The ‘godfathers’ of the South Korean film industry, Song Kang-ho and Kim Yun-seok, will open the December box office with the films ‘1Win’ and ‘Big Family’, respectively. The two actors have temporarily shed the serious image and heavy charisma they have shown in many works so far and are showing their determination to bring warmth to the year-end theaters with lighter and more cheerful characters.

In the film ‘1Win’, which was released on the 4th, Song Kang-ho plays the role of Kim Woo-jin, a former player-turned-coach who struggles to secure a single victory for the ‘Pink Storm’, a perennially last-place professional women‘s volleyball team. The film refreshingly humorously depicts the growth of a ‘loser’ coach who has experienced every failure one can experience in life, including expulsion, dismissal, bankruptcy, and divorce. Some say it reminds them of Song Kang-ho’s early masterpiece, the comedy sports film ‘The Foul King’.

Director Shin Yeon-sik, who will be working with Song Kang-ho for the third time following the film ‘Spider House’ and the Disney+ drama ‘Uncle Sam-sik’, said, “When he monitors his own acting on set, he checks the short and long sounds of the words, and even the detailed diction. It‘s to increase the density of his acting,” and did not spare his praise, saying, “I was shocked because I had never seen an actor like that on set.”

In the meantime, Kim Yun-seok transformed into Ham Moo-ok, the owner of a dumpling restaurant who is upset because his family line was cut off due to his son becoming a monk in the film ‘Big Family’, which will be released on the 11th. Last year, in ‘Noryang: Sea of Death’, he showed the weightiness of General Yi Sun-sin, and in ‘Tazza’, ‘The Yellow Sea’, the creepiness of the villains is nowhere to be found, and he even exudes unexpected cuteness, becoming a ‘grandchild fool’ who cannot do anything to his wife and is disarmed by his grandson.

Regarding this character, Kim Yun-seok said, “It is a story that cannot help but make people laugh even in serious situations, so comedy was born naturally.”In line with this, ‘Big Family’ director Yang Woo-seok expressed his confidence, saying, “Kim Yun-seok’s excellent acting will approach the audience in a fresh and satisfying way.”

Reporter Lee Seung-mi smlee@donga.com