Actor Hwang Jung-min. [Yonhap]
Actor Hwang Jung-min. [Yonhap]

Actor Hwang Jung-min boasted about his son's unusual language skills.

Hwang and fellow actor Eum Moon-seok, both lead cast members of the film "Hope," appeared as guests Thursday on Choo Sung-hoon's YouTube channel, where they shared a range of stories.

Hwang recalled a recent family trip to Japan, saying his son had watched a great deal of Japanese animation as a child. "At first I didn't believe him at all when he said he was good at Japanese," Hwang said.

His skepticism did not last long. "Once we actually got to Japan, my son handled everything in Japanese — booking accommodations, using the subway, even a rural ryokan. I was genuinely shocked. He spoke almost like a native," he said.

His Japanese was not without its quirks, though. Hwang said his son spoke fluently but could not read the script. "He learned expressions from anime, so instead of saying 'let's go quickly,' he'd say things like 'let's go at the speed of light' — very cartoon-like phrasing," Hwang said, drawing laughter.

When host Choo brought up his own experience living in Hawaii, Hwang shared an anecdote about his son's language camp there during elementary school.

"I sent him to summer and winter camps in Hawaii when he was in elementary school, hoping he would pick up some English — but the result was completely different," Hwang said.

"His English didn't improve at all. Instead, his foreign friends ended up learning Korean," he said. "All the foreign kids were singing 'Let It Go' from 'Frozen' using the Korean lyrics — 'Da Ijeo.' When I later asked my son if he had taught them, he said, 'I taught them. They're really good at it,' and bragged about it." The story sent the studio into fits of laughter.

Meanwhile, director Na Hong-jin's new film "Hope" extended its run at the top of the domestic box office into a ninth consecutive day, signaling a dominant weekend ahead.

According to the Korean Film Council's integrated ticketing system, "Hope" drew about 115,000 viewers on Thursday — capturing a 64.8 percent share of ticket sales — to hold the No. 1 spot. The film, which opened July 15, has now drawn a cumulative audience of about 2.647 million and is expected to surpass 3 million viewers this weekend.

Starring Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon, "Hope" follows residents of a village called Hopohang in the demilitarized zone as they battle an unidentified creature that suddenly appears.


choigo@heraldcorp.com