Jeon Moo-song

Jeon Moo-song (born September 28, 1941) is a South Korean actor. Jeon began his career on stage in the play 'Chunhyangjeon' in 1964 and has since been active in Korean theatre, film and television. In 1977, he performed as the title character in Crown Prince Hamyeol (an adaptation of Hamlet) at La MaMa in New York City, which marked the first time a Korean theatre troupe had traveled outside Korea. Jeon also won two trophies from the Grand Bell Awards for his portrayal of an eccentric monk in Im Kwon-taek's 1981 film Mandala.

Early life and education 
Jeon was born on September 28, 1941, in Nae-dong, Dong Incheon-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon as the eldest of three sons and four daughters who grew up in a poor fisherman family. His father is from Haeju, Hwanghae Province, Japanese-occupied Korea, and his mother is from Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do. Jeon frequently visited his mother's family in Seosan, during his childhood vacations. His maternal uncle, a farmer, had a knack for storytelling and would captivate Jeon with his one-man performances, leaving a lasting impression on him. Despite difficult circumstances, with the full support of his uncle and aunt, he was the only one of his siblings who attended kindergarten.

When he was in the second year of elementary school, his family fled when the Korean War broke out, and they sent him to a nearby school despite the hard life of the evacuation. His family returned to Incheon at the end of the war. Around this time, Jeon Moo-song started playing baseball at the recommendation of a friend who had returned from Japan. He hoped to become a baseball player.

In the 1950s, Jeon attended Incheon Middle School, a prestigious school at the time. His father was so pleased with his admission that he threw a drinking party for the locals. He was planning to continue his baseball team activities in middle school. However, Incheon Middle School had no baseball team. He led the creation of a baseball club, but the dream was abandoned when the baseball club was disbanded against the principal's objection that the students wanted to focus on their studies.

Afterwards, Jeon Moo-song pondered over his career path. Her biggest concern was 'Is it right to go to college in a difficult family situation?' as he had six younger siblings. Fortunately, his principal, Gil Young-hee, encouraged him to pursue a career in industry. This led Jeon to enroll in Incheon Technical High School (now Incheon Mechanical Engineering High School), majoring in mechanical engineering. His decision did not sit well with his father, who scolded him for three days straight.

Prior to enrolling in Technical High School, he landed a job at Aegwan Theater thanks to a friend who designed the signboard there. As beginner, He was tasked with whitewashing the signboard. He eventually quit after starting high school. However, he couldn't resist sneaking away to the Sinpo-dong theater district with his school bag, donning plain clothes. It was at Aegwan Theater where he watched movies such as "Break Through the Wall" and "Long Live Freedom", as well as various performances by the likes of Yeoseong Gukgeuk Company, Lim Chun-Aeng Gukgeuk, and "Princess Nangrang and Prince Hodong". He distinctly recalls watching "Blue Bird". It was there that he found his passion for acting after being captivated by performances of "Stagecoach" and "Samson and Delilah".

During his time at high school, Jeon also played clarinet in the high school band.

After graduating, he applied for the Department of Theater and Film at Hanyang University and was accepted. However, the high cost of tuition proved to be a major obstacle, and Jeon became devastated. He ingested what he believed to be rat poison, but it turned out to be something else entirely. When he woke up the next morning, feeling surprisingly better, he wondered why he had even considered taking his own life.

He was able to receive practical hands-on training at the Incheon Mechanical Workshop under the Incheon Railroad Administration. Jeon, who had a good job evaluation, was hired as an apprentice after training. His first job was to cut bolts and nuts to specifications. He repeated the work of placing a lump of metal on a machine that was constantly spinning with a loud noise. Beneath the machine, heaps of iron powder were rusting red. As he gazed at it, he suddenly felt that the iron powder looked like his own image.“I stare at the iron powder piled up on the floor, and it seems like I am rusting. The falling iron powder felt like pieces of my body. All over my head, 'What am I doing here? Was this really what I wanted to do?' It was difficult to endure the situation, and in the end, I immediately left the company saying, 'I have to do what I want to do.'”One day, he was introduced to the head of the Seoul Shinmun Incheon branch, who offered him a job as a collection employee. The job involved managing the distribution of newspapers from Seoul to local delivery students, a task that proved to be quite challenging. He spent his days going door-to-door trying to convince people to subscribe to the newspaper.

