Korean actors, beyond Hallyu and advance into Hollywood

Oct 18, 2006

Oct 17, 2006

Recently, articles have been appearing regarding Korean top stars looking into debuting in Hollywood.

At the 11th annual Pusan International Film Festival, Jeon Ji Hyeon, Lee Byeong Heon and other stars that have been at the center of Hallyu have shown the possibility of a Hollywood debut indicating the rather far non-disclosed progress of such plans.

First of all, Jeon Ji Hyeon, who has been one of the main Hallyu stars, officially announced a Hollywood debut regarding the rumors that surfaced during the film festival. Park Yi Beom, in charge of the international business division at her agency, iHQ, commented on the 16th at the iHQ presentation, "Jeon Ji Hyeon is currently preparing linguistically and will be in a blockbuster produced in the U.S. next year. Other actors aside from Jeon Ji Hyeon are also preparing to debut in Hollywood, China, and Japan."

Variety, that is publishing the English daily of the Pusan International Film Festival, also published articles about the film festival explaining in detail Lee Byeong Heon and Jeon Ji Hyeon’s Hollywood debut plans.

Variety analyzed and commented on Lee Byeong Heon, "Of all the top actors in Korea, Lee Byeong Heon has the best qualities to debut internationally. His popularity in Japan is so great that debuting in Hollywood is just a matter of time. He is known to be able to converse fluently in English which is a key point differentiating himself from other Hallyu stars."

Park Joon Hoon who already successfully debuted in Hollywood with ‘The Truth About Charlie’ is going to start preparing for his next piece this fall and is planning on starring in a new Hollywood movie within the year.

Korean Actors in Hollywood

Ahead of Korean stars preparing to advance into Hollywood such as Jeon Ji Hyeon, Lee Byeong Heon, and Park Joong Hoon, there have been an increasing number of second or third generation Koreans that are already active.

Will Yun Lee, who also visited the Pusan Inaternational Film Festival, Sandra Oh, John Cho, and the Rick and Karl Yune brothers just to name a few.

Will Yun Lee appeared in ‘007 Die Another Day’ in 2002, ‘Elektra’ in 2005, appealing to fans in Korea as well. Being selected in 2002 as one of the 50 most beautiful people by People magazine, he has risen to be one of Hollywood’s notable Asian actors.

Will Yun Lee also recently signed with Sidus HQ, Jeon Ji Hyeon and Jeong Woo Seong’s agency, to expand his career in Korea and the Asia region.

Sandra Oh is starring in the popular medical drama series ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ which has also been introduced to Korea. She is from Canada and won the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series award in 2006 presented by the Screen Actors Guild and was nominated for the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category at the Emmy Awards.

John Cho starred in ‘Evolution’ in 2006 and ‘American Pie 3 – American Wedding’ in 2003 amongst others and is currently filming ‘West 32nd,’ produced by CJ Entertainment, with actor Jeong Joon Ho.

Rick Yune, who starred in ‘The Fast and the Furious’ and ‘007 Die Another Day’ as a gang leader, and his brother Karl Yune, who starred in ‘Anacondas’ in 2004, are also among those who are gaining popularity in Hollywood.