Korean Stars Take on Hollywood

NEWS & REPORTS
Feature

Feature

NEWS & REPORTS

Korean Stars Take on Hollywood

Aug 13, 2018

Writerby Pierce Conran
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4 Successful Transitions, 4 Incoming Hopefuls

As Korea’s film industry has seen its global recognition steadily increase over the past two decades, we’ve seen directors go overseas, a slew of foreign versions of Korean stories, and, increasingly, Korean performers breaking out overseas. Many have gotten the call from Hollywood, and while not all have had the impact they may have hoped for, several Korean names have managed to establish themselves in Tinseltown. Below, KoBiz lists the biggest Korean acting exports to Los Angeles, as well as some recent and future hopefuls.

LEE Byung-hun

Undoubtedly, the most successful Korean actor to break into Hollywood has been superstar LEE Byung-hun. After leading such Korean classics as PARK Chan-wook’s Joint Security Area /JSA (2000) and KIM Jee-woon’s A Bittersweet Life (2005), LEE made his Hollywood debut in 2009, when he appeared as Storm Shadow in the action tentpole G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Four years later he reprised the role for the sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the same year that he played a hitman in the star-driven action-thriller RED 2. He then took on the role of the antagonist in Terminator Genisys in 2015 and a year after that appeared in both the thriller Misconduct and Antoine Fuqua’s western remake The Magnificent Seven.

BAE Doo-na

Not far behind LEE is Korean star BAE Doo-na, who rose to fame through roles in PARK Chan-wook’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and BONG Joon-ho’s The Host (2006). BAE kicked off her international acting career in the Japanese youth drama Linda Linda Linda (2005), followed by KOREEDA Kirokazu’s Air Doll in 2009.

The call from Hollywood came in 2012, when she played the clone Sonmi-451, in addition to several other parts, in the Wachowskis’ adaptation of David Mitchell’s sprawling sci-fi opus Cloud Atlas. She continued working with the Wachowskis, first in their space opera Jupiter Ascending and then their high-concept sci-fi action series Sense8. She featured as one of the main characters of the hit Netflix show, playing fan favorite Sun, which recently capped off its run with a 2-hour finale special that followed its two seasons.

JUNG Ji-hoon

Globally famous pop star JUNG Ji-hoon (aka Rain) made his film debut in PARK Chan-wook’s I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK (2006), which he quickly followed up when he took on his first American role in the Wachoswki’s action tentpole Speed Racer in 2008 in which he played Racer Taejo Togokahn.

He next took on the lead role in the 2009 martial arts neo-noir Ninja Assassin, which was produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowskis, who cast him after being impressed with his work on the previous year’s Speed Racer. Most recently, JUNG Ji-hoon appeared in the gangster thriller The Prince with Bruce Willis and John Cusack in 2014.

KIM Yun-jin

The most enduring Korean name in the Hollywood sphere has surely been KIM Yun-jin, who, after becoming one of the most celebrated actresses of her generation in Korea, featuring in films such as Swiri (1999), landed a role as one of the main cast members in the smash hit ABC TV series Lost which aired for six seasons from 2004 until 2010. KIM played the popular character Sun-hwa on the show.

KIM returned to the ABC fold when she featured as one of the leads of the affair drama Mistresses, a remake of the British series of the same name, which ran for four seasons from 2013 to 2016.

GANG Dong-won

One of Korea’s most recognizable faces, star of hits such as The Priests (2015), A Violent Prosecutor (2016), Master (2016) and the recent KIM Jee-woon sci-fi action noir ILLANG : THE WOLF BRIGADE, GANG Dong-won is set to make his long-awaited Hollywood debut in the upcoming disaster action drama Tsunami LA.

GANG joined the production of the film, from Con Air director Simon West, in April of this year. The disaster film has already secured a Korean distributor, as J&C Media Group has announced they will release the film in Korea in 2019, at the same time as it hits theaters in the United States.

Claudia KIM

When the Marvel franchise moved to Korea to shoot scenes for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, a call went out for a supporting part to be played by a local actress. Following auditions, it was Korean TV actress Claudia KIM (aka KIM Soo-hyun) who was the lucky young performer to secure the role.

KIM followed that up with a part on the big-budget Netflix series Marco Polo, in which she appeared both before the release of the Marvel blockbuster in 2014, and then after, for its second season in 2016. She then appeared alongside Matthew McConaughey in the Stephen King fantasy action adaptation The Dark Tower in 2017. KIM will next be seen in a supporting role in the fantasy sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

LEE Joon-gi

Busan native LEE Joon-gi, a popular model, actor, and singer, started his acting career on the small screen before becoming a hitmaker on the silver screen with titles such as LEE Joon-ik’s King And The Clown (2005) and the Gwangju drama May 18 (2007).

LEE made the move to Hollywood last year when he received a co-starring role in the hit horror-action franchise Resident Evil. He appeared alongside Milla Jovovich in the sixth and final installment of the series titled Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in 2017.

K-pop sensation CL, a member of the hit band 2NE1 and one of the visible Korean performers in the Los Angeles music scene, will soon add a new string to her bow, that of Hollywood star, when the action-thriller Mile 22 comes out later this year.

Aside from a small role in the 2009 romantic comedy Girlfriends, CL (aka LEE Chae-rin) doesn’t really have any screen credits to her name, which makes Mile 22 not only her Hollywood debut but her first serious acting role.

From director Peter Berg, Mile 22 features Mark Wahlberg as a CIA covert agent who must retrieve a man with valuable information, played by Indonesian action star Iko Uwais, and transport him through 22 miles of hostile territory.

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