‘Bogota’ Song Joong-ki “My wife is adjusting well to life in Korea, she‘s cute when she gives me directions” [DA:Interview②]

Actor Song Joong-ki, who has an international marriage, showed his sincerity in studying foreign languages.

On the morning of the 23rd, Song Joong-ki expressed his passion for studying languages during an interview for the film ‘Bogota: Land of the Last Chance’ held at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Song Joong-ki, who challenged himself to act in Spanish through ‘Bogota: Land of the Last Chance’, which is set in Bogota, Colombia. He said, “It was difficult. But fortunately, I enjoyed Spanish a little more than Italian in the drama ‘Vincenzo’. They’re both languages that come from Latin, so they‘re similar, but the rhythm of Spanish suits me better”, and “It was edited a lot, but there was a lot of dialogue in Spanish. I wasn’t just memorizing it, but I was greedy and ad-libbed appropriately. It was difficult, but it was pretty fun. He also confessed, “I felt a great sense of accomplishment.”


Even after filming was over, Song Joong-ki is still naturally exposed to Spanish in his daily life. This is because his mother-in-law is from Colombia. Song Joong-ki said, “If you speak Spanish, I won‘t understand, so she speaks in English,” but also confessed, “My children may be able to speak Spanish because of the influence of their grandmother or wife, so I’m eager to study. If I can‘t do it, I won’t be able to communicate with my children. I have such a strong desire to do it.”

Song Joong-ki registered his marriage to Katie Louise Saunders, who is of British-Colombian descent, in January of last year. He became a father of two, welcoming a son in June of that year and a daughter in November of this year.

He says he usually speaks English with his wife. Song Joong-ki said, “(I) can‘t speak Spanish on a daily basis. My wife speaks English primarily, but she also speaks Spanish and French. She has lived in Italy her whole life, so she also speaks Italian. She has been taking Korean classes quite a bit now, so her Korean has improved quite a bit,” he said.

He said about his married life, “We are doing well. I am so happy and in love that I think we had a second child,” and “My wife has adapted well to life in Korea and is satisfied. I have friends who have lived in many countries around the world, so I have a comparison group. She said that Korea is a very well-equipped place. She said that it is the first time she has seen a country this safe. Even when I go out on schedules and my wife goes out alone, I am not worried and feel safe.” He also said, “I am also surprised by how well the delivery service works. Sometimes, my wife tells me about routes in Seoul that I have never been to. He smiled brightly, saying, ”It’s cute.“

Meanwhile, ‘Bogota: The Land of Last Chance’ is a movie that depicts the story that unfolds as Guk-hee (Song Joong-ki), who heads to Bogota, Colombia on the other side of the world with new hope right after the IMF, gets entangled with Soo-young (Lee Hee-joon) and Byeong-jang Park (Kwon Hae-hyo), the real powers of the Bogota Korean community. It is garnering much anticipation by setting Bogota, the capital of Colombia, as the main location and capturing exotic scenery such as Cartagena, a resort city in the Caribbean, and Cyprus, an island nation in the Mediterranean. It will be released in theaters on the last day of the year, December 31st.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com
Photo courtesy of Hi-Zium Studio