Kim Nam-gil “‘True Education’ Still Considering... If It‘s Inconvenient, It’s Right Not to Do It” (The Fiery Priest 2)

Actor Kim Nam-gil personally revealed his thoughts on the rumors about appearing in ‘True Education’.

At the production conference for SBS‘s new Friday-Saturday drama ‘The Fiery Priest 2’, held at the SBS building in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 8th, questions were asked about ‘True Education’, which was reported the day before as Kim Nam-gil’s next project.

On the 7th, Star News reported that Kim Nam-gil was considering appearing in the drama ‘True Education’. As the original webtoon of the same name was controversial due to issues of racism and sexism at the time of its serialization, some netizens continued to express their concerns.

On the night of the 8th, Kim Nam-gil stated on his Instagram story, “It is true that I received an offer for the work ‘True Education’ at the company level, but I need to review it myself first and have time to politely convey my intentions to those who made the offer, whether I reject it or accept it. But right now, I don‘t have the time or energy to think about anything other than ’The Fiery Priest. ‘” He continued, “As you’ve waited for and loved ‘The Fiery Priest’ for a long time, my fellow actors and production staff are all doing our best in the final stages of filming to repay your expectations.” He continued, “I hope you trust me and spend this winter laughing a lot with ‘The Fiery Priest’ every weekend, staying healthy, and being happy.”

When asked about ‘True Education,’ Kim Nam-gil said, “Today is the first broadcast of ‘The Fiery Priest 2,’ and I wrote this in the hopes that no negative issues will affect the show. (‘True Education’) is just one of the many offers I‘ve received, and it’s a show I turned down once. It‘s not that I’m unaware of the controversy or issues. It came up when Director Hong Jong-chan joined.” He explained, “I‘ve always been interested in education. Is it just the children’s problem that students whose minds and bodies are not yet perfect are exposed to crime? Aren‘t the adults at fault as well? I focused on what makes a good adult. He revealed that he had previously been offered a different school drama and then received the script for ‘True Education’.

He continued, ”We are currently filming ‘The Fiery Priest 2’ as if it were a live broadcast. The writer is continuously revising it to condense the characters’ stories as she writes it in 12 episodes.“ He also confessed, ”If I am offered a project, I have to read the script and think about how it will be resolved, look into all the original issues and talk about them, but honestly, I don‘t have time for that right now.“ He continued, ”Rather than avoiding the issue, I think it’s right not to do a project that makes many people uncomfortable.“

‘The Fiery Priest 2’, which returned five years after the huge hit Season 1, is a collaborative investigation drama about Kim Hae-il, a passionate priest with anger management issues who is a priest during the day and the boss of the Angels‘ faction for ‘Bellato’ at night, and goes to Busan to fight the biggest drug cartel in the country. It will be the follow-up to ‘The Judge from Hell’ and will be broadcast for the first time on SBS on the 8th (Friday) at 10 p.m.

Jung Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com
Photo|SBS