SEOUL, South Korea — When actor Amy Baek was cast in a South Korean commercial last year, she thought she’d found a promising job.
But after filming finished, she was shocked to learn that both the director and the advertiser had cut her scenes – not because of her performance, but because her facial features did not conform to South Korean beauty standards.
“The reason was that I don’t have double eyelids,” said Beck, 26.
“After receiving that feedback, I started to reconsider what kind of presence Korea wanted,” she said, adding, “I wondered how I could survive as an actor in South Korea.”
That experience pushed him toward a different market. The global success of “Parasite,” “Minari” and “Squid Game” has opened doors for South Korean actors in Hollywood — and given rise to a cottage industry of consultants helping American casting actors.
“The pinnacle of acting praise in Hollywood is a dream,” said Julia Kim, a Korean American casting director who has worked on “Minari,” Amazon Prime’s “Butterfly” and “Kpop Demon Hunters.”
While established stars like Park Hae-soo and Lee Byung-hun have both South Korean and American representation, most aspiring Korean actors lack such connections. Talent agencies like Los Angeles-based Upstage Entertainment are trying to bridge that gap.
Alison Dumbell, co-founder of Upstage with experience in Bollywood and Los Angeles, said she has seen greater demand from Western producers for “specifically Korean characters” than for generic “East Asian” characters. She attributes this change partly to the global popularity of South Korean entertainment.
Still, stereotypes persist. “What bothers me are the idiot technical programmers,” Dumbell said. “Sometimes I won’t even present my actor for it because I know they’re so subtle as actors.”
For most South Korean actors without connections or knowledge, Hollywood is still uncharted territory.
Kim, who usually casts high-profile stars and works with local casting directors to co-produce, also finds actors through social media. “I usually do an open call on my Instagram,” she said.
But for actors without the support of a big agency, it’s hard to find the right contacts. The American and Korean industries operate differently, and information on American casting rarely reaches outside established networks.
Kim said South Korean talents are facing a steep learning curve. “I would get questions – should I change my Korean name to a Western name? Do I pay to get an agent? Can I look at the camera while auditioning?” He said. Even name consistency is an issue: Kim recalled one K-pop artist turned actor whose name came up five different ways online.
Technical standards also differ. Actor Misun Eum said that American audition tapes require a clean white background, whereas “in Korea, it doesn’t matter.”
Headshots also differ: South Korean profiles feature model-like images, while American headshots resemble character types.
“In Korea, you shoot profile photos like a fashion magazine model,” said veteran actor Shin Joo-hwan, who is familiar with Julian Shin. He played a masked soldier in the second and third seasons of “Squid Game” and starred in “Taxi Driver” season 3.
Shin found Upstage by chance – his wife, a producer, discovered him on LinkedIn.
Her Hollywood dream was partly inspired by her former agency colleagues – Han Yeri in “Minari” and Jang Ho-yeon in “Squid Game.”
Shin said, “Even though I wasn’t the main character – I was just a ‘soldier’ – people who saw even that brief appearance started leaving comments on my Instagram.” “The impact of that show was really unique.”
Shin took a deep approach to English, transcribing more than 30,000 English words and expressions from the Internet, then using AI to check whether any phrases were outdated. “Idioms are really funny,” he said. “‘Break a leg’ or ‘Hold your horses’ – learning these makes you feel closer to being a native.”
The question of pronunciation is a big one.
“It’s absolutely fine, even better to have an accent because the accent is part of who you are,” said Devon Overman, another co-founder of Upstage who coaches English line delivery.
She focuses on intonation. He said, “When native Korean speakers are trying to read English lines, it sounds like they’re reading. That’s the hardest thing to break.”
But the consultants are not pressuring the actors to erase their identities. Shin remembered that Dumble advised him not to sound too “American-ish”. “They said people would like my real accent,” he said.
For Shin, the pivot came as opportunities in South Korea shrunk.
“Starting three years ago, I realized this industry was getting tougher,” he said. “Since the Korean market was struggling, I thought I should expand into international markets.”
Age discrimination is also taking some actors abroad. “30 is not considered young,” Yum, 29, said in South Korea.
“There are certain limitations when it comes to finding an agency or auditioning for a role,” he said.
Shin, 40, was given the opportunity to audition for the role of a 20-year-old for an international production. “In Korean audition tapes, you usually state your age,” he said. “In America they don’t do that.”
Beck, who landed a small role in Netflix’s teen romantic comedy “XO, Kitty,” now sees her features as an asset abroad.
She said that after feedback from American casting directors she learned that “I could do action roles and be free of the ‘cute’ image.”
She also found the experience of working with an international team eye-opening and appreciated aspects of the American work culture. He said, “In Korea, overtime was routine. In the American market, you go in and out like an office worker.” “It was more efficient.”
He said that his current journey in Hollywood has taught him to believe in himself.
“At first, everyone said it would be impossible ‘Only famous Korean actors can do it,'” she recalls. “But after seeing me fly overseas and do everything with my own hands…I can definitely say from experience that Hollywood is willing to open its doors to anyone.”
Shin, who hopes to play villains in American productions, sees a change.
Shin said, “There was a time when it felt like you had to roll your R’s and act like an American… but now it feels like you can be yourself – if you’re Korean, be Korean.” “Stereotypes are slowly breaking down.”
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