I've been intrigued by a certain Korean actor recently. Don't worry, it's not Jo Hyun Jae again. Jo Hyun Jae, who still remains as my favourite Korean actor, is young, handsome and hunky. However, this one I'm talking about is, well, the direct opposite.

As you would know I'm currently watching Alone in Love and in it stars 30-something veteran actor Gam Woo Sung. Not that I knew him before but apparently he is one of those well-respected actors in Korea today, especially after he won the Best Actor award in the Daechung Film Awards for his role in King and the Clown.

Being an actor of a certain age has its advantage, I suppose, as it means that he has gained much experience in life to be able to bring to life every character he takes. Gam may not be the best, but so far he has certainly lighted my desire to find out more about this actor whom I have never seen before. Even as I was raving about how Jo Hyun Jae will be starring in a new movie directed by the director of R-Point, I never knew that that was Gam in the lead.

When I came across Alone In Love I thought I had a hard time figuring out who the lead was. I finally settled for this young and handsome chap and thought that yeah, that one should be the lead in this alien drama serial. But as I watched on, it became clear that the male lead was in fact someone much more ordinary looking.

Gam is indeed an unliklely lead in a drama serial helmed by the stunningly beautiful Son Ye Jin, with plain looks, small eyes, a short stature (how many Asian actors these days are 1.74m??) and a voice that tended to be a tad quack-ish. However, it soon became clear why Gam was the perfect choice for the character - Lee Dongjin, a quiet bookworm who is sometimes silly, sometimes loud, sometimes irritating, sometimes exasperating. Why, he even rents pornographic videos occassionally! Yet he is also many times just a simple, ordinary and kind-hearted man in his 30s grappling with a tragedy which changed everyone's life including his. In fact, unlike most K-drama male leads, Lee Dongjin never cries. We know he feels awful and painful, yet he is never shown shedding a tear. Gam brought all that out beautifully that made me change the way I looked at the character as I watched the serial.

Click here to see clips from the drama serial.

And of course, not forgotting King and the Clown. While the cross-dressing Lee Jun Ki stole the show with his feminine role of Gung-gil who was even more beautiful than beautiful, Gam kept it grounded with his role of Jang Seng, the uncouth and masculine half of the couple. In this movie, his voice was not an obstacle in portraying such a character. In fact, he manipulated it in such a way that quack-ish it may be, but rough and vulgar it essentially sounds. It may be gay-themed, but the undying committment of Jang towards Gung puts many modern hetrosexual couples to shame. It is a tragic story about a pair of clowns who unwittingly turned into pawns in a chess game for the corrupted royality. The sacrifices that Jang made for Gung may not even be interpreted as a romantic affection, but it certainly counts towards his intense need to protect the passive and often-victimized partner. Not at all strange. The acting made it all seem so natural and so logical.

The official trailer for King and the Clown



Gam talking about his role in King and the Clown



By the way, since I am on the topic of King and the Clowm, I still can't help but exclaim - Lee Junki is soooo beautiful!!! He said that he learnt from Leslie Cheung in Farewell My Concubine and I believe so because like Leslie, he played his feminine role with such beauty and gentleness which reminds one of an extremely cultivated young maiden from those rich families in the olden days! But unlike Leslie, Lee went through a rigourous diet to ensure that not only did he look and act female, but would actually have the body of a female (ie no muscle mass). Watch those scenes where he wore that costume that revealed his belly! That is definitely a woman's body shape I see!

Lee talking about his role in King and the Clown



For someone who had his first movie experience with this show, he did an excellent job.

Oh, you can watch the first 25 minutes of the movie on Youtube!! But go get the original DVD/VCD. It's best watched on a bigger screen and it is definitely worth collecting.



Love the first time they appeared with that street performance. So vulgar yet so funny :P

The actors were really trained in tightrope walking, especially Gam who did most of the tightrope scenes. But of course they were held safely by a cable during the stunts.

Lots of gems in Korea, I see... (speak in Yoda's voice)