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| Actor Song Kang-ho gives his acceptance speech after winning the Best Actor award during the ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival, Saturday (local times). AP-Yonhap |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actor Song Kang-ho, who won global recognition with director Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film "Parasite" in 2019, has become the first male actor from Korea to win the Best Actor award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
The 55-year-old actor notched the accolade at the closing ceremony of this year's festival held on Saturday (local time) for his role in "Broker" directed by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. He is the second Korean to win the highest award for a male actor at the festival, following actress Jeon Do-yeon's win for her work in the 2007 film "Secret Sunshine."
Starting off his acceptance speech by saying "thank you" in French, Song thanked the director and his co-stars for the honor.
"I deeply thank our great artist, Hirokazu Kore-eda. And I would like to share this honor with Gang Dong-won, Lee Ji-eun, Lee Joo-young, and Bae Doona who worked together (in the film)," he said. "I'm glad as this feels like a great gift to my lovely family who came here with me. I dedicate the honor of this trophy and the endless love (to them)."
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| From left, actor Song, director Hirokazu Kore-eda and actors Lee Ji-eun, Lee Joo-young and Gang Dong-won pose during the red carpet event at this year's Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 26. Courtesy of CJ ENM |
During a press conference after the ceremony, Song said he has often been asked by foreign media what makes Korean films dynamic. "I believe our efforts to continuously try and change have affected the country's cultural content," he said.
The Palme d'Or director's Korean-language film debut, "Broker" revolves around two baby brokers, who steal a baby from a "baby box," which is a place where mothers are able to leave their babies anonymously because they are unable or unwilling to raise them, intending to sell the baby on the adoption black market.
Song played the role of Sang-hyun, a debt-ridden dry cleaner owner who is one of the brokers along with Dong-soo (Gang). One day, So-young (Lee Ji-eun), the mother of the baby they stole, shows up and joins their journey to find parents who can take good care of her child, while cops ― Su-jin (Doona Bae) and her partner (Lee Joo-young) ― pursue the brokers.
With this award, the actor has become the fourth Korean actor to claim the honor from one of the three globally prestigious film festivals ― Venice, Berlin and Cannes. Late actress Kang Soo-yeon was the first to win the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival in 1987, followed by actress Jeon in 2007 at Cannes and Kim Min-hee in 2017 in Berlin.
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| A scene from the action film "The Host" (2006) / Korea Times file |
Song made his screen debut in 1996 with director Hong Sang-soo's directorial debut, "The Day a Pig Fell into the Well." He has built an extensive filmography since then, starring in nearly 40 films.
He has starred in various big-name movies, such as director Bong's 2006 action film "The Host," the 2013 sci-fi film "Snowpiercer," director Lee Chang-dong's 2007 drama film "Secret Sunshine" and director Park Chan-wook's "Thirst" (2009).
The actor garnered international fame for his performance in "Parasite," winning multiple awards including the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. He also was invited to serve on the jury of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the fifth Korean to serve in the position.
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| A scene from the 2003 mystery film "Memories of Murder" / Korea Times file |
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