Actor Lee Jung-jae became popular not only in Korea but also around the world by appearing on Netflix’s hit drama “Squid Game.”
A foreign reporter, who did not know his status in Korea, treated Lee Jung-jae as a “lightning star,” and some overseas netizens pointed out that it was a “hollywood-centered” narrow mindset. On November 9th (local time), Lee Jung-jae and Hwang Dong-hyuk, director of Squid Game, had an interview with NBC’s “Extra TV.” The question was, “I’m sure you can’t leave the house anymore without people recognizing you, what has been the biggest change for you since the series came out?”
In fact, Lee Jung-jae was very famous even before appearing in the drama “Squid Game.” He is already a top star in Korea, so even before his success with “Squid Game,” he wouldn’t be able to walk freely on the street. In response to the interviewer, Lee Jung-jae said, “That’s right. It seems like the biggest change for me is that I get recognized by so many people”. He also emphasized, “Even in the U.S!”.
Lee Jung-jae then said, “When I go to restaurants or just walk on the street, I’m surprised that many people recognize me. When I look at them, they instantly talk about ‘Squid Game’. So those moments make me feel that this series is truly a huge success.” It seems like in order not to embarrass the interviewer, who had not learned any information about his career in advance, Lee Jung-jae immediately said, “I’m already famous in Korea”. In fact, Lee Jung-jae didn’t appear for the first time in ‘Squid Game’. He debuted in 1993 and has been developing his own filmography gradually.
Some foreign netizens are frustrated knowing the interviewer seems to have considered him as “a rising star”. Many people also criticized the interviewer, saying, “You really think people who don’t appear in Hollywood movies are not famous?”, “To be professional, you should study about their career before interviewing them”, “This Hollywood-centered narrow-minded thought is such a shame”, “This was a rude thing to say to an actor who has been acting for 30 years.”
