A.C.E’s Jun Talks BL Drama “Tinted With You” and LGBTQ+ Fans

If Park Junhee could dive into any painting, it would be Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam, the pièce de résistance of the Sistine Chapel. It carries the mark of a sculptor turned painter, a far cry from Junhee, the leader of K-pop group A.C.E, better known as Jun. “I can only draw stick figures,” he tells Teen Vogue in a video call from South Korea. But just as Michelangelo sculpted with marble and painted with lime plaster, Jun sculpts with melody and paints with body expression — both artists, united in their ability to draw others into their story.

In the new Boys’ Love drama, Tinted With You, Jun takes on his first lead acting role as high school student and art aficionado Eunho. He’s transported from modern day into a painting of Korea’s feudal past, where he meets Prince Heon (Yoo Hyunwoo) and his bodyguard Geum (Kim Taejung). As he attempts to finish the painting, Eunho forms a romantic bond with the prince in impeccable K-drama fashion. It’s a short and sweet 8-episode webseries, just enough to make an impression and leave you yearning for more. (Some spoilers for Tinted With You ahead.)

Related: The 11 Best BL Dramas of 2022

With a global audience eager to wolf down the latest romance, South Korean BL dramas gained even more popularity in 2021 with shows such as To My Star and Light On Me, the latter of which features an OST by Jun and his fellow A.C.E members. Jun told Teen Vogue last August that he hoped “BL dramas like Light On Me and others in the future can help break down prejudices and create a more equal world for all.” At that time, he’d already been cast in Tinted With You, and he’s even more aware of the significance of his casting now than he was back then.

“This was the first time I’ve played the role of a gay character,” Jun says (his answers have been translated from Korean). “I thought about it a lot, in great detail, because I knew that there would be a mixture of responses within the audience watching this drama.” Simply playing the lead role in a BL is furthering queer representation in the more conservative Korean entertainment industry, but Jun is an idol — subject to heightened scrutiny and criticism even before you add in the political climate in Korea, where same-sex marriage still isn’t legal. “[A.C.E members Byeongkwan and Chan] told me that it wouldn’t have been an easy challenge to take on such a role as an idol and that they were proud of me.”

He’s quick to note his stance on queerness. “I am quite open-minded about [the topic of] LGBTQ+ [people] and respect everyone’s values and decisions,” Jun says. “I definitely don’t think it’s something that is wrong because we are all born differently. I’ve always thought quite simply about this topic — what is, is.” It’s refreshing to witness a BL actor who understands his own impact in a queer space, and who genuinely cares about normalizing thoughtful stories about LGBTQ+ characters, especially since he isn’t part of that community. “I’ve seen comments where people questioned my sexuality because of this role,” he says, “and I wanted to take this opportunity to let everyone know that I am not gay.”

Instead, all roads lead back to CHOICE, A.C.E’s fanbase, and the fans who identify as queer. “We have a lot of LGBTQ+ fans,” Jun says. “I remember receiving a lot of support and love from them when they heard that I would be playing this role. They thanked me for expressing these values as an artist. I was proud that I could tell a part of their story, and be another voice for them through this role.”

Like most new co-stars, the on-set rapport between Jun, Hyunwoo, and Taejung was awkward at first; Jun is an introvert, after all. But he’s also the oldest of the three, and so he took responsibility for creating a fun, comfortable environment. “I bought them lots of yummy food too,” he jokes. Every night, the trio would rehearse the next day’s script for two hours. “We gave each other a lot of feedback, spent lots of time talking and got really close through this.”

Filming occurred in the height of summer in Korea, drenching his costume — three to four layers of clothes and the outer hanbok — with sweat after shooting. But it was the night that betrayed him. “We filmed in the mountains, and it felt like every single bug on that mountain gathered at our set as if they were having a festival,” he says. “Some were as big as the size of my fist, and they would land on my body and my face. I used to run away from them, but over time I gave up and just let them stay there and watched them.” Ever the comedian, Jun proposes a new name for the drama: Bugs With You.

When asked what it was like kissing his co-star Yoo Hyunwoo, Jun produces a gravelly sigh, and in English says, “So amazing.” Going back to his native Korean, he explains that it was a new experience for him. “I think it will be a memory that I will remember for the rest of my life.” They filmed the kiss twenty times before it was all over, and the work paid off: it has now taken on a life of its own, becoming the subject of fan art.

Jun may only be able to draw stick figures, but members of CHOICE share their incredible artwork on Twitter under the tag #choicecreations. “Fans were extremely shocked to see me play Eunho,” Jun says. “They said things like: What? This is Jun? Because Eunho is a great painter, and I’m not.” At this point in our interview, I share my screen to click through some fan art of Eunho’s kiss. (We received the artists’ permission to share their work here.) Jun’s eyes widen at the sight of @menacejun’s digital watercolor, which opted for a darker tone. “It’s really, really great. Oh my God,” he says in English. Of @vampire_ellemai’s work, Jun says, “I think we should use it as the official poster for the drama.” Moving on to @sehyoonhearts’s impeccable brushwork, Jun continues: “They’re all the same scene, but there’s a different style and mood in each piece. Can I take a photo of this?”

“I think our fans are artists,” Jun says. “I can’t draw, so when I see people who are talented in art, I feel like they’re from another world. I have so much respect for them.” It’s another inkling of how integral his fans are to his story, both as an idol and as an actor.

Living in this social media age, immediate access to fan impressions is at his fingertips. Views flood in on YouTube, hearts blanket the screen on V Live, and streaming data directly impacts success. “I can only exist through and because of my fans,” he says. “They are my biggest strength and comfort. They are the reason why I can be and do. They give me new goals.”

Carrying concerns and doubts with him and working through a slight depression, Jun happened upon a quote that stayed with him for all of 2021: “Just do it. Then, the emotions will go, and only the results will remain.” I remind him that though he often apologizes for not measuring up to his own expectations, he is more than enough. “I say that because I feel like I receive much more love than I can give.”

Who is Michelangelo without upward-tilted necks and gazing eyes, and who is Jun without attentive ears and open hearts? “I chose this [life as an idol] because it’s something I enjoy and love doing,” he says. “Definitely, there are difficult times, it would be a lie to say that there were no difficulties, but I don’t think I’ve ever regretted it.” He can say, hand on heart, that encouragement from fans was his brightest light in the darkness. “If I say this, some people think that I’m lying, that I’m just saying this because I’m an idol and it’s for show, but this is something that only people who have experienced it for themselves will understand.”

All of it — the light, the dark, the choices he makes — it’s a piece of art they get to create together.

Tinted With You is now streaming on Viki.

Additional translation provided by Grace Yoo.

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