'Spring Fever' Cho Jun Young opens up about his biggest challenge while working on the drama

On February 10, actor Cho Jun Young sat for an interview for the tvN Monday–Tuesday drama Spring Fever.

Spring Fever follows Yun Bom (Lee Joo Bin), a teacher who moves from Seoul to the rural area of Sinsu, carrying scars that run deep, and Seon Jae Gyu (Ahn Bo Hyun), a popular guy in the village with a quirky charm and big heart.

Cho Jun Young plays Ahn Bo Hyun's on-screen nephew Seon Han Gyeol. Talking about his experience, Cho Jun Young shared, "Over the past year, as I prepared for and filmed this project, I made a lot of memories, and it became an opportunity for me to grow. Thanks to the wonderful staff, seniors, and fellow cast members, I made so many memories in Pohang, where we filmed, and I was truly happy shooting and eating lots of delicious food, too. There were some difficulties, but I gained a lot and grew through Spring Fever."

The biggest challenge for him in this project was acting in a different regional dialect. For Cho Jun Young, who was born and raised in Seoul, performing in a dialect was a challenge of creating something from nothing. It's said that from the preparation stage onward, he practiced each and every intonation repeatedly.

The actor shared, "Just memorizing the dialect intonation took an enormous amount of time. I even took notes on the intonation for each line in the script. It was difficult because if I focused on not messing up the intonation, I couldn't put as much emotion into the lines. It was difficult to kill two birds with one stone."

He continued, "From the time I went to the audition, I knew a dialect would be necessary, so I met with a dialect teacher and prepared separately. Even while filming, my manager — who's from Ulsan — accompanied me and taught me the nuances and intonation. 

Up until the end of filming, for ten months, I kept memorizing and learning the dialect." He added, "When I came back to Seoul midway and met up with friends, they told me my intonation had changed. In a way, that felt good. It was really difficult, but it was a major challenge [I faced] as an actor."

Cho Jun Young says that with each project, after interpreting the character, he tries to add a drop of himself into the role. So which aspect of himself did he project onto this character in particular?

"I'm actually a pretty calm person in real life. Han Gyeol tries not to show his inner wounds, and he talks to his close friends in an almost nonchalant way, but he's actually quite warm. I think that aspect of him is similar to how I am in real life." He continued, "Han Gyeol is so popular that he even has a fan club at school, but he gets shy [about it]. I wasn't that popular in school like Han Gyeol, but if I'd had moments like that, I think I would've been just as shy."

So far, Cho Jun Young has often taken on roles of a perfect character — the kind who always ranks 1st. "I'm really grateful that I've been cast in characters with that kind of image a lot. I'm not really sure why I keep getting those roles, but I think people see my calm way of speaking and perceive me as being proper and upright."

When asked to share something about his school days, Cho replied, "I was a really ordinary student. When I studied, I studied hard, and when I played with friends, I ran around and played to my heart's content. My grades were about mid-tier." "In high school (Seoul School of Performing Arts), I learned a lot because everyone had the same dream, and there were so many things we clicked on. Going to school was so much fun."

2025 was an unforgettable year for Cho Jun Young. As the release schedules of some pre-produced projects were pushed back, multiple works of his were released consecutively.

"Because they were projects I filmed a long time ago, I was just waiting for the day they would finally come out. The fact that they were being released at all made me so happy. With Spirit Fingers, I had to put down a lot in terms of the character, and I also had to expend a lot of energy. Spring Fever also presented a significant challenge — dialect. As I worked on these projects, I really grew a lot."

He continued, "I didn't use to look up responses or people's reactions, but last year it felt fascinating, so I checked everything — monitoring the shows as they aired and even the responses from fans. People started liking and loving even the smallest things about me, and they'd go watch my other projects too. Every time I saw that, it gave me so much strength."

He added, "I've grown with every project, but this time, I especially want to use the word 'challenge.' Even in Million Dollar Baby, I portrayed [the character's] inner pain, but Spring Fever has a different texture from that. It was a project where I could challenge myself in a lot of ways."

Given the nature of Ahn Bo Hyun and Cho Jun Young's roles, Cho had to build a close rapport with his sunbae. Their uncle-and-nephew chemistry, sometimes feeling more like friends, heightened both the fun and the emotional impact of the drama.

Sharing his thoughts on acting alongside Ahn, Cho said, "He was a sunbae I learned so much from. I saw him take good care of the people around him. He showed me firsthand that a set becomes harmonious when the staff are having a good time too. He himself set the example. He'd greet everyone properly. When I was struggling with the dialect or had concerns, he gave me advice. And when we needed to bring our uncle-and-nephew scenes to life in a fun way, opinions and ideas were actively exchanged. He really played the role of a leader well."

Stream Spring Fever on Prime Video.

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