Song Kang-ho, the Korean actor who starred in Oscar-winning black comedy “Parasite” has grabbed headlines again with news of his philanthropic activities.
Song, who recently won the best actor award at Cannes for his turn in “Broker,” was reported to have given KRW100 million ($75,000) this month to Hope Bridge Association of Korea’s National Disaster Relief aimed at helping the victims of recent wildfires in South Korea’s eastern coastal region.
The news was reported Friday by the Korea Times newspaper. It quoted Song’s agency Sublime, as saying: “Song has been thinking about how to return some of the love he has received from fans. He realized one way to do it was to donate money to neighbors in need. He will be engaged in the sharing culture.
The Hope Bridge Association confirmed that the gift from Song was the second donation by the acting star. He gave a similar amount in March this year.
“Broker” is currently on release in Korean cinemas and has grossed $9.60 million since debuting on June 8, 2022.
Song will next be seen in “Emergency Declaration,” which played at Cannes in 2021, but has seen its home country release delayed until August this year. He plays alongside several of the country’s best known actors including Lee Byung-hun and another Cannes best actor alumnus Jeon Do-yeon.
Song began his film acting career with Hong Sang-soo’s “The Day a Pig Fell in the Well,” in 1996 and achieved a breakout by 2000 with a leading role, as a North Korean security agent, in “Joint Security Area.”
Since then he has been a fixture in many of the biggest and most influential Korean films of the past two decades. These include “Sympathy for Mr Vengeance,” “Memories of Murder,” “The Host,” “The Good, The Bad, The Weird,” “Snowpiercer,” “The Age of Shadows” and “A Taxi Driver.”