Actor Park Woong

To be able to see even what is not seen

Actor Park Woong used to like fishing. That is why he looked forward to visiting the Museum of Silhak in Namyangju. When he was a young man with a mop of hair, he would often pass this way with a fishing bag on his shoulder. Although since then the sceneries and people have changed a lot, he still has the memories and feelings of the time and the space. Park is now in his 80s, and his nostalgic memories of the way remind him of his younger days.

“There. I fished over there. Back then, the only hobby of the younger generation was fishing. This area was all fishing spots. I couldn't enjoy fishing here after it was designated as a clean zone. I didn't have a car at the time, so I came here by bus or train. Until maybe my mid-20s or so? I think I came here to fish until my 30s. I came here a lot. The area still feels familiar. The restaurants and coffee shops have all disappeared by now, but the way there is still same. The road cannot disappear.”

Actor Park Woong was born in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do. He grew up in Busan in his teens. He played the main character in Wonsullang using his Busan dialect when he was in high school, but that was all for his career in stage acting. After being relieved from his military duty, he found that his theater teacher had become a TV show producer and one of his friends had become a voice actor. He too decided to become a voice actor. He was the first son, who in the 1960s had to take care of his financially struggling family in place of his late father. He made the decision because he needed a job, rather than for his acting or art career. He went on to become a voice actor at the Busan Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, and in 1962 received a job as a voice actor with the Seoul Donga Broadcasting System.

“I had no career in stage acting. I was one of those people who went into acting even though I wasn’t qualified. My decision to become a voice actor was by chance, but I ended up living my whole life as an actor. I just didn’t have the knack for anything in particular.”

Park became one of the first official voice actors of Donga Broadcasting System with Park Jeong-ja, Sa Mi-ja, Jang Mi-ja, and Jeon Won-ju. After becoming a voice actor, he realized that all of his colleagues were talking about stage performance. Their voice acting trainers were all theater actors. At the time, people believed that you needed to study drama to become a good voice actor. In the 1960s and 1970s, radio drama was more influential than television, which was not yet widespread. After participating in the drama club at the broadcasting station, he joined a theater company called Jejakgeukhoe. He was later actively involved in another theater company called Jayu (Freedom).

The theater company Jayu, founded by a director and a stage designer who had studied abroad, was operated by members who all had equal rights and duties. They formed a horizontal relationship between members, rather than a relationship between subordinates and superiors. This sturdy theater company had a lot of great actors who had been voice actors. They were all great conversationalists and skilled actors. Thanks to the director and stage designer who had studied abroad, they had many opportunities to perform abroad from the 1970s to the late 1990s when overseas performances were not common. Above all, they were proud to perform on the world stage with their own unique Korean sentiment and color.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Jayu's performances were fairly unconventional. Today it is natural for actors to walk down to the audience or talk to someone in the audience. Back then, the audience and actors were unfamiliar with and shy about such performances. Actors needed great courage to walk down from the stage or to reveal changing of clothes on stage.

“Looking back on those days, it doesn’t seem so unconventional. It was just the process that we were pondering how we could show things for what they were, how we could show something that was realistic. Korean artists who were involved in plays were already doing such performances. Think about madangnori (Korea's traditional performance) and the mask dance. We already have them. Acting along with the audience was not a new development in performance. We already have it, but we were doing it a bit differently. Even as we learned that plays were a serious and superior art form, we had a prejudice and mindset that such performances were a sort of taboo. I think that Jayu influenced other artists in numerous ways by pursuing open plays that communicated with the audience, trying to find Korea's unique colors. I believe that Jayu somehow contributed to popularizing Kim Duk-soo's samul nori (performance with four traditional Korean musical instruments) and pumba.”

Park Woong is not a proactive, energetic person, nor is he good with words. He is rather a slow person of few words. In that respect, it is odd that he served as chair of multiple theater associations. Park Woong served 3 consecutive terms as Chairman of the Korean Actors Association, and was the first actor selected as Chairman of the National Theater Association of Korea.

“There are two types of persons who are selected as chairman: one who can handle the work, and one who reluctantly takes up the post because no one wants to do it. In fact, I'm not qualified to be chairman. I had to serve as chairman because no one else wanted to do it. In most cases, I just happened to take up the post. I believe that the head of a group should listen carefully to others. Even if you are a competent person, you can't do the job by yourself. You need to trust other people, and should be able to clean up after accidents. I don't interfere in details because I don't know that much about them (laughing).”

Park has never stepped up of his own will to take up a post. He has never talked to the director about taking on a role that he wanted. It doesn't mean that he has no desire to do so, but he just goes with the flow, adapts himself to the circumstances, and controls his mindset with composure. Composure helps him to understand the circumstances and the principles of objects and phenomena.

There is a saying that one who wants to wear the crown bears the crown. If you cannot bear the crown, the crown can become like a poison. While serving three terms as the Chairman of the Korean Actors Association, Park felt responsible for representing actors who were working in a poorer environment than he had thought. Whenever he faced the fact that actors were vulnerable and weak in the Korean theatrical world, he clearly felt the reason for needing a proper desire and strong will for the organization. When he became the first actor to chair the National Theater Association of Korea after serving as Chairman of the Korean Actors Association, he felt much greater responsibility because of his understanding and desperation for improving actors' working conditions. After his service, more and more actors were appointed as heads of Korean performing arts groups as well as the National Theater Association of Korea.

Park Woong recently heard that he was selected as one of the prize winners for the Awards of the National Academy of Arts, Republic of Korea 2018. The Awards of the National Academy of Arts, Republic of Korea, founded in 1955, is the oldest awards program in the field and is one of the most prestigious awards. The awards, which have continued for over 60 years, cover four categories: Literature, Fine Arts, Music, and Drama & Cinema. The prize winners of the first awards category include composer Hyun Jae-myung and playwright Yu Chi-jin. This year, the prize winners were selected from two categories. Park Woong won the prize in Drama & Cinema this year.

“Looking back, I was never that lucky in winning prizes. Well, I'm not the kind of person who causes a sensation. So I was pretty surprised when I heard that I was selected as a winner of the Awards of the National Academy of Arts in Korea. I heard from others that I was going to win a prize. It seems to be a pretty big prize. Above all, I am greatly honored that the members of the National Academy of Arts selected me. It means that I have achieved recognition from my top colleagues in the field. It is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. I'll be okay even if I don't win any more awards from now on (laughing).”

I realized something while listening to his interview record. “Yes, you are right.” “Yes. I agree.” “Okay.” He used a lot of positive responses. His way of speaking explains a lot of things. As he said, it may be difficult to find fancy features, showing like peacock tail feathers, from him as an actor. Even if not something splendid, some actors look around at their surroundings and find where they should stand and which roles they should take. Plays and films led by such actors have a deep, long-lasting ambience. The Awards of the National Academy of Arts, Republic of Korea 2018 must have recognized his values and sincerity.

“The Museum of Silhak was rather new and fresh to me. I have heard a lot about Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, but didn't know there was a museum about him. Dasan is a special figure to me. I recently read some records about Jeong Yak-yong while I was finding reference materials to make a play about Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. Today I visited his birth home, looked around a special exhibition about him, and saw the Museum of Silhak. It has been a special experience for me. I hope that the museum is promoted a lot so that many people including students can visit. I feel sorry that I didn't know this museum was here until now.”

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