Kang Dong-won Shares His Thoughts on Becoming an Academy Member
Kang Dong-won Shares His Thoughts on Becoming an Academy Member
Kang Dong-won has expressed his feelings about becoming a member of the Academy.

On the 23rd, Kang Dong-won, the lead actor of the Netflix film 'Jeon, Ran', was met at a café in Sogyeok-dong, Seoul.

Set against the backdrop of the Imjin War, 'Jeon, Ran' tells the story of Jong-ryeo (played by Park Jung-min), the son of the top military family in Joseon, and Cheon-young (played by Kang Dong-won), a servant, who reunite as adversaries, with Jong-ryeo becoming a close military officer to King Seonjo (played by Cha Seung-won) and Cheon-young becoming a volunteer soldier. Kang Dong-won plays Cheon-young, a character of low status but with exceptional swordsmanship skills.

This year, Kang Dong-won became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which is known for hosting the prestigious Academy Awards.

Kang Dong-won reportedly asked directors Park Chan-wook, Hirokazu Kore-eda, and actor Lee Byung-hun for recommendation letters needed for membership. When asked about the benefits of being an Academy member, Kang Dong-won said, "They give you a member ID, and when you log into the app, movies appear there. There are films that need to be judged. You can download them to watch on TV. It's worth the membership fee."

'Jeon, Ran' was released on Netflix on the 11th. In its second week, it ranked third in the Netflix Global TOP 10 Films (Non-English) category, recording a total of 8.3 million views (calculated by dividing the viewing hours by the total running time of the work) from the 14th to the 20th. It ranked first in seven countries, including Korea, Qatar, and Taiwan, and made it to the TOP 10 in a total of 74 countries.

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia Reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr