Jung Woo Sung Celebrates 20 Years As An Actor

This year actor Jung Woo Sung is celebrating his 20th debut anniversary. The Korean Film Archive has decided to honor that anniversary with a special program of his films. The program, "The Name That Makes Hearts Beat: Jung Woo Sung Special Screenings" will show 16 of his films from Dec 10 to 22 at the Kofa Cinema in Seoul. Props and costumes from those films will also be on display.

After 20 years you might think he had perfected his craft, but he still feels like he's still learning.

"I think I know just a little bit more about acting now compared to back then," he said. "Which might lead you to wonder what I was doing for the last 20 years. But I have become more flexible and smarter about the techniques of acting."

Here are a few facts you may not know about this celebrated actor.

His appearance in the 1997 film "Beat" was about a high school dropout who is forced to join a gang. It was based partly on his own experience as a dropout. The film was very successful and his role resulted in him being referred to as the Korean James Dean. But he was not necessarily comfortable being that kind of role model.

One of his most memorable films was "A Moment To Remember." In that film he played an architect married to a woman with early onset Alzheimer's." Son Ye Jin played his wife. The film became one of the highest grossing Korean films in Japan.

Another memorable Jung Woo Sung Role was playing a Clint Eastwood type role in the kimchi western "The Good, The Bad and The Weird." That film also led to one of his most memorable experiences, attending the Cannes Film Festival with the film.

He's also a director, having directed commercials and short films. He enjoys the challenge.

"Directing is more fun,' he said.  I have to care for the artwork, continuity and even the music. When I act, I just concentrate on the fictional character as if he were a real person, but when I direct I have to bring to life the virtual reality inside my head with the help of the staff's skill. I have to edit and sew various scenes together to build a story. That feels different and exciting."

His career has mostly been in film and he usually limits himself to one film a year, but he has done a few dramas. The most recent drama was the heartbreaking "Padam Padam: The Sound of His And Her Heartbeats,' with co-stars Han Ji Min and Kim Bum. He chose the role because he was a fan of the writer's family dramas.

"Whether it's a mother-son or father-son relationship, the love and pain experienced by families is something I wanted to portray," he said.

He played his first villain role in 2013, when he acted in the action thriller "Cold Eyes,"  and he plays a baduk player in the film "God's Trick." The short film he shot this year starred Choi Jin Hyuk.

It will be interesting to see how many more films he adds to his resume in the next 20 years.