Song Seung-heon

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Song Seung-heon

Song Seung-heon (Korean: 송승헌; born October 5, 1976) is a South Korean actor. Song is noted for his roles in Korean dramas like East of Eden, Autumn in My Heart (2000) and Summer Scent. Song started his career as a model in 1995, modeling for the jeans brand STORM, and began acting in sitcoms and TV dramas in 1996. He first became known to viewers in the popular sitcom Three Guys and Three Girls in 1996. The following year he started his extremely successful career in TV dramas, which made him well-known throughout Korea. His feature film debut came in 1999 in the film Calla together with star Kim Hee-sun. True stardom only came to Song in late 2000, however, with the broadcast of the hugely popular TV drama Autumn in My Heart. The series was exported all over Asia, making pan-Asian stars of both him and co-stars Song Hye-kyo and Won Bin. He is known to be one of the most popular stars in Korea today whose popularity even gave rise into other countries in Asia, adding to the Hallyu wave. Because of this, he has been actively recruited for film roles and advertisements in Hong Kong and other Asian countries. In 2002, Song starred in the comic-action film Make It Big by director Cho Ui Seok, and also in the Hong Kong film So Close with Hong Kong actresses Karen Mok, Shu Qi and Zhao Wei.

He also starred in Summer Scent, the third "season-themed" TV drama after Autumn in My Heart and Winter Sonata, which was well-received, but not as popular as the ones that preceded it. In 2004 Song appeared in two films, but neither was judged to be a success. Ice Rain, shot in the Canadian Rockies, failed to enthuse viewers with its mixture of mountaineering and melodrama, while He Was Cool, based on an internet novel, proved unable to compete with Harry Potter and other films from the 2004 summer season. In 2008 he starred in the television drama East of Eden with Lee Yeon-hee. Song was also cast in the 2010 film A Better Tomorrow. A Korean remake of the Hong Kong film of the same name starring Chow Yun-fat, and Leslie Cheung. Although it is a remake, the story line is different. Song is the main character and filming began in November 2009. In January 2011, he starred in the MBC romantic comedy drama My Princess with Kim Tae-hee. In 2009, he created his own management company, Storm S, which also manages actresses Lee Young-ae and Kim Jung-eun. In late 2004, just as he was getting ready to start shooting another high profile TV drama, it was revealed that the actor had illegally avoided his compulsory military service by taking a drug that made him fail the military"s health test.

Amidst the press coverage and scandal this aroused, Song agreed to immediately serve his two-year term in the military. Song, during his late teenage years, successfully evaded compulsory army service by claiming to have severe diabetes and high blood pressure. At 28, his claim was discovered by the South Korean government to be false, and he was forced to serve the army for two years. Song, in an apparent show of guilt, publicly apologised and began his service. Despite pleas from his fans to the South Korean government, the government feared that giving clemency to Song would spark off riots and strikes (due to peoples' displeasure at his act). In the end, Song temporarily dropped acting to serve the army until 2006, although he was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Song was discharged on November 15 as a Corporal. In 2004 Song appeared in two films, but neither was judged to be a success. Ice Rain, shot in the Canadian Rockies, failed to enthuse viewers with its mixture of mountaineering and melodrama, while He Was Cool, based on an internet novel, proved unable to compete with Harry Potter and other films from the 2004 summer season. In 2008 he starred in the television drama East of Eden with Lee Yeon-hee. Song was also cast in the 2010 film A Better Tomorrow. A Korean remake of the Hong Kong film of the same name starring Chow Yun-fat, and Leslie Cheung. Although it is a remake, the story line is different. Song is the main character and filming began in November 2009.