Kang Dong-won’s ID picture is attracting netizens

by gellie
2011-07-20

Kang Dong-won‘s ID picture is attracting netizens.

A picture of Kang Dong-won on an online community site looks feeble as the background lacks lighting and uncorrected, with a whitish glint but he still looks like the name “God” belongs to him.

His features are still obvious even without the lights. His messy and short hairstyle actually makes him look better although he didn’t have make up.

Those who have seen this picture are liberal saying, “His significance is different”.

Meanwhile, Kang Dong-won is an active public service soldier.

Source: nate via hancinema
k-popexpress.com

Movieweek Selects Top 15 Box Office Draws Among Korea Actors

The Korean acting industry is much like Hollywood in that its biggest movie stars rarely return to the small screen once they have transitioned successfully to a movie career. Viewers watching Korean dramas may think certain actors or actresses must be household names in Korea, it’s actually the movie stars that get all the respect and acclaim over there. October’s issue of Movieweek magazine polled movie production companies and investors as well as movie distributors to ask which stars had the most box office clout.
Below are the fifteen movie stars that are the most bankable according to the people who cut the checks, so to speak. Is anyone surprised to see Jeon Do Yeon and Won Bin on the list? What upsets me is the 2-1 actor to actress ratio, but that’s how the gender preferences still roll these days. The list is not ranked, but I think it’s safe to say Song Kang Ho is the undisputed top dog, and well deserved. The man is an extraordinary actor.

The group above consists of:
Song Kang Ho: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Memories of Murder, The Host, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Thirst, Secret Reunion, Blue Salt.
Kim Yoon Seok: The Happy Life, The Chaser, Wandeuki
Kang Dong Won: Duelist, Jeon Woo Chi, Secret Reunion,
Won Bin: Taekgukgi, Mother, The Man From Nowhere
Jo In Sung: The Classic, Dirty Carnival, A Frozen Flower

The group above consists of:
Park Hae Il: Jealousy, Memories of Murder, Arrow The Ultimate Weapon,
Sol Kyung Gu (his wife is actress Song Yoon Ah): Public Enemy, Haeundae
So Ji Sub: Rough Cut, Sophie’s Revenge, Always
Ha Jung Woo: Take Off, The Chaser, The Yellow Sea, Love Fiction
Lee Byung Heon: Joint Security Area, A Bittersweet Life, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, I Come With the Rain
Jeon Do Yeon: Secret Sunshine, The Untold Scandal, The Housemaid
Ha Ji Won: 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant, Duelist, Haeundae, Sector 7
Son Ye Jin: The Classic, A Moment to Remember, My Wife Got Married, White Night
Gong Hyo Jin: Crush & Blush, Sisters on the Road, Volcano High, Love Fiction
Kim Ha Neul: My Tutor Friend, 7th Level Civil Servant, Blind, You’re My Pet
So there you have it. This list is completely subjective and really just a bunch of movie producers and their colleagues getting together to shoot the breeze on which actors are the most bankable in the industry. It does afford a better understanding of what the movie industry looks for in it’s leads than the small screen. More heavy duty acting chops, less looks.
[Credit: Movieweek magazine]

"Woochi" set to work its magic - Part 1

Reporter : Lee Ji-Hye | seven@10asia.co.kr
기사입력 2009.11.18 21:45 최종수정 2009.11.18 21:45


Woochi is not as well-known a hero as Hong Kil-dong. While Hong Kil-dong was recorded in Korea's first tale, "Woochi" was an absurd fantasy novel written by an anonymous writer. So director Choi Dong-hoon took the story to create an action fantasy movie about the rascal wizard who frees himself from 500 years ago to fight against goblins in contemporary Seoul. The full cast and Choi showed up at a press conference at a CJ CGV theater on Monday to talk about Korea's first action-hero flick.

The preview shown at the event was enough to fuel the already much-anticipated film which was sold to 12 countries at the recent American Film Market. Below are exceprts from the press conference of the film set for release on December 23.


