[News Culture] “Now that I am in my late 40s, it is painful to see fewer and fewer of the actors I once worked alongside. I sometimes ask myself how much longer I will be able to keep doing this.”
So Ji-sub, who delivered a commanding performance as the lead of SBS hit drama ‘Manager Kim,’ spoke candidly about the uncertainty that comes with growing older in the entertainment industry.
The actor recently sat down for an interview at a café in Seoul’s Samcheong-dong, where he discussed the drama’s unexpected success, his co-stars and the practical concerns he now faces after more than three decades in the business.
‘Manager Kim’ is a revenge-action drama about an ordinary father who becomes the most dangerous man in the world to rescue his only daughter.
The series repeatedly broke its own ratings record before ending with a peak viewership rating of 23 percent. It also ranked No. 1 on Netflix’s global non-English TV chart for three consecutive weeks, extending its popularity well beyond Korea.
Playing the title character, So moved seamlessly between hard-hitting action, a father’s desperate love for his daughter Min-ji, played by Seo Soo-min, and a richly textured bromance with Choi Dae-hoon and Yoon Kyung-ho.
His physically forceful performance gave the action its impact, while his restrained emotional work kept the character grounded and human.
The drama marked So’s return to terrestrial television four years after MBC’s ‘Doctor Lawyer’ in 2022. Even he did not anticipate the scale of the response.
“It felt as though I had been caught in an absurdly elaborate hidden-camera prank,” he said. “I kept wondering whether it was really possible for a drama to receive this much love in the current market. I was honestly stunned.”
So said his long relationship with SBS gave him a good feeling about the project, but his initial expectations were modest.
“At first, I genuinely thought it would be great if we could pass 10 percent,” he said. “When we crossed 15 percent, I wondered what was happening. When it went beyond 20 percent, I was truly shocked.”
He was quick to shift the credit to the ensemble.
“I do not think I deserve a particularly large share of the credit for the success of ‘Manager Kim.’ Everyone helped make it happen,” he said with a laugh. “Without Yoon Kyung-ho and Choi Dae-hoon, I think the ratings might have been only half of what they were.”
The chemistry among the three actors became one of the drama’s defining strengths.
“The three dads were constantly exchanging ideas,” So said. “Whenever we met, more than 90 percent of our conversation was about the scenes. Both of them are already excellent actors, but they still came to set incredibly well prepared. They were always full of ideas.”
He described both men as actors with instinctive gifts.
“Watching them made me think they were acting geniuses,” he said. “Yoon Kyung-ho brings extraordinary energy to scenes that rely on physical expression. Choi Dae-hoon is brilliant at turning what he has carefully calculated into something completely natural on screen.”
“My own role was to provide a heavier presence through my eyes and stillness,” he added. “The contrast among the three of us made the combination especially entertaining.”
The father-daughter relationship between the veteran actor and newcomer Seo Soo-min was another key element of the series.
Their easy, believable chemistry made them feel less like co-stars and more like an actual father and teenage daughter.
“It was not my first time playing a father,” So said. “I had already done so in the film ‘Be With You,’ and I had experience working with children, so that part did not feel unfamiliar.”
“What I was curious about was how audiences would respond to seeing me as the father of a high school student,” he continued. “I thought it might feel new to viewers.”
He said the slight awkwardness between the two actors early in production actually helped the story.
“In the beginning, when Min-ji was acting out like a rebellious teenager, the awkwardness between Soo-min and me worked in our favor,” he said. “As filming continued, she helped me a great deal.”
“Her real father is around my age, so over time she began treating me more naturally, almost as though I were her actual dad. She first called me ‘senior,’ then ‘father,’ and eventually ‘dad.’ I would not have felt awkward being called ‘mister,’ but hearing ‘dad’ was strangely unfamiliar. At the same time, I think I liked it.”
He also praised Seo’s composure despite ‘Manager Kim’ being her acting debut.
“She was remarkably good for someone doing this for the first time,” So said. “Even in difficult situations, she held onto the emotion and found a way to complete the scene.”
“When she could not quite reach the right emotional state, she would say, ‘Give me a moment,’ and hold onto the edge of my clothes. It was incredibly endearing,” he added with a smile.
So also spoke about Joo Sang-wook, whose character represented a starkly different form of fatherhood.
“Joo Sang-wook seemed to enjoy acting in scenes where he was being hit,” he said, laughing. “He said, ‘I think we need to go all out,’ and threw his entire body into it. He worked so hard that he ended up bruised from crashing and rolling across the ground.”
Action was one of the drama’s major attractions, and So’s explosive movement drew praise throughout the series.
