Chapter 152
Chapter 152
The trend of child actors in Korea can be divided into two periods: before and after Lee Seo-jun.
His popularity changed drastically when the trailer of Shadowman 2, where he was confirmed to star in, came out after his brief appearance in a YouTube mukbang.
He was six years old in Korean age.
A wind blew in the hearts of parents and families who had children of the same age as Lee Seo-jun.
What can my daughter, my son, my nephew do worse than Lee Seo-jun?
It would have been absurd for entertainment insiders to hear that, but every hedgehog thinks its child is cute.
Along with the parents wishes, the roles of child actors increased after the Childrens Play Spring, and that fueled their thoughts.
As there were more child roles in various works, naturally, there were more child actors.
Acting academies also tempted children and parents with the slogan The second Lee Seo-jun.
In the entertainment industry, which wanted new faces, they welcomed the birth of child actors.
The more children who wanted to be child actors, the higher the chance of finding hidden gems.
Among them, there must have been talented child actors, even if not as much as Lee Seo-jun.
As Lee Seo-jun grew up with unprecedented popularity, everyones hearts throbbed.
Dreaming of the second Lee Seo-jun, children jumped into the world of child actors.
It was,
The era of child actors.
In line with the trend of the times, there was a place that was tense.
It was the school where children had to attend compulsorily.
Elementary school was fine, but middle school was different.
Art middle school.
Art high school.
There were specialized schools where they could learn acting along with regular curriculum.
Especially, there was a lot of interest in Lee Seo-juns admission.
Art middle schools across the country checked their schools as Lee Seo-jun became a senior.
Schools that prohibited entertainment activities during enrollment abolished that rule, and art middle schools that did not have acting subjects decided to combine musical and acting departments after much deliberation.
Lee Seo-juns middle school where he attended or graduated from.
They wanted that title so badly.
The problem was that Lee Seo-jun could only apply to one place.
If he applied to one school and failed, he would be assigned to a regular middle school.
Of course, there was no way Lee Seo-jun would fail, so the school he applied to would get that title right away.
Child actors, aspiring child actors and their parents were also worried.
They wanted to apply to the school where Lee Seo-jun went, but they did not know where it was.
Would it be an art middle school near Mesil Elementary School where Lee Seo-jun attended quietly, or another middle school?
The worries of child actors and their families continued.
And there was a group that watched them closely. It was the art high schools and colleges that they would enter after a few years when Lee Seo-jun and this generation grew up.
Lets investigate carefully. Why Lee Seo-jun chose that school. Based on that, we will change the curriculum.
They did not want to miss the title of high school or college where Lee Seo-jun attended or graduated from either.
In such a trend, uncles and aunts who had nephews and nieces of the same age as Lee Seo-jun also thought of him when they heard about their nephews and nieces admission to middle school.
-My nephew is the same age as Seo-jun, but he is worried about which middle school to go to.
=Middle school is compulsory education, so its not a lottery?
=Still, you have to choose 1st, 2nd, 3rd preference. They do a lottery based on how many percent for 1st preference and how many percent for 2nd preference.
-But isnt Seo-jun going to an art middle school?
=Yeah, but Im curious where that art middle school is.
-Wouldnt it be close to home?
=Why? Dont you look at the curriculum?
=Lee Seo-jun has too brilliant a career to learn acting in middle school.
=Oh, that might be true.
-Then going to the same school as Seo-jun wouldnt be so great?
-Well, maybe not, but it will leave a record. And it will remain in Seo-juns history.
-Yeah. If talented actors who gather around Seo-jun succeed and students who see those actors gather become stars, it will eventually become prestigious.
-But just hearing Seo-juns middle school sounds prestigious lol
=22 A school that seems to teach acting well
With the noisy internet atmosphere, articles also started to pop up one by one.
[Which middle school will actor Lee Seo-jun, who is in 6th grade, go to?]
[Lets learn about specialized middle schools.]
[What is the competition rate for art middle schools?]
[Art middle schools with music and art focus, one by one, creating acting and musical parts!]
[Which middle school will become Lee Seo-juns middle school?!]
Lee Seo-juns middle school.
Everyone was interested in which middle school would get that title and become prestigious for a long time.
***
While enjoying the summer vacation, Anh Da Ho came with a pile of papers to Lee Seo-jun, who was having a lot of fun.
Lee Seo-juns eyes sparkled.
He had been looking at new scripts every day, and sometimes there were days when there were no scripts at all, but this was the first time he had received so many.
Are they all scripts?
Lee Seo-jun asked happily, and Anh Da Ho shook his head with a smile.
No.
No?
Lee Seo-juns tail drooped. Anh Da Ho put down the box.
They are from art middle schools.
Art middle schools?
Lee Seo-jun looked at the paper on top. Gyeeul Art Middle School.
Yeah. From the school history to the actors who graduated. They sent it very detailed.
As soon as the summer vacation started, Team 2 was not surprised by the documents pouring in from middle schools across the country.
Team 2 had been collecting rumors and incidents about each school for Lee Seo-juns admission to middle school for a long time.
Incidents could not be perfectly controlled by the school, but the important thing was how the school dealt with them.
All those materials were gathered and a perfect guidebook was created for students and parents who wanted to enter art middle schools.
Of course, they also planned to make such a guidebook for high schools.
The application period is around October, so you can think about it slowly with your parents.
It was still July. There was plenty of time until October.
Okay! Ill ask mom and dad.
Ah. You can only apply to one art middle school, so the school you apply to will probably be your school. You have to think carefully.
Okay.
