Translator: Dreamscribe
Kang Woojin had frequently traveled abroad. Not only to Japan and LA but also to France for the Cannes Film Festival. Each time, there was always a clear subject that made headlines. Japan for ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’, filming for ‘Our Dining Table’, working on a new album with Miley Cara, the Cannes Film Festival, and so on.
Therefore, when Kang Woojin traveled overseas, the domestic press and public always had clear keywords to discuss.
But this time was different.
『Kang Woojin secretly left for LA? Is the much-talked-about Hollywood debut finally happening?』
There was no announcement from bw Entertainment, nor did Kang Woojin share any news on SNS. Without any kind of announcement, he simply boarded a plane to LA. This news was only revealed because of people at the airport. They shared posts about Woojin suddenly appearing at the airport on SNS and online communities, igniting the issue.
Perhaps because of this?
『Kang Woojin suddenly leaves for LA! Is he meeting with Hollywood film companies?』
The LA trip, conducted in total secrecy, burned even hotter in Korea. Because it was done in complete secrecy with no prior hints or announcements, it was perfect fuel for all kinds of rumors and speculations.
『The ‘Cannes Man’, Kang Woojin, finally expanding into Hollywood? The reason for his sudden departure to LA?』
The media also thought they had a rough idea of Kang Woojin’s year-end schedule. He would be participating in film festivals and events following the shooting of ‘Beneficial Evil’. Of course, that schedule wasn’t incorrect. Those were actual commitments Woojin had to fulfill.
But Woojin broke everyone’s expectations and went to LA.
The timing of it also added to the magnitude of this event.
This was when ‘Kang Woojin’s Hollywood debut’ was already a topic of gossip in the entertainment industry and among the public.
– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Seeing Kang Woojin secretly go to LA, it really seems like a legit Hollywood debut???
– Did he get a offer from some Hollywood project?
– Nah, he’s going to see Miley Cara.
– Ah… Cara? That could be trueㅋㅋㅋ Maybe he’s attending some Billboard-hosted party because her new album was a massive hit?
– 100% offers from Hollywood studios. There’s so much gossip about it.
– But isn’t the timing a bit… weird? He’s leaving right at the end of the yearㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Well, at Kang Woojin’s level, it’s totally possible for him to get minor or supporting roles in Hollywood.
– ↑ Supporting roles might be a bit of a stretchㅋㅋㅋ He doesn’t have any Hollywood experience.
– Anyway, people are getting way ahead of themselvesㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What if he just went for ‘Leech’-related stuffㅋㅋㅋ
– It would be hilarious if Kang Woojin just says he went there to rest for a bit
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Whatever the case, Kang Woojin’s secret LA trip was fuel for domestic media and public opinion.
– Damn, even a minor role in Hollywood would be insanely impressive, okay?
It was an explosive piece of gossip.
At this moment.
Kang Woojin was, of course, on the plane.
To be precise, on the private jet.
Since it was the first time this private jet’s destination was LA, Woojin’s team was buzzing with excitement.
“This is amazing!”
“This is crazy, we absolutely have to take photos!”
“Of course! When else would we get to experience something like this!”
They were busy snapping photos with their phones. From the private jet’s interior to the views outside the windows. Meanwhile, Kang Woojin, with his characteristic poker face, remained calm. In that state, he was having a conversation with Choi Sung-gun sitting on his right. Or rather, Choi Sung-gun was briefing him.
“The films, ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ and ‘Leech’.”
Kang Woojin was listening to the explanation about the current situation, but he was also subtly monitoring it himself. With December underway, the two films had already started losing momentum. However, this was not at all unusual. No matter how much power a film shows, there are realistic limitations, and new movies are released every week.
Choi Sung-gun first showed the performance of ‘Leech’ on his phone.
[All-time Box Office in South Korea]
[All-time Movie Rankings (Combined)]
-1. Leech / Total Audience: 22,311,417
22 million. While it was hard to consider this the final figure, even when estimating Leech’s concluding performance, the timing wasn’t an issue. But still, it was 22 million. An unprecedented audience count in Korean history. Internally, Kang Woojin let out quite an impressed sigh.
‘Wow– 22 million. It still feels surreal, but this is insane.’
Choi Sung-gun, unaware of Woojin’s reaction, pulled back the phone. This time, he showed the performance of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’. The final results for ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ had already been extensively covered by the Japanese media.
