Actor Son Suk-ku. [Yonhap]
Actor Son Suk-ku. [Yonhap]

Actor Son Suk-ku has revealed the story behind his deployment to Iraq with South Korea's Zaytun Division.

Son appeared as a guest on the eighth episode of SBS variety program "Mueosideon Haejulzini — Biseonjin" (roughly, "I'll Do Anything — Secretary Corps"), which aired Friday, and opened up about his time in the military.

Fellow cast member Kim Gwang-gyu asked Son whether his Iraq deployment had been voluntary or compulsory. Son said he had signed up of his own accord.

Son explained that volunteering required his parents' official seal — and stunned the panel by admitting he had secretly carved a new one without their knowledge. After passing the selection process, he persuaded his parents by telling them, "If I tell them now that I forged the seal, I'll end up in the brig." He added, "I still can't forget the sound of my father's sigh over the phone."

Son looked back on his military service as a jarring contrast to his life in the United States, recalling that even the Korean language felt unfamiliar at the time. He said he pushed himself hard to adapt to the new environment of military life.

"I got scolded a lot back then," Son said. "People kept telling me, 'Why do you talk like that? Why do you walk like that?'" He added that he was even called out for the way he clapped.

Despite the difficulties, Son kept working to fit in and ultimately graduated top of his recruit training class. He said his goal at the time was "to go as far as I could as a soldier."

Son said the Iraq deployment later influenced his decision to pursue acting. "When I was young, I wanted to try all kinds of experiences," he said candidly. "And the pay was good."

"When I came back from Iraq, I had earned 12 million won ($9,060) from the deployment," he said. "I used that money to go to Vancouver to study acting."

Lee Seo-jin, listening nearby, remarked, "Nam Jin and Son Suk-ku are the only entertainers in South Korea who have been deployed overseas."

Son responded with characteristic modesty: "Nam Jin actually went into enemy territory — he's on a completely different level from me."


min3654@heraldcorp.com