Eum Moon-seok, Rookie Award for 'The Fiery Priest' → Reveals Growth Story as Lead in 'Hope'

Actor Eum Moon-seok appeared on tvN’s variety show ″You Quiz on the Block″ in the special episode ″Living Long and Seeing,″ where he candidly shared about his long period of obscurity and the process of establishing himself as an actor. Eum Moon-seok revealed that as a child in Asan, Chungnam, he dreamed of dancing after watching a dance team’s performance, and at 16, he moved to Seoul to properly learn dance. He said that without any connections in Seoul, he moved between acquaintances’ and friends’ homes, practice rooms, and even slept in subway stations to get by. He recalled a time when he survived on ramen and kimchi for 330 days out of the year and explained that he entered acting as a means to continue dancing. He said he started studying acting because he thought his facial expressions while dancing looked unattractive and wanted to improve them. He debuted as a singer named SIC in 2005 at the age of 24, but his situation did not improve. At 30, he challenged himself on Mnet’s dance survival program but suffered a shoulder injury that required three years of treatment. Afterward, he developed his own survival strategies by reading the tendencies of assistant directors and being perceptive during various auditions. He debuted as an actor at 36 and even directed a short film that was invited to the non-competitive section of the Cannes International Film Festival. Eum Moon-seok shared that to play the role of Jang Ryong in the SBS drama ″The Fiery Priest,″ he personally bought a wig, filmed acting videos, and sent them to the director. Through this work, he won the Male Rookie Actor Award at the 2019 SBS Drama Awards. He added that his father, who was battling lung cancer at the time, came to watch the awards ceremony and said, ″Even if I die, I have no regrets.″ He also mentioned the memory of traveling to Saipan with his family using the appearance fee from ″The Fiery Priest.″ He also shared memories with his father. After moving to Seoul, he recalled meeting his father at the bus terminal, who took out 1,000 won, 5,000 won, and 10,000 won bills from his pocket as emergency money, which felt like his father’s entire fortune. Watching his father’s back, he resolved to become tougher. He stayed by his father’s side during his final moments and told him not to worry about his mother and sister and to rest peacefully. Recently, he said he bought a mattress as a gift to himself. The moment he lay down on it, all his pent-up emotions burst out, and he cried. Eum Moon-seok played the role of Yang-bae, a young carpenter, in the film ″Hope,″ showing a strong presence. He added that the film is currently screening in theaters nationwide.