A survey revealed the worst Korean film actors of 2024.
Korean media outlet Sports Kyunghyang is back with its 8th Raspberry Film Festival, the Korean version of the Golden Raspberry Awards or Razzies in the US, which names the worst films and actors.
Under the 8th Raspberry Film Festival, Sports Kyunghyang held a survey among 51 film journalists from major South Korean media outlets covering Korean commercial films released from December 2023 to Nov. 30 this year.
(From left) Gang Dong-won, Ju Ji-hoon, Song Joong-ki and Song Seung-heon (Photos: Instagram, KOFIC)
Each participant cast three votes in each category and selected the worst films, worst acting and worst manners covering actors, directors, producers and other filmmakers.
Last year, under the 7th Raspberry Film Festival, Korean actress Han Hyo-joo took first place for worst acting for the film “Believer 2.”
Here are the results of the 8th Raspberry Film Festival in South Korea:
Worst Acting category
1st place - Gang Dong-won for the film “The Plot” (11 votes)
Korean actor Gang Dong-won was voted the No. 1 film actor with the worst acting in South Korea in 2024 for the film “The Plot.”
“The Plot” was released in South Korea in May 2024 and sold 525,369 tickets and grossed $3,240,570, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), which tracks box office receipts.
Gang Dong-won took the top spot for worst acting, receiving 11 votes out of the 51 voters.
Korean actor Gang Dong-won and the poster for the film "The Plot" (KOFIC)
According to Sports Kyunghyang, the survey stated that Gang Dong-won failed to show his acting skills in the movie. Those who voted for him as the worst actor commented, “Consistent acting that lacks emotional explosion or outpouring,” “Undeveloped acting is most responsible for the failure of this movie,” “Sometimes he seems to be doing well, but then seems awkward again. An actor in his 21st year who still confuses the audience”, “He proved with his acting that box office failure is not simply a problem with the quality of the work”, and “I don’t know what competitiveness he has as an actor because he’s only getting older without building up his substance.”
2nd place - None (10 votes)
There was no second place winner for worst acting. Ten voters chose “none” with the opinion that due to the difficult situation of the film industry due to the effects of the pandemic, there were no notable works, and it was hard to find “acting holes” that were rarely noticeable, Sports Sports Kyunghyang reported. There were also messages of support such as "This year has been so hard, I applaud films for being released."
3rd place - Actor Ju Ji-hoon for the film “Project Silence” (8 votes)
Third place with eight votes went to actor Ju Ji-hoon for the film “Project Silence,” which was released in South Korea in July this year after being screened at 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
In the movie, Ju Ji-hoon played the role of tow truck driver Joe Park.
Actor Ju Ji-hoon and the poster for the movie "Project Silence" (Instagram, Capelight Pictures)
Those who chose him as the worst actor gave reasons such as, “Ju Ji-hoon’s acting was so bad that I wanted to escape the theater,” “How many years of acting experience have you had? Do you over-act to create such a situation where there are no breathing holes in the work?” “He’s so annoying that I’d wonder ‘why is he like that?’ every time he appears,” the report stated.
4th place - Actor Song Joong-ki for “My Name Is Loh Kiwan” and actor Song Seung-heon for “Hidden Face” (7 votes)
Garnering seven votes each for fourth place in the worst acting category were actors Song Joong-ki and Song Seung-heon.
Song Joong-ki was voted for the film “My Name Is Loh Kiwan” wherein he played North Korean defector Kiwan who travels to Belgium.
People who chose Song Joong-ki for worst acting said, “It was challenging because of the role, but it wasn’t memorable. The impact of his North Korean dialect acting wasn’t that great,” “It’s a romance between North Korean defectors, so he couldn’t capture any of it,” and “Too much tragic acting,” according to the report by Sports Kyunghyang.
Actor Song Joong-ki and the poster for “My Name Is Loh Kiwan” (Instagram)
Actor Song Seung-heon and the poster for “Hidden Face” (KOFIC)
Song Seung-heon was also chosen for worst acting for his role in “Hidden Face.”
One of the reasons cited for his selection was “Between the fiery performances of Jo Yeo-jeong and Park Ji-hyun, this 'fly in the ointment' breaks the mold of 'Hidden Face.’ The AI may be sophisticated, but Song Seung-heon's expressiveness, which is like a broken robot making a tick, breaks the emotional line that Jo Yeo-jeong and Park Ji-hyun have worked hard to build up, disrupting the immersion.”