Han Suk-kyu is a South Korean actor. One of the leading actors of Korean cinema,
Han's notable works include Green Fish, No. 3, Christmas in August, Shiri, and
The President's Last Bang. Biography
Han Suk-kyu is known as a family man, avid golfer, fisherman and voracious
reader. He collects animation by Studio Ghibli and hopes to join Ghibli voice
cast one day as a Korean-speaking character. While a student at the
Theater and Film department of Dongguk University, he sang in an amateur folk
rock band. He took a brief, year-long contract as voice actor at KBS, before
moving on to TV and film acting. After a debut in the 1990 MBC campus
drama Our Paradise, Han rose to stardom as "Hong-shik" in The Moon of Seoul, a
charming gigolo from the slums determined to attain wealth at all cost
in the big city. "Choon-seop", an old friend from hometown played by Choi
Min-sik, struggles hopelessly to stop "Hong-shik" from his self-ruin. The
partnership of Han and Choi as uneasy allies or foes, parlayed into two
flagship films of the 1990s: No. 3 and Shiri. Both the series and "Hong-shik"
character have since become beloved icons, as part of the Korean
television's golden era before the advent of Korean wave. The cast also
features veterans who are now luminaries in Korean cinema: Na Moon-hee of The
Quiet Family, Kim Hae-sook of Park Chan-wook's Thirst, and Baek Yoon-sik of
Save the Green Planet!. Before the end of the 20th century, Han
headlined films that were critically acclaimed and commercially successful.
Han's experience in the early stages of Korean cinema renaissance in the 1990s,
cemented his belief in a script-driven model for movie-making. Thus the
founding of "Makdong Script Festival", with co-sponsor film magazine Cine 21.
Winners may claim two cash prizes funded by Han, with the potential to launch
directing careers based from their own scripts. The annual contest is now
extant over 10 years, with two titles produced so far: the comedy 2424 and
Private Eye starring Hwang Jung-min. = Return=
Han went into an extended hiatus in 1999, declining several lucrative
opportunities with name directors. Among them: Peppermint Candy, Joint Security
Area, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and Fulltime Killer
The break coincided with a surge in new talent, sophistication of technology,
organization, and scale of production within the Korean film industry.
Combined with other factors have attempted to explain the lukewarm
reception to his comeback. Double Agent, which netted one million
admissions, was seen as a failure for a star labeled by the media as "box office
guarantee." This was followed by a sizable backlash from netizens and the
press, who rushed to bury the co-self-produced spy thriller as the
public disgrace of a former golden boy. His press and image took further beating
in the next two, even more polarizing films: the unforeseen tragedy
surrounding The Scarlet Letter, and the incendiary political content of The
President's Last Bang. Nonetheless, these controversial works screened at
Cannes, and were featured in a tribute to the actor at the Austrian FilmAsia
festival. In spite of this rocky return to feature
films, Han remains well regarded by such major directors as Park Chan-wook, Lee
Joon-ik, Kang Woo-suk and Jang Jin. Compared to his peak popularity in the
90s, his work may seem an acquired taste for general audiences, although some
cult following ensued for his ultra-sadistic turn in A Bloody Aria.
He also remains well respected among major peers for his distinctive style:
Kim Hye-soo, Song Kang-ho, Oh Dal-su, Sol Kyung-gu, and Choi Min-sik.
Overall, his post-90s career is marked by less high-profile, "event" projects
than personal interests, such as appearing in the quickie B-movie Mr.
Housewife as keepsake for his children. As in the late 90s, Han continues to
favor novice directors over safer projects under seasoned directors, in
hopes of bringing new talents into the industry. This, combined with aversion
of the press, has earned him the image by turns of a taciturn loner, and a
generous if loquacious intellectual. He remained self-managed until as late
as 2006, before joining the KM Culture agency due to increased regimentation of
the industry. After the adaptation of Keigo Higashino
novel of White Night starring Son Ye-jin, Han has a long-awaited reunion
with Choi Min-sik slated to begin production in Autumn 2009.
= Influences= Known for his distinctive voice and
diction, Han has been a long-time mentor to Kam Woo-sung, including coaching the
latter's enunciation for his film debut in Marriage is a Crazy Thing. Actors of
the younger generation also continue to cite him as an influence; among them:
Hwang Jung-min, Ryoo Seung-bum, Kim Myung-min, Kim Joo-hyuk of Blue Swallow,
Kim Ji-soo of This Charming Girl, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Rain, Lee Sung-jae of
Barking Dogs Never Bite, TV heartthrob Lee Jin-wook, and the current darling of
independent films, Im Ji-kyu. For his part, Han has cited influences
by legendary Korean actor Kim Seung-ho, Al Pacino, Ken Takakura, The Godfather
trilogy, and Hayao Miyazaki. Filmography
= Film= The Royal Tailor
My Paparotti The Berlin File
Villain and Widow White Night
Eye for an Eye Solace
A Bloody Aria Forbidden Quest
Mr. Housewife The President's Last Bang
The Scarlet Letter Salt Doll: a thriller aborted after 30%
completion; co-starring Lee Eun-ju Double Agent
Tell Me Something Shiri
Christmas in August The Contact
No. 3 Green Fish
The Ginkgo Bed Doctor Bong
Mom, the Star, and the Sea Anemone = Television drama=
Secret Door Deep Rooted Tree
Hotel Love and War
Kareisky Challenge
MBC Best Theater: The Only Room for Them Three Families Under a Roof
The Moon of Seoul Pilot
Sons and Daughters Eyes of Dawn
Our Paradise Han Ji-bong's Three Families
Awards 2012 Korean Popular Culture Awards:
Presidential Commendation 2011 SBS Drama Awards: Grand Prize, Top
10 Stars 2000 37th Grand Bell Awards: Popularity
Award 1999 20th Blue Dragon Film Awards:
Popular Star Award 1999 36th Grand Bell Awards: Popularity
Award 1998 1st Director's Cut Awards: Best
Actor 1998 19th Blue Dragon Film Awards:
Popular Star Award 1997 18th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best
Actor, Popular Star Award 1997 35th Grand Bell Awards: Best Actor,
Popularity Award 1997 17th Korean Association of Film
Critics Awards: Best Actor 1997 20th Golden Cinematography Awards:
Most Popular Actor 1997 33rd Baeksang Arts Awards: Best
Actor 1996 1st Cine21 Film Awards: Best New
Actor 1996 32nd Baeksang Arts Awards: Best New
Actor 1995 6th Chunsa Film Art Awards: Best
New Actor 1994 MBC Drama Awards: Top Excellence
Award, Actor 1993 MBC Drama Awards: Best New Actor
1984 MBC Gangbyeon Song Festival: Encouragement Award
References External links
Han Suk-kyu at the Korean Movie Database Han Suk-kyu at the Internet Movie
Database Han Suk-kyu at HanCinema