『’The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ surpasses 23 million! Despite countless controversies, it leaves behind a legendary record.』
‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ had an audience count of 23 million. Woojin’s indifferent face was merely part of his concept, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to break into a celebratory dance right there. After all, Kang Woojin had carved out a monstrous milestone in both Korean and Japanese film industries simultaneously. And this was from Woojin, who, just two years ago, knew absolutely nothing about real acting. With this, Woojin ascended to the very top of the top ranks in Korea and Japan.
However, Choi Sung-gun was already thinking ahead.
“And about the Hollywood side.”
He swiftly changed the subject. It was a topic Kang Woojin had also been waiting for.
“You know ‘Columbia Studios’, right? Director Ahn has already joined their team. Anyway, the preliminary meeting will take place within two days of arriving in LA. The exact time is still being coordinated. After that, they’re hoping to hold auditions aka a screen test within January. It seems a bit fast but… what do you think?”
From Kang Woojin’s perspective, even right now would have been fine.
“I’m fine with it.”
“Yeah, that’s the Kang Woojin I know. We’ll get the details once we’re at ‘Columbia Studios’, and since you’ve already had experience with ‘Last Kill 3’, you probably know this, but their auditions are a bit different from those in Korea, so they’re hard to predict. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with the script, of course… Well, that’s about the audition. For the preliminary meeting, let’s just go with a light heart.”
In Hollywood, auditions or screen tests took place only after passing the preliminary verification process. Sometimes, actors got cast after just delivering a single line of dialogue. On the flip side, even if they poured their heart and soul into it, they could still be rejected with ease.
It was truly an unknown.
“And ‘World Disney Pictures’ already provided immediate feedback. They haven’t yet mentioned anything about auditions or screen tests. Unlike ‘Columbia Studios’, Disney hasn’t officially announced the production of Beast and the Beauty’s live-action adaptation. But they want the preliminary meeting to happen as soon as possible.”
Kang Woojin replied nonchalantly.
“So after meeting ‘Columbia Studios’, are we meeting with ‘World Disney Pictures’ as well?”
“We need to force that to happen, somehow. It’s not like the locations are close to each other, so we need to clear as much as we can during this one trip to LA.”
“That makes sense.”
“Hmm, since they’re both preliminary meetings, they shouldn’t take up too much time.”
Soon, Choi Sung-gun, who had been jotting something in his diary, let out a small laugh and shook his head as if overwhelmed. It was related to Kang Woojin’s schedule for December.
“Phew– December is just… there’s no breathing room. After meeting with the film companies in LA, we’re heading straight back to Korea for various film festivals and events. You’ll be fine, but I’ll need to prepare myself.”
A schedule beyond hell. Even with the use of void space, it wouldn’t be easy, but Kang Woojin had already decided to just think of himself as dead. Still, Woojin wasn’t uncomfortable.
‘The faster we clear things out, the quicker the results will come. Heh.’
On the contrary, his fighting spirit was quite high. Soon, Woojin remembered something he had briefly forgotten.
‘Ah– come to think of it, this is my first time visiting the LA house.’
Meanwhile.
Although Kang Woojin had departed, the ‘Beneficial Evil’ team dove into filming without much issues. Recently, ‘Beneficial Evil’ was moving at a crazy pace. The reason was simple.
“Okay! Standby!!”
『[IssueTalk] Kang Woojin gains international recognition through Miley Cara in ‘Beneficial Evil’… Crank-up imminent!』
Part 1 of filming had reached its final stages. With rumors already circulating among the production crew and actors, it was only natural that the media caught wind of it. As a result, PD Song Man-woo’s dark circles under his eyes were getting darker and darker while reviewing scripts in front of the monitor.
It had been so long since he’d slept properly that even he couldn’t remember.
PD Song Man-woo was simultaneously wrapping up the filming schedule for approximately six episodes of ‘Beneficial Evil’ while editing for post-production during leftover time and pulling all-nighters. Naturally, this meant that both the staff and actors were also dedicating a great deal of time to filming.
The reason Kang Woojin had stepped away at this point was simple.
They had already focused on filming all of his scenes in advance.
Strictly speaking, for ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 1, Woojin’s filming portion was now complete, except for minor scenes and post-recording. Meanwhile, the domestic media was having a party with the emerging issues.