Neither Lee Seo-jun nor Anh Da Ho thought that Lee Seo-jun would fail.
Anh Da Ho left, and Lee Seo-jun and his parents, who were looking at the piled up guidebooks, fell into deep thought.
Where should we go Seo-jun, do you have any place you want to go?
Not really Should we go somewhere close to home?
Even if it was close to home, it was far away.
Lee Seo-jun was worried.
He did not want to go to a regular middle school either.
Art middle schools usually included filming periods in attendance days, so he did not have to calculate the mandatory attendance days carefully.
He had never done that before, but there could be times when he filmed in both semesters and the overseas filming could be long.
Well, the production company would take that into account too. But still, art middle school would be better than regular middle school.
Seeing Lee Seo-jun lost in thought, Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-joon hesitated a little and opened their mouths.
Um. Seo-jun. How about we move?
Move?
Seo-juns eyes widened.
Seo-eun-hye nodded.
I would have stayed here longer if you didnt like it, but I thought it would be better to move to a place with more security and space.
The reason why Seo-eun-hye and Lee Min-joon chose this apartment in the first place was because it was close to the elementary school.
The elementary school was near, but the middle school was far away, so they planned to move to a place closer to the middle school when their son became a middle school student.
I see.
Seo-jun nodded.
Then he looked around the house.
This house was full of memories.
He had lived here for a long time since he came back from the US.
Do you not want to move?
Lee Min-joon asked cautiously as Seo-jun looked around the house.
Seo-jun shook his head.
It would be nice to move. The room will be bigger, right?
Yes. Well find a bigger house.
Well also remodel it so that it has good soundproofing, so you can practice acting or playing instruments comfortably.
The couple wanted to give their son a nice room.
But they hesitated because there were many good people here.
Especially, Seo-juns four friends who lived in the same apartment complex.
Seo-jun also thought of his friends.
As they approached the age of going to middle school, their after-school classes increased one by one.
Ji-hoo, who was smart, already had a plan to go to a special high school for becoming a doctor.
It was time to start preparing for high school or college entrance exams by attending various after-school classes, unless they had a clear future like him.
He was a little sad, but it was okay. He kept in touch with Jack Smith, who lived far away in LA, through messenger. It was not a big deal to meet on weekends with his friends who lived in Korea.
I think it would be okay to move.
The couple nodded at Seo-juns words. Seo-jun looked through the guidebook for art middle schools again.
Then I have to choose carefully.
Now that he was free from the distance constraint, he could focus more on the curriculum.
The art middle school closest to Seo-juns current house would have cried if they knew.
During the summer vacation, Seo-jun researched various art middle schools.
He couldnt ignore the regular curriculum as it was mandatory education.
The arrangement of regular subjects and acting-related subjects.
The acting skills of the teachers who taught acting.
Schools that occasionally invited actors or directors from the field for special lectures, even if they were not as formal as high schools or colleges.
How about this one?
Established 10 years ago.
It was Yeoul Art Middle School.
***
The summer vacation ended and it was the second semester of sixth grade.
You all know that youll be assigned to middle schools starting from November, right? You have to discuss with your parents and decide on your first, second and third choices.
Yes.
Dont choose your middle school based on your friends!
The children laughed at the teachers words.
Most of them chose the same schools as their friends in order to go to middle school together.
You cant all go to your first choice school, so you have to consider how youll get there from home.
Yes!
Even though he said that, there were always some children who chose their schools based on their friends and ended up crying when they were assigned to faraway schools.
The teacher sighed and looked at Seo-jun.
Seo-jun tilted his head.
Can I see you for a moment, Seo-jun?
Yes.
While the children were talking about their preferred schools, Seo-jun went to see the teacher.
The teacher looked at Seo-jun.
The actor Lee Seo-jun who made the world buzz was just a model student who set an example for other children and a mature and proud student for the teacher.
The teacher smiled softly and said,
Youre going to an art middle school, right?
Seo-jun nodded without hesitation.
Yes.
Art middle schools usually start accepting applications from October. Its still September, but are you looking into it?
Yes. Ive already decided where Im going.
Really? Thats good. If you need any documents for your application, let me know. If you tell me early, I can prepare them faster, so tell me in advance.
Yes! Thank you.
Seo-jun finished talking with the teacher and went back to his friends. Ji-o asked,
What did the teacher say?
He said to tell him in advance if I need any documents for the art middle school.
Oh, so youre going to an art middle school.
Yeah. Theyll count my filming days as attendance days.
Then youll go to a different school. And youre moving too, so itll be hard to see you.
At the mention of moving, Ji-yoon and Ji-o, who had cried a lot during the summer vacation, started to tear up again. Mina, who was full of regret, added,
We might get separated too. There are co-ed and single-sex schools, you know.
Right. Its a lottery, so we dont know what will happen.
They had been together since they were one year old, when they couldnt even remember their first farewell, and met again when they were five.
Seo-jun was sad too, but he knew that this farewell was not the end.
Jack in LA.
Charlie in Paris.
Grace in New York.
Seo-juns world was wide and connected.
His baby friends would also go to middle school, high school, college, and society. As the childrens world expanded, there would be many farewells and encounters.
When the faces of his friends became gloomy at the possibility of being scattered, Seo-jun smiled.
It took effort to keep the old connections going.
And in the modern era with communication devices like cell phones, that effort became easier.
He could always contact them no matter how far apart they were.
We just have to keep in touch. You wont reply to my messages?
No. I will.
Seo-jun and his friends laughed at Ji-hoos firm words.
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