[On the Record] 35-Year Veteran Actor Song Kang-ho: "I Love Acting, But Still Feel Fear"

‘Samsiki Samchon’ First Series Challenge Song Kang-ho Interview
“Success Cannot Be the Goal for an Actor”

Actor Song Kang-ho [Photo by Walt Disney Plus Korea]

"In my 35 years of acting, I have never acted with the outcome in mind. You could say I have a strange tendency to instinctively reject safe paths, or in other words, works that guarantee popular success. Even if they are sloppy or have gaps, my heart goes to fresh and powerful stories that offer a new perspective on society."

Film actor Song Kang-ho (57) appeared in an online streaming service (OTT) series for the first time in his 35-year career. When asked if this was a choice due to market changes after the pandemic, he shook his head and shared this. Meeting at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Song Kang-ho said, "Films have the burden of delivering a character's narrative or depth impactfully within two hours, but a 16-episode drama allows the luxury of explaining things systematically and delicately, which I liked."

He said acting in dramas and films was different. Since viewers watch in different environments depending on the supply format, actors leading the story must show different acting. He said, "I didn't know the communicative characteristics of the medium, so I asked while filming. I sought advice from actors who had done many dramas. What is a no-go (NG) in films can be done 'more intensely' in dramas."

'Samsik-i Samchon' is set from the late 1950s to early 1960s, just after the Korean War. It is a 16-episode Disney+ series depicting the story of a young man named Kim San (Byun Yo-han), who dreams of making his homeland a better place, meeting a broker named Park Du-chil (Song Kang-ho), nicknamed 'Samsik-i Samchon,' against the backdrop of a poor South Korea.

In the drama, Song Kang-ho's character, Samsik-i Samchon Park Du-chil, works relentlessly to eat red bean bread to his heart's content. He said, "Although the background is the Japanese colonial period and just after the Korean War, I liked that it was a drama where we could reflect on our current selves." He added, "It was a new and interesting experience to see how the inscrutable Samsik-i Samchon changes and how his three-dimensionality is built through a long narrative."

He worked again with director Shin Yeon-sik, who wrote the script for 'Spider's Web,' following the film '1 Seung.' The small-to-medium scale '1 Seung' was a project he chose when his career peaked with 'Parasite.' Song Kang-ho said, "There are connections with people and works." "I worked with the preciousness of those connections, and after reading the script, I felt my choice was right."

Song Kang-ho began acting on the theater stage in 1989 and gained attention with the film 'No. 3' (1997). Since then, he has appeared in 'Memories of Murder' (2003), 'The Host' (2006), 'The Attorney' (2013), 'A Taxi Driver' (2017), and more, rising as a representative 'national actor' of South Korea. With 'Parasite' (2019), he won the Palme d'Or at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival and four Oscars at the 92nd Academy Awards, marking the first time for a Korean film. He became a global actor by winning Best Actor at the 75th Cannes Film Festival for 'Broker' (2022).

Actor Song Kang-ho [Photo by Walt Disney Plus Korea]

Right after winning the Best Actor award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Song Kang-ho answered in the press room to the question, "How do you hope the award will affect your future acting journey?" by saying, "I hope it doesn't affect it at all." This revealed his determination not to act with awards or achievements as the goal.

He said, "Acting cannot be the purpose. The natural person Song Kang-ho lives a long life, and the companion that goes with him until death is the profession of 'actor'." He added, "I don't want to use the word 'challenge.' The only purpose is to keep working on stories that can communicate through new acting. If along that journey I encounter overwhelming emotions like winning at Cannes, I would be happy."

Song Kang-ho said, "I am happiest when I 'communicate' as an actor. The moments when I seriously share and discuss works are the most enjoyable. Of course, there are painful times. It is hard when the results differ from the intention, but the driving force is not settling and gradually improving."

Is there any greater glory left to enjoy as an actor? Song Kang-ho has enjoyed the highest honors such as winning Best Actor at Cannes, serving as a juror, and winning an Oscar. Yet, he confessed, "I am always afraid of acting." He continued, "Acting has been a consistently difficult and painful task, whether 35 years ago when I debuted in theater or now. It is a task accompanied by the same intensity of pain." He said, "Now is a world where content on various platforms like films and OTTs is respected. I want to do various works in the future." Then he lamented, "I want to do more dramas, but I worry about what if no film scripts come in."