0 Han Suk-kyu Posted by Jampoek Tuha | at 5:47 AM

Complete filmography:

Solace (2006)
A Bloody Aria (2006)
Forbidden Quest (2006)
Mr. Housekeeper (2005)
The President's Last Bang (2005)
The Scarlet Letter (2004)
Double Agent (2003)
Tell Me Something (1999)
Shiri (1999)
Christmas in August (1998)
The Contact (1997)
No. 3 (1997)
Green Fish (1997)
The Gingko Bed (1996)
Dr. Bong (1995)
Mommy, the Star, and the Sea Anemone (1995, cameo)

Han Suk-kyu (b. August 17, 1964) began his career in the early 1990's as a dubbing artist, before being cast in the TV drama Moon Over Seoul. By the late 90s he had become one of the most popular actors in Korea, starring in a series of both highly acclaimed and extremely popular films including Lee Chang-dong's debut film Green Fish, the groundbreaking gangster comedy No. 3, the hugely popular internet romance The Contact, Hur Jin-ho's classic Christmas in August, and the film that officially kicked off Korea's modern-day commercial boom, Kang Je-gyu's Shiri. At this time, Han was receiving a higher guaranteed salary for his films than any other actor (~$350,000 in 1999).

From 1999 until early 2003, however, Han took an extended leave of absence from filmmaking, only appearing occasionally on TV commercials. By the time of his return in the film Double Agent -- a spy film in which he stars with Ko So-young, which was a disappointment at the box-office -- he had lost his status as the most popular actor in the Korean film industry. The following year, his appearance in The Scarlet Letter with now-deceased actress Lee Eun-ju opened well, but failed to make a big impression with audiences.

Han's appearance in Im Sang-soo's political bombshell The President's Last Bang marked an impressive return to form, however, and even if it didn't translate into success at the box office, it showed that Han remained at the top of his form. For his next project Han discards his serious image to play a stay-at-home dad who dresses up as a woman in order to enter a TV quiz show for housewives.

Interview excerpts:

People say that you have benefitted from your voice. Do you think this is true? "I think so. When I first started acting on TV, people criticized me, saying I spoke like a 1960s movie star. Now I know how to control my voice. My experiences as a dubbing artist and a singer in high school taught me pronunciation and better control over the language." [Cine 21, #174, Nov. 3, 1998]