Despite being in his late 40s, the actor said the physical demands were manageable because exercise remains part of his daily routine.
“I work out consistently, so stamina itself was not a major burden,” he said.
He stressed, however, that action only works when it is rooted in a character’s emotions.
“The character’s feelings need to be clear for the action to make sense,” he said. “I think we handled that well this time, which may be why the action felt more satisfying.”
Because the drama aired on a terrestrial network, the production also had to find the right level of intensity.
“We tried to keep the violence within broadcast standards,” he said. “At the same time, lowering the intensity too much would have weakened the dramatic payoff. We spent a lot of time finding the right balance.”
So also adjusted his physique to suit the role.
“Manager Kim is an older man and the father of a high school student,” he said. “Rather than aiming for a sharply tailored, model-like silhouette, I wanted him to look physically substantial without appearing out of shape. I lost a little more weight to achieve that.”
He then joked, “As I get older, it is becoming harder to create the post-paycheck version of myself than it used to be.”
Even after nearly 30 years in the public eye, So remains closely associated with the nickname “So Ganji,” a phrase that has come to represent his distinctive style and cool presence.
“I think the nickname gave me a kind of pressure without my realizing it,” he said. “There were times when I left the house, then turned around and went back because I did not think I looked right. I made a conscious effort to appear different from everyone else.”
“Still, I am deeply grateful,” he added. “‘So Ganji’ is a nickname that belongs only to me.”
He then quipped, “I would like to still be So Ganji 20 years from now. There is your headline. Is that not good?”
The remark sent the room into laughter.
So is also known for taking care of the crews behind his projects.
He recently made headlines after giving every member of the ‘Manager Kim’ production team a small gold bar. Around 300 staff members reportedly received a one-gram bar, with the total cost estimated at roughly 100 million won at the time of purchase.
“After doing this work for so long, I have learned that a project does not succeed simply because I perform well,” he said. “It was my way of expressing gratitude to everyone who worked so hard alongside me.”
“Every crew member works incredibly hard within their own area of responsibility,” he continued. “Watching them on set sometimes made me emotional, and I also felt proud. The gift was meant to carry that feeling.”
So said he has long made a habit of giving presents to production teams.
“I gave gold to the crew of Netflix’s ‘Mercy for None,’ and that received the best reaction,” he said with a laugh. “That is why I chose gold again this time.”
Asked whether gold would remain his gift of choice, he joked, “I hope the price of gold does not rise too much.”
He added that he would continue to look for meaningful ways to thank those who work with him.
So is now in his 31st year as an actor and approaching 50. Although he continues to command leading roles, he did not hide his concerns about the shrinking range of opportunities available to performers his age.
“There are simply not that many projects being offered to actors in our age group anymore,” he said.
He recognizes that talented younger actors will continue to emerge and that age inevitably changes the kinds of roles available to him.
“That is why every project feels precious,” he said. “I hope all the younger actors do well, and I also hope I can continue seeing more actors from my own generation on screen.”
So said he has often returned to his 2004 drama ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’ during moments when acting felt difficult.
“Whenever I felt blocked as an actor, I would watch ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’ again,” he said. “Back then, I acted like a racehorse running forward without thinking about anything else.”
“Now there are so many things I have to consider,” he continued. “Sometimes that makes it harder to immerse myself with the same purity. Whenever that happens, I go back to that drama.”
He has no desire to hide the passage of time.
“Aging is natural, and I like looking my age,” he said. “I have now played the father of a high school student. Growing older has expanded the range of roles I can take on. I feel most comfortable when I am playing characters that suit my age.”
Still, he admitted that the future remains difficult to picture.
“It is painful when I realize how difficult it has become to see actors who started around the same time as I did,” he said. “I sometimes ask myself, ‘How long will I be able to keep doing this?’”
“Recently, I also wondered what kind of acting I might be doing when I reach the age of veteran actors Shin Goo or Park Geun-hyung,” he added. “I still cannot imagine it.”
When told that he was already being discussed as a likely contender for a year-end acting award, So played down the possibility.
“I do not have a strong desire for a major individual award,” he said. “At this point, I would be satisfied if the success of this drama simply made it easier for me to choose my next project.”
“I sincerely hope ‘Manager Kim’ itself wins an award rather than me,” he added. “But I would like to win Best Couple.”
Talk of a second season has already begun, but So said no concrete discussions have taken place.
“Nothing specific has been decided,” he said. “The first season had a very strong central premise: a father loses his daughter and has to find her. Creating an equally powerful foundation for a second season would not be easy.”
Then, with a smile, he added, “Min-ji cannot be kidnapped again.”
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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