[Sportschosun Kim So-hee] Actor Park Sung-woong has once again drawn attention to the film 'New World' by revealing behind-the-scenes stories about the movie.
On the 27th, a video titled "A drinking party between Jungu, the gangster-like older brother who looks like a thug whenever he is photographed, and Baku, the weak hero with a boyfriend-like vibe" was uploaded to the YouTube channel "East Sea and Baekdu Eunhyuk." Park Sung-woong appeared in the video and shared various stories about his acting career and his signature work, 'New World.'
That day, Eunhyuk asked Park Sung-woong, "Do you have a lot of male fans?" Park replied, "Almost 80% of my fans are men," and added, "They all came to me through the film 'New World,' so they do not really express it much."
He went on to explain, "When people see me, they all call me 'Jungu hyung.' The film was released in 2013, so it has been 13 years, but even kids who are now in their 20s call me 'Jungu hyung.' They must have been seven when the movie came out, and now that they are grown up, they are watching it." His remarks underscored the character's enduring popularity.
Park Sung-woong said he had not expected Lee Joong-gu to attract so much attention when he was cast in 'New World.'
"My face was not even on the first poster," he recalled. "At the time of filming, I did not expect the role to have that kind of impact. But the director said, 'If the Lee Joong-gu character takes off, New World will be a huge hit.'"
However, the process of landing the role was not easy. "There were six candidates at the time, and the others were all actors who had played leading roles," he said. "To be honest, the distributor-investor opposed me because they thought I was a risk."
After the film was released, though, the atmosphere changed completely. Park said, "At the VIP screening, as soon as it ended, the head of the distributor-investor came over and bowed at a 90-degree angle, saying, 'I enjoyed it very much.'" His story drew laughter.
Park Sung-woong also revealed a hidden story behind one of the film's most famous lines, "I'll let you live."
He said, "The line 'I'll let you live' almost got completely cut for time. But once that part was removed, the later scenes did not fit, so it survived." He added, "Thanks to that, I was able to leave a strong impression even though I appeared for only 24 minutes in a film with a runtime of more than two hours."
Despite his brief screen time, the Lee Joong-gu character left a powerful impression and later became one of Park Sung-woong's signature roles. As 'New World,' released in 2013, continues to be loved even after many years, Park's overwhelming presence is often cited as one of the reasons. This latest behind-the-scenes revelation also delighted fans.
Kim So-hee, Sportschosun, yaqqol@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