Q: It seems you went through a complex process for the filming -- from the wire action to car pursuit scenes.

Choi Dong-hoon (Choi): All movies are difficult to make but "Woochi" in particular was physically difficult. I think it's because I became greedy about wanting to shoot in a way that had nobody had attempted at before. But I realized I was in hell by the tenth day of filming. (laugh) In the middle of it, I knew I was filming somehow but I had no idea how it would look in the end. I was shooting in a better mood toward the end.


Q: Gang Dong-won, you're so good at wire action that even martial arts directors say you're the best actor at it in Korea. What's the secret to your skills?

Gang: There is no secret. But it's something that is done by manpower, not by machines so the most important thing is working in harmony with the martial arts team. I think having talked with them a lot was the main reason I did well. And in my case, all I needed to do was put on a great pose and the staff would work the cords. (laugh) I was really scared though. Being at a height where you think you'll probably break an arm or two isn't too bad, but it's really scary when you're at a height that you think you could fall and die.


Q: Kim Yoon-suk, you on the other hand, seemed quite scared of doing wire action.

Kim Yoon-suk (Kim): Kang became one with the wire but I tried to take control of it with my whole body, bending it and trying to fight against it. (laugh) The director was more lenient toward me because I have a family to support. I was at a lower height than Kang and I did most of my Taoist magic through looks in my eyes or expressions. And Kang would fly off almost 50 meters just from a look I would give him. (laugh)

Choi: I too couldn't ignore the fact that he was married since I am too. (laugh)

Q: It happened again in "Woochi" but it seems you're always up against tall actors. How does this feel? (laugh)

Kim: From "The Chaser" to "Running Turtle" to "Woochi", and then my next film "Hwanghae", the actors including Ha Jung-woo, Jung Kyung-ho and Kang Dong-won all stand in the 180-centimeter range. I was never considered small before since I'm 178 myself but I've somehow ended up working with modelesque actors. It's okay though, I can just pull them back behind me. (laugh) I'm young but it's refreshing sucking on their bloods to make myself younger. I also mess up the pretty ones by infecting them with me. The first thing I do is drink with them as long as I can under the excuse that I will give them advice on their lives. Then I mess up their clothes telling them that will be able to act well even if they don't dress well. (laugh) Such processes invigorate me and it's good because I end up developing a friendship with them that surpasses generations.


Q: Lim, this is your first time in an action film but you did wire action too. You also attempted at portraying a femme fatal image. They're a lot of changes. Is there anything you did in particular to change you role?

Lim Soo-jung (Lim): Everyone did wire action in this movie. Thankfully, I didn't have more wire actions scenes than the other actors but it was difficult because I don't have experience. I was able to finish the scenes successfully with the help of the other actors and martial arts team. The wire action I did is nothing compared to what the others did though. (laugh) And the role I took on in "Woochi" is very different from my previous roles but I had a lot of fun developing on a new character. My character didn't have a fixed image but had mysterious sides to her -- to an extent that I myself thought she is a bit weird. But of course, the director seemed to enjoy it the more I became weird. (laugh) I focused more on matching my acting to suit the character rather than on my transformation.


Q: Lim Soo-jung's character's name Seo In-kyung seems to have appeared a lot in director Choi's films including "The War of Flower" or "The Big Swindle".

Choi: That's why my wife keeps asking who she is. (laugh) But she's not someone I've met before. I just like the way it feels pronouncing her name. It's also a hassle to come up with new names.


Reporter : Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr
Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@10asia.co.kr
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>

"Woochi" set to work its magic - Part 2

Reporter : Lee Ji-Hye | seven@10asia.co.kr
기사입력 2009.11.18 21:34 최종수정 2009.11.18 21:46


Q: Choi Dong-hoon (Choi), you work with the Kim, Baek and Yoo trio so much, in almost every movie you make, that they're often identified as the 'Choi association'. What's so good about working with them?