Due to the nature of his work, he had a lot of free time, which he spent watching movies. Initially, it was intended to kill time, but after watching movies of various genres, a longing to become a 'movie actor' welled up within him. Jeon looked through magazines at a bookstore to find out about the scouting process for actors and sat for hours at a coffee shop in Chungmuro, where many movie stars come and go. Around this time, his friends who were studying acting and directing at Seorabeol Arts College (predecessor of Chung-Ang University College of Arts) said, “You are so handsome. Why don’t you try acting?” Interestingly, this suggestion came after he had spent over a year working at the newspaper. He was flattered by the compliments, so they gathered at a bakery and planned a play. He was ready to go home when the bakery owner stopped him and demanded payment. While he was being detained, his friends took off. He didn't have any cash so he had to give the bakery owner the watch he had received as a gift for his high school graduation.

Jeon went to the branch manager of the newspaper while pondering the cost of retrieving his watch. After confessing his situation and requesting an advance payment, the branch manager surprised him by asking, “Do you want to see a play?” The manager then handed him two tickets for the play “Hamlet (Hamlet, Seoul Drama Center opening performance, 1962)” along with an advance payment. It turned out that the branch manager's daughter worked as a receptionist at the Namsan Drama Center.

Despite the long journey from Incheon to the theater, Jeon went to see the play. The performance directed by Yoo Chi-jin was absolutely captivating, and he was spellbound by the acting of the cast, which included Kim Dong-won as Hamlet, Jang Min-ho as the king, and Hwang Jeong-soon as the queen. The memory of that performance remains vivid in his mind. Since there was one ticket left for the next day, he made another long journey to see the play once more. It was then that he noticed an announcement of student recruitment for the theater academy affiliated with the drama center on the back page of the theater program. He knew that he had found his true calling in life.

For his entrance audition at the Drama Center, he was tasked with expressing the scene of breaking a jar of honey from a shelf. Fortunately, he passed the practical test and was admitted to the Namsan Drama Center Actor Academy, which was founded by Dongrang  (1905-1974) and is now known as the Department of Theater and Film of Seoul Institute of the Arts. Jeon was a part of the academy's first class in 1962, along with classmates such as Shin Goo, Lee Ho-jae, Min Ji-hwan, Kim Ki-soo, Ban Hyo-jeong (who did not graduate), and playwright Yoon Dae-seong.

In 2022 Jeon took part in documentary I Love What I See is documentary film about the story of Aegwan Theater, Korea's first theater founded by Koreans in 1895.

Career 
Dongrang  recognized Jeon's talent and gave him the opportunity to play the role of Lee Mong-ryeong in the 1963 graduate performance of "Chunhyangjeon". The following year, Jeon played the lead character in "Prince of Horses", a play that commemorated the founding of the Drama Center theater company.

After completing his studies in 1964, Jeon joined the Dong-rang Repertory Theater. In 1970, he returned to the company after completing three years of military service. However, he struggled with the role of Stanley in Harold Pinter's "Birthday Party", which was completely different from the historical or realism dramas he was used to perform. He was ultimately replaced by Shin Goo, and this decision left him feeling angry and frustrated. He ended up drinking heavily and protested against the director Yoo Deok-hyung, causing a commotion that shook the entire troupe. The day after the incident, Jeon received a call from Dongrang. At the time, Jeon feared that he would be kicked out of the theater company. However, to his surprise, Dongrang offered him a cigarette. Though Jeon declined several times, Dongrang insisted, saying "You drink well and smoke well. Smoke it!" and even lit it for him.

During their conversation, Dongrang told Jeon this: "You have one great weapon that other actors do not have, and that is compassion. When you stand on stage, you make the audience feel compassion,' he said. 'I was thinking of you like that, but would it be okay if you acted like that? Be human first. That way, you will become a great actor." This conversation had a profound impact on Jeon, and he began to improve his attitude from that day forward.

Jeon was stayed at the trope for five more years. In 1975, Jeon with his fellow actor Lee Ho-jae and playwright Oh Taeseok joined National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK). He played various characters as an actor of the National Theater Company.

In 1977, Jeon joined The Dongnang Repertory World Tour. The troupe performed as part of the World Theater Month commemorative event, sponsored by the USA headquarters of the International Association of Dramatic Arts, in New York, US from March 15. Following this event, the troupe toured various cities in the US, including Dallas, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Hawaii, as well as Lane in France, Paris, and the Netherlands, to showcase their level of theater to audiences worldwide.

