# Actor Kang Dong-won: "I Will Someday Be Forgotten" [Dispatch=Reporter Kim Ji-ho] "I am a person who will someday be forgotten. There will come a day when my work decreases. Even as a human being, people will probably ask, 'Was there such a person named Kang Dong-won?'" The 2004 film "Temptation of Wolves." In retrospect, his entrance was sensational. Since that umbrella scene, Kang Dong-won has established himself as a leading actor in Korean cinema. For a full 20 years, he has held the position of "top tier" not just through visuals but through his acting. Since then, Kang Dong-won has worked for 20 years as a representative actor in Korean cinema. He has honed not just his visuals but also found his specialty. He has earned the reputation of being the actor who does action best in Korea. However, Kang Dong-won remains always composed and calm. "From the beginning of my career, when 'Temptation of Wolves' did well, I always thought about it. I will be forgotten someday. I still think the same way now. But I've lasted longer than I expected. (Laughs)" An actor always being conscious of being forgotten—in reverse, that means one must work to avoid being forgotten. Isn't that why Kang Dong-won gives his all in every project? It was the same with his new film "Wild Thing" (director Son Jae-gon). He embedded an unfamiliar hip-hop into his body, and changed everything from visuals to posture. Even during the interview, he displayed hip-hop swagger. ## "It's Time to Summon the First Generation" "Wild Thing" is a comedy film. The protagonists are a three-member coeducational dance group "Triangle" that dominated the music industry 20 years ago. The film depicts the chaotic events that unfold as these three reunite and head to a concert venue. Kang Dong-won plays the character "Hwang Hyun-woo," a dance machine in the film. The teaser and poster are shocking. Kang Dong-won sports what is called a "king-worthy" bob haircut and showcases dances from the H.O.T. and Sechs Kies era. And he does it very well. In fact, this scenario was originally a script for a series. Kang Dong-won recalled, "A few years ago, this script came to me for the first time," and added, "Back then, I thought this sensibility was too early to bring out." "I reread this script two years ago. I thought, 'We need to make this now,' 'The time has come to summon that sensibility.' Plus, we've never dealt with the story of dance singers and idols in a film before, have we?" So he accepted the role without much hesitation. Fear of degradation or challenge was not a consideration for Kang Dong-won. The fun of the script and his desire to do it were what mattered. "From the first time I read the script, I thought, 'People are going to be surprised by this.' I had the same thought with 'Assassination' and 'Psychokinesis,' but I thought they'd be even more surprised. (From the audience's perspective,) it's a pleasant betrayal, you might say." ## "I Lived as a Hip-Hop Person" Jung Doo-hong, a martial arts director, is called a witness to Korean action cinema. This master called Kang Dong-won "the actor who does action best in Korea." What was like watching an action expert dance? Kang Dong-won said, "Basically, learning something is similar," but added, "Hip-hop was completely new. It felt like doing some entirely new movement without any base whatsoever." "Hip-hop felt different from dance to me. Even matching the beat felt unfamiliar at first. So when I was first learning the movements, I thought, 'This won't work,' and relearned everything from my walking." He recalled, "I turned on music and started by just walking for 30 minutes. I repeated 'up-up down-down, up-up down-down' matching the music. Then I warmed up my body with gestures. After that, I practiced steps for an hour." "Then sweat pours out. From that point, I could move into technical practice. Then I'd do choreography practice, then technical practice again.... Every single day, I practiced like that for 4 hours. For five months." Kang Dong-won said, "It took a while to adapt to hip-hop swagger," and explained, "I studied hip-hop history. I bought clothes and wore them. I wasn't trying to do method acting. If I didn't wear them, I couldn't understand that culture," and even demonstrated the actual movements. ## "Even Kang Dong-won Works This Hard" The response has been explosive. And no wonder—Kang Dong-won performs an inspired headspin. He has fully resurrected that era's dance machine. Moreover, he pulls off the comedy well too. During the press screening, exclamations erupted throughout. Kang Dong-won also expressed satisfaction. "By the time of the final stage, I discovered myself with stage experience," he said with a laugh, "The dance lines came alive more and more, and I didn't miss details. I thought, 'I'm really good at this.'" In fact, even Kang Dong-won's acquaintance was shocked after seeing the film. They even sent a text saying, "What is this? Are you out of money these days?" The public has also responded hotly with bittersweet comments like, "Even Kang Dong-won works this hard, so what am I doing?" "I think 'Wild Thing' is a film where effort is clearly evident. Actually, I just did what I always do. Normally I spend at least three months preparing a character before shooting. This was just a film where that effort showed very well." Looking back, in "Marauders" (2014), he focused on sword practice for eight months alone. "Back then, I basically swung a sword 1,000 times a day before practice. That's why I started with walking this time too," he added. Despite this effort, he remains understated. He simply answers the reporter's questions truthfully, without exaggeration or excitement. He emphasized, "You can think I was originally good at headspin." "In the past, I sometimes thought, 'Why doesn't anyone recognize my effort?' But eventually, I've come to feel that it can't be known. Really, what does it matter that I practiced dance? The public just needs to see the finished product. You don't need to know all my effort." ## "The Concentration of Effort Is Different" Kang Dong-won's passion doesn't stop there. For a few years now, he has been knocking on the American market. "When I'm not shooting these days, I'm mainly in America. I did meetings like crazy. I think I'm meeting more people than there are left to meet," he said. "In America, I frequently meet with producers, directors, writers, actors, and producers. Casting is nice, but I'm trying to learn the American system. It's open not just to acting but also to production work." He explained, "In the past, I thought, 'I hope someone recognizes me and casts me in America.' But now I think, 'I'll create it myself,'" he added. For over 20 years, he has received great love from the public. On the secret to this, he said somewhat sheepishly, "I just work hard at what I do, so there's probably no particular reason to dislike me. I don't go anywhere and fight, and I don't cause any problems." However, the real secret to Kang Dong-won lies elsewhere. Visuals and skill are basics; the concentration of effort is different. Everyone works hard, but he works harder and more boldly than that. And he's done so consistently for over 20 years. "I'm still confident in physical acting. Before I get older, I want to do more intense action. I've always had the dream of becoming the world's best actor. I'm also working hard on production. I want to do something really dark, something where you can look into human nature." Swagger—a word used in hip-hop. It expresses hip-hop's style. Kang Dong-won knows what an actor's "style" is, both in the film and outside of it. Sweat, dreams, and confidence. <사진제공=AA그룹, 롯데엔터테인먼트>