Choi: That it's guaranteed you get to go out and drink afterwards? (laugh) Lines that had originally seemed bland in scenarios will come to life when Baek says them. He knows how to turn them into these amazingly great lines so I think I've become attracted to his way of speech. I also think the movies where I have him disappear do well. (laugh) He's a mentor in this movie, like he was in "The War of Flower", and it seems he is good at playing characters who provide important links to the story. He's also almost my dad's age but he is so unreserved that we can see each other as director versus actor. He's like my life mentor, friend and dad all at the same time.

Baek Yoon-shik (Baek): On unofficial occasions, mostly when we're out to drink, I complain to the director a lot. It's because I keep dying in his films. (laugh)


Q: Yoo Hae-jin, it seems that you would complain a lot too because you always play roles which are far from cool and this time in particular, you play a 'human dog' -- a character that has been unheard of.

Yoo Hae-jin (Yoo): I thought it would be worth trying and that it would be fun. And I really did have fun playing a character where a human being and dog coexists within the body. I take on the appearance of a human being but I'm actually a dog that has been transformed by Woochi so I had to have the traits of a dog. I started payed more attention to dogs than usual. (laugh) My character also constantly stays besides Woochi, as if they are traveling companions, so although it was my first time working with Gang Dong-won, I was able to find a lot of sincere aspects to him that I hadn't noticed before.


Q: You're recognized as a director who makes the best of the actresses, like you did with Yum Jung-ah and Kim Hye-soo in your previous works by discovering new sides to them. How was it working with Lim Soo-jung?

Choi: I'm very flattered but it's only because they worked hard. I thought I could only be ranked within the top directors by working with Lim. (laugh) My fellow directors all want to work with her too. She's such a delicate actress. And there were many times while editing that I found details she had expressed on set but had missed. There's a unique sense about Lim but I haven't been able to find out what it is yet so I want to put myself up to the challenge again by working with her.

Lim: First of all, I had a lot of fun on set and all the characters in the movie are funny and are attractive in their own way to an extent it may seem weird. I think that's the characteristic of Choi's movies -- being a collection of such characters. I myself had played nice, innocent characters but I felt better this time because my character swears slightly and expresses her inner desires and reveals her soft heart very honestly. I think "Woochi" will be the film that changes the characters I play or movies I choose to take on in the future.

: There are a lot of characters in this movie. How was it working with everyone?

Lim: They are definitely forces to be reckoned with. (laugh) To start with Kang, the best to talk about to make news, I thought he was very pretty but that he would be cold-hearted. I thought he would be very quiet and have few friends but he opened up a lot while working on this film. He's a very cheerful and smart actor. I actually learned a lot watching him. I personally like actor Yoo Hae-jin the best. He's a funny and honest speaker but his acting is exquisite. I thought he was born with the talent to act but I realized that he really puts in an enormous amount of effort. I was moved by how much he prepares for a single scene and how he continuously communicated with the director.


Q: Gang, you've been recognized with the superlative 'pretty boy' for a while now. Don't you feel competition against other pretty boys such as Hyun Bin and Kim Bum also set to release films near the years end?

Gang: I don't feel much pressure by the word itself because good-looking, pretty boy, whatever it is, they're all compliments. If people think I won't be able to focus on my acting because of such words, then breaking that stereotype is also part of the fun. I'm also confident about our movie doing well so I'm not pressured about other films which are awaiting release. (laugh) And I feel that every actor is my competitor but if I had to pick appearance-wise, there's also [Won] Bin, [Jo] In-sung... Not that I really consider them competition. Oh no, I can't take that back since I already said it. I bet it's already in the news. (laugh) I'm not confident about my looks but I will utilize my strengths as best I can.

Q: What sort of film is "Woochi"?

Choi: I hope it'll be considered a cheerful movie which will stir up people's imagination and memories that they have not been able to see with their eyes.


Reporter : Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr
Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@10asia.co.kr
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>