Hong Kyung's Passion in 'Good News': Overcoming Language Barriers and Smoking Confessions
Actor Hong Kyung has successfully transformed once again through the movie 'Good News'.
From English and Japanese to smoking acting.
He said, "I poured everything into it because I didn't want to cringe later."
His sincerity, pushing himself relentlessly not as an actor on stage, but as a human being,
leaves a deep resonance in the hearts of the audience.
[1] Good News Hong Kyung, Confessions on Language and Smoking: "Aspiration and Ambition, That's What I Resemble"
Seo Go-myeong, played by Hong Kyung,
is an elite Air Force lieutenant and a young man full of ambition.
A character who loses everything if he fails, but can seize a bigger world if he succeeds.
He confessed, "Go-myeong is a bright, quick, and calculating friend, but
an emotionally wavering human character,"
"His burning ambition resembled the fire within me."
Hong Kyung didn't simply 'act' the character.
He melted his own anxieties and greed,
and even the thirst of his unknown days, into the character.
He added,
"I have a strong desire to do well as an actor.
Go-myeong and I both have that passion."
His eyes were firm.
Ambition was not just a desire for success, but
a promise towards 'a better version of myself'.
[2] Good News Hong Kyung, Confessions on Language and Smoking: "Changed Everything from Foreign Languages to Weight"
Seo Go-myeong in 'Good News' is a character who is fluent in English and Japanese.
To perfectly embody this setting, Hong Kyung
spent 4-5 months studying foreign languages before filming.
"They provided me with teachers, so I learned Japanese, English, and even aviation control terminology.
I felt that if I didn't understand the control system, the reality of the character would be diminished."
He repeatedly corrected his pronunciation to express even the tone and intonation of the lines with a sense of realism,
and gained nearly 7kg for the appearance of a soldier.
"I didn't gain it all at once, but steadily adjusted it.
Every time we did a test shoot, the director would say, 'Let's create a little more,' so
I changed my body accordingly."
His preparation was close to perfectionism.
He was ready to bear the weight of the role.
[3] Good News Hong Kyung, Confessions on Language and Smoking: "The Reason Why a Non-Smoker Learned to Smoke"
Hong Kyung cited 'smoking acting' as the most difficult scene during filming.
"There's a scene where I exhale smoke once,
and that was more difficult than I thought.
As a non-smoker, it was awkward to even put a cigarette in my mouth."
He confessed with a smile on set.
"When I was filming the smoking scene, the director said, 'Exhale naturally,' so
I repeated it several times. Everyone on set laughed."
However, that scene ultimately became a masterpiece that exquisitely captured the character's tension and anxiety.
Hong Kyung says,
"Go-myeong is outwardly calm, but
his inner self is full of anxiety and fear.
I wanted to express that tension."
In the end, a single smoking scene
made his acting even deeper.
[4] Good News Hong Kyung, Confessions on Language and Smoking: "I Poured Everything Out Because I Didn't Want to Cringe Later"
Hong Kyung said, "I poured everything out because I didn't want to cringe later."
"I didn't want to regret it when I got home.
So, I filmed each scene on set
as if it were the last."
He says he's the type to push himself.
"Even if I finish perfectly, I still think, 'I should have done it one more time'.
But I feel better when I pour everything out."
His acting contains such 'all-out effort'.
Rather than the thought that it's okay to fail,
the determination to 'not regret it' was greater.
His sincerity, pouring everything out to avoid cringing later,
eventually became a light on the screen.
[5] Good News Hong Kyung, Confessions on Language and Smoking: "Between Fiction and Truth, the Actor's Question"
'Good News' is a black comedy based on the Yodoho incident in 1970.
Hong Kyung said, "Because it's a movie that mixes fiction and truth,
I asked myself, 'Is this real?' every time I acted."
"The message the director wanted to convey was
'The people who do real work don't get noticed'.
That felt so realistic to me."
He gave a bitter smile.
"The fact that someone puts in all their effort but their name doesn't even remain
seems like an irony of our society."
Hong Kyung said that through this work,
he realized the 'meaning of the process rather than the result' anew.
"Go-myeong ultimately failed, but
that failure made him grow.
I felt the same way."
[6] Good News Hong Kyung, Confessions on Language and Smoking: "From Ambition to Enlightenment, the Good News He Gained"
In the last interview, Hong Kyung
honestly revealed the changes he felt.
"When I was filming, I felt so sorry for Go-myeong.
I thought he was a character who had lost everything.
But now I feel differently.
I think that failure opened up a new path."
He smiled with a more relaxed expression.
"You can't live in the world with ambition alone.
In the end, what's important is 'how you live your life'."
This statement seemed like the conclusion of Hong Kyung's growth
as an actor and as a human being.
Category
Item A
Item B
Work
Netflix movie 'Good News'
Released on October 17, 2025
Main character
Hong Kyung (as Seo Go-myeong)
Elite Air Force lieutenant, the embodiment of ambition
Acting points
English, Japanese, smoking acting
Expression of inner anxiety and desire
Actor's passion
Foreign language lessons, 7kg weight gain
"I poured everything out because I didn't want to cringe later"
Work message
Sincerity remains even if it is not revealed
A journey to find the truth in fiction
Hong Kyung's story
shows 'growth' rather than success.
He dreams of perfection, but
he knows that what is more important is 'leaving sincerity'.
An actor who poured everything out for fear of cringing later,
his 'Good News' was ultimately
the fact that sincerity works.
Source :https://blog.naver.com/yooju0913/224053898366
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