The repertoire of the world tour included "Tae" and "Prince Ha Myeol", an adaptation by Ahn Min-soo from Shakespeare's Hamlet. "Tae", which was announced in the spring and fall of 1974 and the fall of 1975, portrays the history of the early Yi Dynasty surrounding the usurpation of the throne and the tragedy of Saksin. Before their departure, the troupe presented one of their tour works, "Tae", written by Tae-seok Oh and directed by Ahn Min-soo, from February 22 to 24 at the annex of the Seoul Civic Center. This event was sponsored by JoongAng Ilbo and Dongyang Broadcasting.

In 1981, Jeon became widely known to the general public by playing the role of a monk with Ahn Seong-ki in director Im Kwon-taek's film 'Mandala'. “When I filmed with director Lim, he showed respect to the extras and supporting actors. I felt a sense of respect as a human being. If Yoo Chi-jin, Hae-rang Lee, and Young-woong Lim paved the way for me in theater, director Lim is like that in film.”

He became popular with Sanwoolim's 'Waiting for Godot'.

After gaining popularity with 'Mandala', offers to appear on the night stage followed. They said that they would pay a lot of money if they appeared in monk clothes and sang. The arrangers said that locusts are in season, so grab your share when they are popular. Then he replied: “I am not a locust, I am Jeon Mu-song.” Since then, he has appeared frequently on TV screens, especially through 'TV Literature' and showed off his outstanding acting skills. Even so, he always kept the theater stage.

In 1983, Jeon founded his own theater company, Jihyeon, and a year later, in 1984, he became a member of the theater company Sanwoolim. In 1992, he founded the Theater Development Research Association and became its representative. Two years later, in 1994, he were invited to participate in the World Youth Theater Festival in Okinawa, Japan.

In 1995, Jeon was part of the Housekeeping Coordinator. It is clear from their varied experiences that they have had a long and successful career in theater, participating in different productions and theater companies, touring internationally, and even founding their own theater company and research association.

Jeon is also the subject of an internet meme titled "High Expectations Asian Father" wherein his image, taken from his cameo in the film Epitaph, is paired with an exaggerated quote usually associated with the stereotypical image of an Asian parent trying to set a high standard for their children.

Since 2006, he has been active as an artistic director of the Gyeonggi Provincial Theater Company. In this literary concert, he narrates Kim Dong-in's potato, Hyun Jin-geon's lucky day, and Love Letter with Superintendent B.

The play 'Life Delivery', which commemorates the 58th anniversary of actor Jeon Moo-song (79)'s debut and the 80th birthday, will premiere from February 4 to 7 at the Palgong Hall of Daegu Culture and Arts Centre. Co-hosted by Daegu Culture and Arts Centre and Theatre Company Haru, this is a work that depicts the story of a former vice principal and a barber who lives as a silver courier after leaving office. Jeon Moo-song, Kang In-deok plays the role of Lee Jin-beop, the former vice principal, and Choi Jong-won plays the role of Jang Ga-wi, the barber. Kim Gun-pyo is a professor of theatre and film at Daekyung University.

Personal life 
Jeon Moo-song tied the knot with Lee Ki-soon in 1970, who happened to be a friend of his younger sister. The couple welcomed two children into their family - a daughter named Jeon Hyeon-ah and a son named Jeon Jin-woo. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, when their daughter Hyeon-ah was born, she had to be taken care of by Lee's family. At the time, Jeon's wife did many odd jobs. She would take goods from weaving factory, wear them on her head, and sell them at a wholesale store in Namdaemun Market. Despite the challenges they faced, their daughter Hyeon-ah went on to become a successful playwright also actress and is now married Kim Jin-man who pursued a career as a theater director. Additionally, Jeon's son Jin-woo also became an actor and is now married to actress Kim Mi-rim.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Variety show

Theater

As member of Dongnang Repertoire Theater Company

As part of Dongnang Repertoire World Tour

As member of NTOK

Theater play with Sanwoollim Small Theater

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links
 
 
 

1941 births
Living people
20th-century South Korean male actors
21st-century South Korean male actors
South Korean male stage actors
South Korean male film actors
South Korean male television actors
Seoul Institute of the Arts alumni
People from Haeju
Best Actor Paeksang Arts Award (theatre) winners
South Korean people of North Korean origin