More South Korean actors seek Hollywood dream after global success of Korean entertainment

SEOUL South Korea AP When actor Amy Baik was cast in a South Korean commercial last year she thought she had landed a promising gig But after filming wrapped she was shocked to learn that both the director and advertiser had cut her scenes not because of her performance but because she lacked a facial feature prized in South Korean beauty standards The reason was that I don t have double eyelids reported Baik After receiving that feedback I started to reconsider what kind of appearance Korea wants she noted adding it made me wonder how I can survive as an actor in South Korea That experience pushed her toward a different industry The global success of Parasite Minari and Squid Contest has opened doors for South Korean performers in Hollywood and spawned a cottage industry of consultants helping actors confront American casting Hollywood s the dream the ultimate pinnacle of acting accolades mentioned Julia Kim a Korean American casting director who worked on Minari Amazon Prime s Butterfly and KPop Demon Hunters While established stars like Park Hae-soo and Lee Byung-hun have both South Korean and American representation greater part aspiring Korean actors lack such connections That gap is what talent agencies like Los Angeles-based Upstage Entertainment are trying to bridge Alison Dumbell a co-founder of Upstage with experience in Bollywood and Los Angeles noted she has noticed more demands for characters that are specifically Korean than generic East Asian ones from Western producers She attributes that shift partly to the global popularity of South Korean entertainment Still stereotypes persist The one that irritates me is the nerdy tech programmer Dumbell revealed Sometimes I just won t even submit my actor for that because I know that they re much more nuanced as actors Multiple challenges For preponderance South Korean actors without connections or know-how Hollywood is still uncharted territory Kim who typically casts high-profile stars and works with local casting directors for co-productions also finds actors via social media I usually put out an open call on my Instagram she explained But for actors without major agency backing the right contacts are hard to find The American and Korean industries operate differently and U S casting information rarely reaches those outside established networks Kim announced South Korean talent faces a steep learning curve I would get questions should I change my Korean name to a Western name Do I pay to get an agent Can I look into the camera when I m doing an audition she explained Even name consistency is an issue Kim recalled a K-pop artist turned actor whose name appeared five different means online Technical standards also differ Actor Misun Youm noted American audition tapes require clean white backgrounds while in Korea it doesn t matter Headshots diverge too South Korean profiles feature modellike images while American headshots match character types In Korea you shoot profile photos like a fashion magazine model reported veteran actor Shin Ju-hwan who goes by Julian Shin He played a masked soldier in second and third seasons of Squid Competition and stars in Taxi Driver Season Shin ascertained Upstage by chance his wife a producer discovered them on LinkedIn His Hollywood dream was partly motivated by colleagues at his former agency Han Yeri in Minari and Jung Ho-yeon in Squid Meeting Even though I wasn t a main character I was just a soldier people who saw even that brief appearance started leaving comments on my Instagram Shin mentioned The impact of that show was truly unparalleled Language and accents Shin took an intensive approach to English transcribing over English words and expressions from the internet then using AI to check if any phrases were outdated Idioms are really fun he stated Break a leg or hold your horses learning those makes you feel closer to being native The accent question looms large Devin Overman another co-founder of Upstage who coaches English line delivery revealed it s perfectly fine even preferable to have an accent because the accent is part of who you are She focuses on intonation When native Korean speakers are trying to read English lines it sounds like they re reading That s the hardest thing to break she noted But consultants aren t pushing actors to erase their identity Shin recalled Dumbell advising him not to sound too American-ish She mentioned people would prefer my genuine pronunciation he revealed Push factors For Shin the pivot came as opportunities in South Korea contracted Starting three years ago I realized this industry was getting harder he noted Since the Korean region was struggling I thought I should broaden my horizons to international markets Age discrimination is also driving a few actors abroad Youm disclosed in South Korea isn t considered young There are several limitations when it comes to finding an agency or auditioning for a role she disclosed Shin in his s was given a chance to audition for a -something character for an international production In Korean audition tapes you usually say your age he noted In the U S they don t Actors see a shift Baik who got a minor role in the Netflix teen romantic comedy XO Kitty now sees her features as assets abroad After feedback from American casting directors she announced she learned I could do action roles and break free from the cute image She also exposed working with an international crew an eye-opening experience and came to appreciate aspects of the American work tradition In Korea overtime was routine In the American area you clock in and clock out like an office worker she mentioned It was more efficient She commented her ongoing journey to Hollywood has taught her to trust herself At first everyone announced it would be impossible Only famous Korean actors can do this she recalled But after watching me fly overseas and make everything happen with my own hands I can say with certainty from my experience that Hollywood is ready to open its doors to anyone Shin who hopes to play a villain in American productions sees a shift There was a time when it seemed like you had to roll your R s and act like an American But now it feels like you can be yourself be Korean if you re Korean Shin noted Stereotypes are gradually crumbling This version corrects the spelling of the Upstage Entertainment co-founder s name to Devin Overman not Devon Source