are such great friends. Did you thank your female friends, too? I couldn't even look into their eyes, so... You never thanked them? No. So I'd like to thank them today. What made you decide to do such a good deed? We always spend time together at school. We spend every waking hour together. Like Hwijeong said earlier, he eats 5-6 bowls of rice in a meal. But recently, he kept avoiding eating with us. He said he had to go or that he was full. We realized that he's in a financial bind, so we all chipped in to save up a bit so that he could eat well. - You guys are... / - You are awesome. (They are as great as they look) You seem to work hard for your dream. What is your dream? It may sound funny, but I want to be an actor. - Why is that funny? / - It's not funny at all. It... It isn't? You're majoring in musical studies. Why is that a funny dream? It wasn't funny at all. Were you trying to be funny? Do you have a role model? - Cho Jungseok. / - He's the best. - Napdeuk. / - Yes. Napdeuk is a character who knows women well. Please perform a little for us. (Acting out Napdeuk) (High expectations) (Breathing deep) - I'll do it. / - Ready. Action. (From the movie "Architecture 101") Let me tell you about how to kiss a woman. Lips lock first, right? This is her tongue. This is yours. They naturally meet like this. Then you rub. (Will he do well?) Keep on rubbing! (Full of passion) (I'm no longer introverted) (Full of love for himself while he's acting) (He did it) (Bravo!) So you know how to kiss a woman. That was very natural. Since you're a musical actor can we hear you sing a little? ♪ So beautiful ♪ ♪ You who took my heart ♪ (Self accompaniment) ♪ So beautiful ♪ ♪ You who took my heart ♪ ♪ Autumn night ♪ ♪ You who gave me sleepless love ♪ (A woman shows up) You have to keep singing! (Trying hard) I'll stop here. That was good. You did it. That was great. You have everything. You sing well. I was joking earlier, but I was right. As long as you get rid of your dirty thoughts... (I'll only think pure things) When I was young my grandfather's business went bankrupt and my mom had to work. So I grew up with my grandparents. When I saw my parents once a week, I begged them to take me with them. I cried so much. My parents never came to any of my graduations. My parents never came to any of my graduations. I always went to eat with my friend's parents afterwards. But all those hardships became useful when I became a grownup. Don't think of these hardships as something that lowers your self-esteem. Think of it as nutrients to help you do better in your career in your future. Thank you. (Sincere advice from Dongyeob) What do you want to do first with your girlfriend? I want to go to the zoo. I love animals. Jeonghwa, is that appealing? Yes. Some girls want to go to the zoo on a date, right? - Yes. / - See? Is there a woman whom you like at school? Is there a woman whom you like at school? Yes, there is. - Same major? / - Yes. Your friends seem to know who it is. So you do have interest in women. It's not one of those four, right? - What? / - What? (What a relief) It's not one of you. Confess your feelings. Why don't you practice what you'll say? Let's pretend Hani is your crush. You must look into her eyes. If he does this well... Tony An. Get out of the way. I don't know what to do either. Go on a slide. I'll bring up my courage. Yes. (With his "crush" in front of him) (He confesses his feelings) He's doing it. Good! You can do it. (He takes a deep breath again) Hani. - Good. / - Look into her eyes. (Will he do it?) Will you go to the zoo with me? All right. Let's go. I'm so sorry. What are you apologizing for? (What?) (Why are you sorry?) You shouldn't have said that. (He's too embarrassed) You've improved so much. - In that brief moment. / - You looked at her. You can tell, right? Do you feel more at ease now? Yes, I do. Of course. He ran away from them before. I think this is good because all these feelings are assets to actors. Remember these feelings. When you find a character with the same feelings you can express them on stage. Right. Friends. Why don't you sing a song to cheer him on? Sing since you're majoring in musical studies. ♪ I love you ♪ ♪ I'm not saying this with my voice ♪ ♪ I'm saying this with my heart ♪ ♪ I breathe for you ♪ ♪ I live for you ♪ How nice. ♪ You are my everything ♪ That was great. (That was touching) That was awesome. That was great, friends. - Why are you crying? / - Why? They have such beautiful hearts. EXID, why don't you sing for him, too? One, two, three, four. ♪ Up, down. Up, up, down ♪ Start. One, two, three, four. (Cheer song) Really. Cheer up. I hope you are with your friends for years to come. If I had friends like that, I wouldn't fear anything. If I had friends like that, I wouldn't fear anything. That was great. Please say a word to your friends. I feel bad and feel grateful. I want to thank you all for taking such good care of me. I'm glad I have the chance to say it today. Thank you. (Once again, thank you) Let's start with Jeonghwa. I thought it was a serious concern, but now I don't think so. It's a serious concern. But... All right. We get it. It's a concern. That was refreshing. You showed us that you can overcome it. If you work a little harder and overcome it, I think this concern will disappear. I think you can improve more and more from here, so I won't press the button. I think it's a concern. I think it's a concern, too. This is related to your self-esteem. I could see what a great person you are. That's why you have such great friends. If you can relate to his problem, please press the button. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. - Please stop. / - Stop. How many votes did he get? Please show us the result. (How many students could relate to him?) (How many votes?) (He got 138 votes) It's titled, "Is This What Youth Is About?"