『Hollywood debuting Director Ahn Ga-bok arrives in LA to join ‘Columbia Studios’… What kind of film will he showcase?』
The hype surrounding Director Ahn Ga-bok, who settled in Hollywood after the ‘Busan International Film Festival’, was still blazing, and the public’s excitement was growing with each passing day. Even when Director Ahn had made his bombshell announcement, it had caused chaos, but now that he had actually left for Hollywood, it was madness.
– He may be a veteran, but Director Ahn has style. He’s going to absolutely crush it in Hollywood.
– This feels monumental… The first-ever Korean director to enter Hollywood…
– Insaneㅋㅋㅋ the film studio is Columbia??!! A Korean director making a Hollywood blockbuster!! My heart is full of pride!!
– Since Director Ahn is making a Hollywood film, he could cast Korean actors tooㅋㅋㅋ he’ll probably take Kang Woojinㅋㅋㅋ
– Seriously, I’m overflowing with national prideㅜㅜㅜㅠㅠ Director Ahn!! Conquer Hollywood for us!!
– Hollywood superstars receiving direction from Director Ahn Ga-bok??! That already sounds legendaryㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’d be great if Korean actors could join too… but that’s probably just a dream…
Moreover, the ‘Beneficial Evil’ team continued their relentless promotion and marketing efforts, leveraging the Miley Cara angle.
『Netflix releases three photos from the Bangkok shoot featuring Miley Cara』
However, this issue wasn’t just snowballing in Korea. As Miley Cara’s new album activities approached their end, she would occasionally mention ‘Beneficial Evil’ on SNS, and Kang Woojin also frequently uploaded photos from the ‘Beneficial Evil’ filming set to his SNS, lending further support.
The more they did this, the more international fans clamored for the launch of ‘Beneficial Evil’.
『Even before its launch, ‘Beneficial Evil’ spreads across global SNS platforms, could this really turn into something huge?』
With the year-end just around the corner, the anticipation among the public in Korea and Japan continued to grow. With so many ongoing issues exploding all at once, it felt like a giant firework display of headlines bursting right before everyone’s eyes.
It was set to be an exceptionally dazzling December.
For Kang Woojin, currently on the plane, this was his second year-end in this jungle-like entertainment industry. When December ended, he would already be entering his third year.
『[Feature]’Now entering third year’, Kang Woojin, who made his mark worldwide in his 2nd year, what steps will he take next year?』
Anyway, whether in Korea or Japan, the year-end entertainment industry is no different from a train to hell.
No, it’s probably the same in any industry.
And so, more than ten hours passed.
When Woojin arrived at LA International Airport, it was early morning. It was just past 7 a.m. when he appeared in the massive arrivals hall of LA Airport, filled with people of many different ethnicities. Despite the early hour, there was already a crowd. However, unlike in Korea or Japan, his appearance didn’t cause any commotion.
Naturally, there were some foreigners glancing at Kang Woojin and his team as they entered the arrivals hall.
After all, Woojin’s team stood out to anyone who looked.
But there weren’t any foreigners going beyond those curious glances, and Woojin wasn’t particularly disappointed.
‘It’s the same as always.’
He had already adapted to this after a few experiences. America, Hollywood, was vast. Here, Kang Woojin was no different from an unknown rookie. At that moment, Choi Sung-gun came up beside him and patted him on the shoulder a couple of times.
“It’s a bit disappointing. I had slight expectations. Well, it’s quiet for now, but starting next year, let’s making big wave so they come running to you.”
Woojin, maintaining his concept, responded quietly.
“I’m comfortable with how it is now.”
“Haha, is that so?”
Not long after Kang Woojin arrived at the arrivals hall, about ten additional people joined them. They were bw Entertainment’s overseas branch staff, who had been waiting in LA. A few well-built security guards were also added. With the group now quite sizable, Woojin began moving.
“Huh? That guy-”
There were small murmurs.
“Isn’t he that actor? The one from Cara’s music video.”
“Really? I think you’re right!”
Among the crowd at the arrivals hall, some foreigners began pointing at Kang Woojin.
“I saw that guy in an article!”
“An article? Is he famous?”
The murmurs gradually spread.
“Oh- he’s the actor from Cara’s music video!”
“Hm? Really? Where??”
“Over there, the guy in the cap with that group!”
Dozens of foreigners, all at once, began pulling out their phones and started taking pictures of Kang Woojin.
“What’s going on??”
“I don’t know, but everyone’s taking pictures of that guy?”
“Must be someone famous!”
This was the first time something like this had happened to him in LA.