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Actor Cha In-pyo: Why You Don't Need to Cling to Relationships
🇰🇷 South Korea /Culture & Society

Actor Cha In-pyo: Why You Don't Need to Cling to Relationships

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Interview Sources not specified Context piece
  • Actor Cha In-pyo advises against clinging to relationships, emphasizing the importance of surrounding oneself with supportive people.
  • He shares his life-changing habits of reading and exercising, detailing his journey with fitness and self-confidence.
  • Cha also discusses his experiences as a novelist, viewing characters as reflections of his inner self and emphasizing the subjective nature of storytelling.

Actor Cha In-pyo advocates for a less possessive approach to human relationships, suggesting that individuals should prioritize connections with those who offer genuine support. In a recent YouTube interview, Cha explained that people are constantly influenced by their surroundings, and consciously curating one's social circle with helpful individuals can lead to positive outcomes.

People are constantly influenced by their surroundings, and the people around them can be filled with what they think or want, like an algorithm.

— Cha In-pyoActor Cha In-pyo explaining his view on the influence of one's social circle.

He elaborated that if friendships fade simply because one's circumstances change, it might indicate that the connection had reached its natural limit. This perspective encourages letting go of relationships that are no longer beneficial, rather than forcing them to continue. Cha also identified reading and exercise as habits that profoundly shaped his life.

If you become estranged from people you were close to just because your circumstances have changed, that relationship might have reached its limit.

— Cha In-pyoCha In-pyo advising against clinging to relationships.

Detailing his fitness journey, Cha recounted starting exercise in his early twenties while living in the United States. He was inspired by a chef with an impressive physique who advised him to do 1,500 push-ups daily. Initially seeming impossible, Cha achieved this by breaking it down into sets of 30 during breaks, accomplishing it in less than three months. This accomplishment significantly boosted his confidence, a transformation captured in photographs from the time.

I've been exercising for about 40 years.

— Cha In-pyoCha In-pyo discussing his long-term commitment to physical fitness.

Beyond acting, Cha In-pyo is also a novelist. He views the antagonists in his stories as facets of his own inner world, acknowledging the presence of negative, arrogant, and self-critical emotions within himself. He believes his novels are a medium through which these internal experiences and interactions with others are expressed. Cha sees his role as a novelist not as a teacher imparting knowledge, but as a storyteller who presents narratives for readers to interpret and complete with their own perspectives.

The novel is about conveying feelings and stories rather than facts.

— Cha In-pyoCha In-pyo describing his approach to writing fiction.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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