Park Seong-gwang, comedian and director Lee Sol, not her husband

Park Seong-gwang sheds the title of comedian and Lee Sol drops the title of husband, and attempts his first commercial film with the movie 'Woongnam.'

Excluding Park Seong-kwang, the only comedians who have attempted to become film directors are Lee Kyung-gyu, Shim Hyeong-rae, and Kim Young-hee. They failed to become a huge box office success. On the contrary, it received harsh criticism. Park Seong-gwang succeeds Lee Gyeong-gyu, Shim Hyeong-rae, and Kim Young-hee.

Park Seong-kwang directed the short film ‘Swear’ in early 2011. He then directed the short film 'Sad Because It's Not Sad' in 2017 and the film project 'Strong', which was part of 'Don Rix 2' in 2020. He received the Special Jury Award at the 11th World Seoul Short Film Festival, the New Director Award at the 2nd Korea-China Film Festival, and the Directing Award at the 1st Michuhol Film Festival for 'Sad Because It's Not Sad'. Park Seong-gwang achieved his dream with ‘Woongnam’.

Park Seong-kwang's first commercial film 'Woongnam' is a comical action drama in which a man with a special secret called Asiatic Black Bear uses his unique beast-like abilities to cooperate in an investigation against an international criminal organization. This is a story written with Park Seong-woong in mind, with whom he has maintained a close relationship.

Why was Park Seong-gwang's first commercial film 'Woongnam'? He said, "Before, when I made short films, I did a lot of heavy films. As a comedian, I wanted to break the prejudice. When I made short films, I made a lot of heavy topics. When I made commercial films, I thought I should do what I do best, so I decided to do comedy."

Park Seong-kwang confessed that he felt a lot of pressure as he attempted to become a film director with the title of comedian. This is because the title of comedian can be either a great weapon or a biggest enemy. He confessed, "I wonder what I'll do if people see me as prejudiced. To be honest, as a comedian, I'm not grateful to be a director, and it's a lot of pressure."

Lee Yi-kyung, who worked with him through 'Woongnam', witnessed Park Seong-gwang feeling burdened. Lee Yi-kyung explained, "I lost a lot of hair during filming. I couldn't walk due to indescribable inflammation in my groin. After filming, my older brother and younger brother had a drink together and sent six-letter messages to each other and listened to their complaints." This means that Park Seong-gwang took on the challenge to achieve his dream with that much pressure.

Park Seong-gwang married actress Lee Sol-i in 2020. After marriage, Park Seong-gwang was called Lee Sol-i's husband. He made his debut as a film director through ‘Woongnam’. Park Seong-kwang wanted people to view him as a ‘director’ rather than a ‘comedian’. Attention is being paid to how the audience will react to Park Seong-gwang, who took on the challenge of becoming a commercial film director through 'Woongnam'.

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr