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| Photo provided by Hihium Studio |
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For actor Song Joong-ki (39), 2024 has been an unforgettable year. Last November, she held her beloved second daughter in her arms, and the next month, she will present the movie 'Bogota: The Land of the Last Chance' after a long wait.
Released on the 31st, 'Bogota: Land of Last Chance' (hereinafter 'Bogota') is a story about Kook-hee (Song Joong-ki) heading to Bogota, Colombia, on the other side of the world with new hope immediately after the IMF, intertwines with Su-young (Lee Hee-joon) and Park Byeong-jang (Kwon Hae-hyo), the influential figures in the Korean community, and director Kim Sung-je of the movie 'Minor Opinion' took the megaphone. Song Joong-ki, who recently met Sports Chosun, said, "'Bogota' is the last Korean movie this year, so I want to do well. It's been a while since I've said hello, but it's nice just to be released. I'm not pretending to be really humble, but I wanted to say hello responsibly as an actor because it took that long to release.
As for the reason for choosing the work, there was a lot of attraction in Colombia in that it was filmed in an all-location manner. "When I first received the script, there were many Spanish lines, and some of the scenes were edited locally. This work stimulated me to take on new challenges. I thought it was an experience I couldn't do without this opportunity. I also wanted to participate after hearing that director Kim Sung-je is directing. I enjoyed the director's 'Minor Opinion', so I thought there would be a dense story as the scale of the work became bigger this time", he explained.
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| Movie 'Bogota: The Land of the Last Chance" still. Photo courtesy = Plus M Entertainment |
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Song Joong-ki played Kook-hee, a young man who dreams of the lowest to the highest in the play. He showed a wide spectrum of acting from teenagers to 30s, saying, `Externally, the main section is when Kook-hee adapted to the local area. I had a lot of thoughts about how to express that part"I followed the production team because they wanted to go to Colombia during pre-production on purpose, but when I saw the local people, I came up with various ideas. For example, I asked to cut my hair short, or I tried earrings or necklaces, and when I wore earrings, I thought that it would be my first appearance to show the audience. I went to a local company and got my ears pierced. I tore my ears while filming the action, and I heard that women actually have a lot of that experience. " Also, not only about accessories but also about costumes "When the costume manager first brought the clothes, I thought "Does this make sense?", but when I went there, it made sense. I realized that what I thought was too much might be appropriate, not too much."
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| Photo provided by Hihium Studio |
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I also talked about what I felt while studying Spanish for the first time. Song Joong-ki said "It was so much fun while learning Spanish. A friend who was five years younger than me taught me during the production, and she was born in Korea and lived in Colombia for a long time since she was a baby. "The unique Spanish rhythm was good for me. As I kept studying, I got interested and got greedy. Even on days when there was no filming in Bogota, I tried to get something more from local staff and local people. Since then, I have been using Spanish with my wife at home and studying little by little" he said.
Prior to the movie's release, Song Joong-ki was congratulated by many by announcing the birth of her second daughter. She married British actor Katie Louise Sounders in January last year and held her first son in her arms. "When I first knew my daughter when she was born, she was different from a boy. Even though he was a newborn, he held the difference in his arms. I can't forget the feeling. The child is growing up healthy now, and his wife is recovering well after giving birth. My wife hasn't seen 'Bogota' yet, so I'm going to watch it later after recovering. I'm doing a movie promotion schedule these days and filming 'My Youth' with Chun Woo-hee. Thankfully, my wife is giving me so much support. As the child was born, I felt more responsibility as an actor as a father."
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| Photo provided by Hihium Studio |
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Finally, when asked about the burden of 'Bogota' box office success, he answered 'Of course there is ' "For example, the production cost is 10 billion won, and if it's my money, I'll lose money, so I wouldn't have paid much attention, but isn't it a movie made with the money invested by others?" Also, since I play the main character and work for money, I think it is too irresponsible to contain my personal desires. So people in this industry shouldn't do bad things, shouldn't do anything that harms them," he said. "The bottom line is that I want to perform too much, but I feel that I can't do what I want every time."
Song Joong-ki made his debut in 2008 with the movie 「Ssanghwa Branch」, and has already become an actor in his 16th year. He made his debut at the age of 26 while attending university. Sometimes when I interview, I meet my classmates at Sungkyunkwan University. All of my friends returned to school after serving in the military, and my friends who graduated quickly were at the age of starting their social lives. But I started acting as an assistant because I didn't want to go to the army, but I haven't made a stable choice since then. I sent her to a good university because she studied hard, and she suddenly said she was going to learn, so she must have suffered a lot (laughs). If you're going on a stable path, you'll have taken the press exam with your friends. Thankfully, it was time for the main role to come in, and he appeared in the drama 'Deep Root Tree'. The work itself was so good, and I felt something filling up. With this opportunity, I decided to choose my own work even if I was not good enough, but even if I had more experience," he stressed.
antahn22@sportschosun.com
