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More and more Korean actors are traveling overseas to star in foreign projects as their fan bases expand across Asia and beyond, but another growing phenomenon, though not yet on the same scale, is the increasing presence of foreign actors in Korean projects. This past summer Korean cinema got its biggest taste of Hollywood stardom when Liam Neeson appeared in the Korean War hit Operation Chromite as General Douglas MacArthur, but he’s far from the first foreign performer to work in the Korean film industry.

These days, the most common foreign performers in Korean films, unsurprisingly, have been Japanese actors. While Japanese talent has often been seen in co-productions, such as NISHIJIMA Hidetoshi in Genome Hazard (2014), there’s been a recent increase in stars coming over for fully Korean projects. ODAGIRI Joe featured in KIM Ki-duk’s Dream (2008), KASE Ryo drew a lot of notice for HONG Sang-soo’s Hill of Freedom (2014), IWASE Ryo appeared in JANG Kun-jae’s A Midsummer’s Fantasia (2015). IWASE also appeared in KIM Jong-kwan’s indie Worst Woman this year. Following ODAGIRI’s appearance in KANG Je-kyu’s My Way in 2011, this year has seen a number of Japanese stars feature in major commercial hits, such as KUNIMURA Jun in NA Hong-jin’s THE WAILING and TSURUMI Shingo in KIM Jee-woon’s The Age of Shadows.

Going back to classic Korean films, it was very common to see Westerners appear in bit roles, generally playing American GIs and today it is still very common to see expats in Korean films. Some foreign nationals based in Korea have even managed to appear in several Korean productions, while also pursuing different activities. Notable among these expat performers are film critic, academic and festival programmer Darcy Paquet, who has appeared in several big and low budget films, including the Cannes-invited The Taste of Money (2012) by IM Sang-soo, Almost Che (2012), One Night Stand (2010) and several JEON Kyu-hwan films, including Dance Town (2011).

More recently expats that have become TV personalities have begun to appear more and more in Korean films. Uzbeki Guzal Tursunova of KBS’ Global Talk Show appeared in Marriage Blue (2013) and Memories of the Sword (2015), Australian comedian Sam Hammington had a small voice role in YIM Pil-sung’s Antarctic Journal (2005) and small parts in How To Steal A Dog (2014), while Samuel Okyere, a Ghanaian native who rose to fame on the wildly popular talk show Non-Summit, scored a big part in IM Sang-soo’s Intimate Enemies (2015).

With lower budgets than Hollywood and most European powerhouse film countries, it has up until recently been impossible to lure major talent from overseas to appear in Korean films. When projects call for foreign actors, local expatriates, generally amateurs, are often found to complete the task. Using non-professionals and directing performers in a foreign language has led to several small parts not quite fitting in the expected polish of Korean productions. 

Even critically acclaimed films have not been impervious to this problem. BONG Joon-ho’s The Host (2006) became the biggest film of all time when it was released and immediately welcomed global acclaim following its Cannes bow, but the film drew some criticism for casting unknown foreign performers alongside seasoned Korean stars.

The other option for local producers is to hire unknown foreign actors for lower fees, but without casting directors experienced in foreign talent, which has also led to mixed results. One of the more notable examples of this was the casting of the unknown US actor Steve Taschler in a major role in the smash hit Welcome To Dongmakgol (2005). Critics were not kind, calling out the character’s awkward lines and stilted delivery.

 

Fast forward ten years, and the industry has gotten big enough to entice a performer who commands a Hollywood-level fee. Liam Neeson’s casting in John H. LEE’s Operation Chromite was big news. Judging by the film’s local success and extensive overseas sales, the gamble seems to have paid off.

Beyond these examples there are of course BONG’s Snowpiercer (2013) and upcoming Okja which both feature major Hollywood players such as Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal, and are technically Korean films, but the global nature of those projects and their significantly higher budgets place them somewhere outside the normal realm of Korean cinema.

Korean actors are in hot demand around the world these days, with LEE Byung-hun and BAE Doo-na conquering Hollywood while several younger stars such as LEE Min-ho have made major strides in China and with co-production and cross-polination on the rise in ambitious global projects, perhaps things will also change for foreign actors in Korean projects. 

Next year may prove telling as another major star has been cast in a big Korean project. German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Avengers: Age of Ultron) is currently playing a journalist in JANG Hun’s Gwangju Massacre drama Taxi Driver with SONG Kang-ho. His role is a much larger one and filmmakers will likely be taking great care to make his presence an organic one. 

Next year will also feature Korean-American star LEE Ki-hong, known for Hollywood films and TV shows such as The Maze Runner franchise and Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, appearing in his first Korean film, the election drama Special Citizen, in which he plays CHOI Min-shik’s foreign-educated son. If these endeavours pay off, it may not be long before more major global talents apply for temporary Korean work visas in the near future.