South Korea is a very class-oriented country, and even in the entertainment industry, there is this default standard of "not knowing, but everyone knows it".
If you compare the Korean entertainment industry to a pyramid, they are so ranked by the stars: "Chungmuro" movie actors are the most respected, the highest rank, and the lowest order, you may be surprised, is the idol of popular groups, even the singer, theatrical actor, the host rank, are higher than the idol.
Hearing this, you may be curious about what is a "Chungmuro actor"?
There is a saying in South Korea that says: "There are no actors under Chungmuro Road", which is undoubtedly the highest evaluation of an actor.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right">
丨 "Chungmuro Actor" is the top of the pyramid of the Korean entertainment circle</h1>
"Chungmuro" is a representative symbol of Korean cinema, between the 1960s and 1970s, this road gathered the Capital Theater, The Great Korean Theater and other performance venues, naturally, the surrounding also began to gather many film companies and film industry related people, and gradually became synonymous with Korean films, and was called South Korea's Hollywood.
So how can we climb to the top of the pyramid of this Korean entertainment circle and stand firm on Chungmuro Road? You may also have this doubt, many Korean drama stars we are familiar with have also made movies, why are they still unable to squeeze into the list of "Chungmuro Actors"?
First of all, the production process between Korean movies and Korean dramas is very different, from the script, casting, budget to production methods are completely different, so not everyone can be selected to act in movies, from a theater actor to a film actor.
To be a film actor to be called a "Chungmuro actor", you must be able to combine acting skills, box office appeal, and authoritative awards.
On the road of "Chungmuro", no one looks at your appearance and fans can buy your goods, only strength can determine everything.
Therefore, it is a supreme honor to be recognized by Koreans and called "Chungmuro actor", such as Song Kang-ho.
Song Kang-ho was recently selected by The New York Times as the sixth greatest actor of the 21st century, and he, along with Choi Min-sik and Xue Gengqiu, was called the "Chungmuro Troika." Song Kang-ho is the great pride of Koreans, because they always say: "As long as there is Song Kang-ho, it will not be a bad film." ”
In addition to the above three seniors, such as Jeon Do-yeon, Ha Jeong-woo, Jeon Ji-hyun, Hwang Sun-hyun, Lee Byung-hyun and others, they are all highly recognized "Chungmuro actors".
In terms of actresses, Jeon Do-yeon and Jeon Ji-hyun are representative figures, and some people say that Jeon Do-yeon is in South Korea, just like Maggie Cheung's presence in Chinese society.
And Jeon Ji-hyun, although she has acted in several high-grossing Korean dramas, she was positioned as a "movie actress" in South Korea because she starred in the movie "My Savage Girlfriend" and thus became a korean first-line film actress, in addition, in 2009, she entered Hollywood with "The Last Vampire".
In 2015, through the cooperation with Ha Jeong-woo,"Assassination" won the Big Bell Award, and the works starring her, several of which exceeded 10 million viewers, she is also recognized as the most box office appeal and the most expensive female star in South Korea.
丨Liu Yaren is one of the few post-85 Chungmuro actors who have been recognized</h1>
As for Liu Yaren, he is the only one of the few recognized powerful actors in the new generation after 85, because his career focus is mainly on movies, and the roles he participates in are changeable, and 2015 is called "Yaren Year".
Because one of the two works he starred in that year was "Veteran", which is currently ranked eighth in the Korean box office. In that year, he was also nominated for the best actor at the 52nd Dazhong Awards with the two films "Veteran Hand" and "Si Mourning", and at the same time, through the superb performance in "Si Mourning", at the age of 29, he became the youngest Blue Dragon Award film emperor in Korean history.
His starring role in "Burning" won the Palme d'Or, the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival, in 2018, and Liu Yaren was also selected by the New York Times as the most outstanding actor of the year that year.
丨Kong Liu, Xuan Bin and others are still on their way to the "Chungmuro Actor"</h1>
As for everyone's favorite male gods such as Kong Liu, Lee Dong Wook, Su Ji Seop, Hyun Bin and others, they are still trying to get on the road to "Chungmuro Actors", because in the hearts of Koreans, although they have performed several movies, they are not outstanding enough at the box office, plus there is no award blessing, and the qualifications are still not enough.
And in the Korean entertainment industry, even if idols appear in dramas, such as Blackpink's Jesso recently actively want to develop the actor route, in the hearts of Koreans, she will still only be regarded as an idol, not an actress.
It sounds very cruel, but South Korea has always divided the various roles of stars in the entertainment industry, so the people who are called "Chungmuro actors" are really big names among big names.