The cast of Parasite has been received internationally with open arms. The cast is touring the globe to promote the sensational new film, which was directed by Bong Joon-ho. With all the acclaim, including an Oscar for Best Picture, we're sure everyone is interested in learning a little more about these South Korean stars.
So, without further ado, it's time to share plenty of facts about the actors that play such unforgettable characters in Parasite. These actors really brought their characters to life on the silver screen. They had a great script to work with and made the most of it. Enjoy 15 Little Known Facts About the Cast of Parasite.
15 Lee Sun Kyun Debuted In Rocky Horror Picture Show
The deep-voiced veteran actor got his start portraying Brad Majors in a South Korean production of Rocky Horror Picture Show. This is a surprising debut since the backdrop was South Korea, which is considered fairly conservative. He auditioned and got the role in 2001.
Musicals are actually very popular in South Korea and brought in a staggering 170 million dollars in 2017.
14 Choi Woo Shik Lived In Canada
The heartthrob moved to Canada with his family when he was just 10 years old. At that time, he didn't really know any English and had trouble fitting in - he even got teased about his Korean meals. Still, he really enjoyed his high school years there.
Eventually, he decided to move back to South Korea to pursue a career in acting. He signed up with JYP Entertainment, one of the top three entertainment companies in Seoul, and landed his first internationally-recognized role in Train To Busan.
13 Cho Yeo Jong Hosted Kid's Television
The Korean actress who portrays Mrs. Park in Parasite made her debut on the famous South Korean children's television show, Popopo, in 1997. The program ran for 32-years, making it arguably one of the most popular and longest-running kid's shows in South Korean history. It ended its run in 2013, after over 7,700 episodes.
12 Choi Woo Shik Is Friends With BTS
Well, BTS member, 'V', to be more precise. The two were introduced to each other while they were filming the historical comedy/drama, Hwarang. After filming wrapped, Woo Shik and V became inseparable and eventually were absorbed into a larger friend group. This group was made up of some of the hottest young actors in South Korea.
Of his friends, Woo Shik said, "They're my only refuge, a place where I can heal."
11 Lee Sun Kyun Was Serious About Basketball
Turns out, during his school days, he really thought that basketball was his calling. He admits to having practiced about 12 hours per day in order to improve his skills. He improved enough to try and make a college team.
Luckily for all of us, that didn't happen and he decided to go with acting instead. His first break came after filling in for a classmate who had opted out of his role. At that time, he was part of the lighting team at the college theater and stepped in to help with the play...and the rest is history.
10 Song Kang Ho Is "Fairie-ly" Talented
Any fan of Korean cinema worth his or her salt knows of this man. He's starred in dozens of Korean films (four with director Bong), many of which have won international acclaim, including three that have made it to Cannes.
This is why the South Korean media has dubbed him the "award fairy". We're sure that now, he must be an "award dragon" or something equally fitting, following Parasite's success at the Oscars.
9 Cho Yeo Jeong Is A Dancer
The stunning actress is one of the most recognizable names in South Korea, but that doesn't mean she's too busy to pursue her other love, which is dance. What started out as a means to make her movements more fluid as an actor ended up being almost like a second career.
Her main dance discipline is modern dance...and she's so good at it that she was selected to be the spokesperson for The International Modern Dance Festival in South Korea.
8 Song Kang Ho Might Be A Member Of the Academy
He was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2015 - this was after two of his popular films (Snowpiercer and The Host) made the rounds in America. Now, whether he accepted or not is a mystery, since apparently membership is a closely-guarded secret. What we do know is that not just anyone can join the Academy.
You must be invited, which is a challenge in itself if one reads over the rules of membership. However, just knowing that Kang Ho may be a member is interesting enough, since he made history as one of the first Koreans to be invited, ever.
7 Park So Dam Is A Natural
In this case, we mean that she hasn't gone under the knife in order to enhance her looks. Why is that interesting? Well, South Korea is notorious for its plastic surgery boom, which has been on the rise for decades.
According to Huffpost, a 2015 study showed that 14% of Korean women admitted to having done some procedure, while 30% of them were women in their early 20s.
Though she is happy with her looks, when she first began to act, she admitted to having a little bit of a complex about her appearance. "All actresses had to have big eyes and had to be pretty. So I only dreamt of theaters and never thought I'd be in front of a camera."
6 Lee Jung Eun Voiced Okja
The veteran actress has been a staple of the Korean entertainment landscape for a while now, lending her talents to various films, including a previous collaboration with Director Bong in Mother.
For her second collaboration, she voiced the title character, the genetically modified pig in Okja, a part she believes she received after Bong Joon-Ho heard her voice while attending her musical, Laundry. In the future, she hopes to appear in more co-productions with other countries. We're sure, after Parasite, that her phone will be ringing off the hook!
5 Cho Yeo Jeong Was A Popular Girl In High School
So popular in fact, that her father had to get involved. He was very strict and hated the fact that so many boys would bother her at school, asking her out constantly. It got to be so much that he forced Yeo Jong to change schools in order to try and avoid unwanted attention.
In the end, we're sure she has seen a tremendous spike in male attention after the release of Parasite.
4 Song Kang Ho Is A Steve McQueen Fan
For those of you too young to remember "the king of cool", the actor Steve McQueen, was in film classics, such as The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape. Song Kang Ho says he was a fan of McQueen's acting, stating he loved "the minimalist acting style."
We can't help but think that the famously self-deprecating South Korean actor sees a little bit of himself in McQueen: "And despite not being the most handsome of actors, he was still so alluring."
3 Park So Dam Wanted To Be A Musical Actress
At first, Park So Dam thought that she would stay on the stage, pursuing a career in musicals. After all, that's what inspired the young student to attempt a career in acting.
After taking in a production of Grease, Park thought that she wanted to share in the joy that the actors displaying while they performed. "I wanted to stand on stage then and started attending acting lessons."
She does get to live out her musical dreams in Parasite with her "Jessica Jingle".
2 Park So Dam Is Willing To Go The Distance
If you had any doubt in your mind as to whether Park So Dam was committed to acting, those doubts should be thrown straight out the window! In a country where long, flowing hair is highly coveted, Park made the decision to shave her entire head. She did this to get into character for her film, The Priests.
Park agreed to the extreme hairstyle because she wanted to play the role to the best of her ability.
1 Choi Woo Shik Wants To Be A Director
If acting fizzles out, the breakout star says that he may go back to directing, since that's something he wanted to do initially. He hopes to someday be able to make new media content and enter the "streaming wars".
"...Every time I was acting I always had this dream of being a director someday. So, I was always thinking about making a short film, or short series that would streaming on Youtube or Netflix or Vimeo."
Perhaps he was able to meet a mentor while on his awards season tour?