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Kim Kang-woo isn’t so clean-cut anymore

This article/interview with Kim Kang-woo talking about the end of Story of a Man isn’t nearly as good as this in-depth one from a while back (“Birth of a Devil”), but now that the drama’s over, I’m looking to ease the withdrawal with some more interviews with its actors. A couple more to follow soon!

“They say Kim Kang-woo really is a bad guy”

“Chae Do-woo… is truly dreadful. To achieve his goal, he can even kill. What’s worse, when he’s pushed into a difficult situation, he tells his wife, ‘Go to your ex-boyfriend and ask for help,’ without any problems. He’s a person who can’t be understood through the thoughts of normal people.”

Kim Kang-woo left the character Chae Do-woo with the drama’s last broadcast on June 9. Although the ratings were low, Story of A Man / The Slingshot had achievements that were no less than of those dramas with hit 30% ratings. One of those has to be the discovery of Kim Kang-woo’s villain.

Story of a Man was Kim Kang-woo’s first attempt at a villain character. The clean-cut image he’d carried until then was completely shattered with this one role.

“The drama’s ripple effect really is quite big. Until Story of a Man, my image was clean and honest, but in one moment I became a bad guy. People tease me and call me ‘bad guy’ now. [Laughs]”

One of those people includes Kim Kang-woo’s girlfriend. It’s not such a bad thing that people close to him who know him well start to doubt him as a bad guy. That’s how realistically he acted Chae Do-woo.

Particularly in the last episode, when Chae Do-woo gave Kim Shin (Park Yong-ha) a secret smile to indicate he was acting his dissociative multiple personality disorder, he made audiences shudder.

However, that scene gave Kim Kang-woo the most difficulty. He had to convincingly portray a mentally ill patient, then make the audience understand that this was all a lie, which was quite a task for Kim Kang-woo. Kim explained, “To express a childlike guise, an animalistic one, and then a genius all in one moment was honestly really difficult.”

On top of that, the script for that scene had been delivered the day before, and it became quite a tough homework assignment to prepare for filming. He broke into a cold sweat trying to figure out in a limited time what it meant to be suffering multiple personality disorder, how to act that out, and which details to utilize.

But the worries of this process were able to be shaken off once the results came in. As soon as the drama finished airing, the viewer message boards were overflowing with talk of Chae Do-woo. Through this character, Kim Kang-woo was able to be born again as a more varied actor, broadening his acting spectrum. While discussing his feelings on his acting, he also expressed a bit of disappointment over the ratings.

“From a commercial standpoint, Story of a Man wasn’t a big success, but our team atmosphere matched that of a 30% show. After the drama ended, we all headed down to Busan for an overnight trip. This drama will stay in my memories for a long time.”

Of course, Kim Kang-woo is not entirely without disappointment, either. He said, “Through the drama’s end, I couldn’t understand Chae Do-woo 100%. I wonder if I could have understood him even more had there been more time, and if so, perhaps I could have expressed him as a more destructive character, which I feel disappointed about.”

Asked if he could be able to take on another role with such a horrible inner character in his acting career, Kim Kang-woo said he was thankful to be able to have done Story of a Man.

He said that after portraying such a dark, heavy character this time, he’d like his next role to be the complete opposite, a bright, light character. Just as one must take in a variety of nutrients to keep the body from falling ill, he feels the need for balance in his acting life as well.

However, if a Story of a Man 2 were made, according to fans’ wishes, could we look forward to Kim Kang-woo as Chae Do-woo once again?

“A Story of a Man 2? Hm. Even if one is made, I don’t think it would have as much impact as the original. But if they were to make it and asked me to come back, why not? It seems like it would be fun… [Laughs]”

Via E Daily

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they took a trip to busan?? sounds like fun~~
and he has a girlfriend?? D:
and seriously that kiss scene really made my skin crawl!

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Definitely left an impression!

A bright, light role next up? Hmmm....that actually sounds nice! Didn't he recently finish a movie or something? Or was that still filming?

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"As soon as the drama finished airing, the viewer message boards were overflowing with talk of Chae Do-woo."

AMEN.

I can't wait to see his next project! I am sold on this guy.

Thank you for the translation of the article, JB. I have been suffering from withdrawals too, mine made worse by the fact that I didn't care for the ending. Nevertheless, it was a excellent ride, and I will go anywhere with KKW, especially on a silly, light rom-com tour.

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Im not surprised even he couldn't figure out DoWoo's character, and he had only got the script a day earlier? The way he pulled off those scenes was really spectacular.

I was disappointed at the end, it just felt like EunSoo's death made no impact what so ever as both characters seemed fine for round 2.

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Sue @ #1 Yes, his girlfriend is non other than the sister of actress Han Hye Jin.

See article at this Hanfever site:http://www.hanfever.com/page/6/

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"But if they were to make it and asked me to come back, why not? It seems like it would be fun… [Laughs]”

And then a sweet picture of him laughing. Just perfect! =)

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..............aaaaaahhhhh.....*me, mesmerized by all of his pics*......

*giggling* omo, he is soooo adorable!!!! ^-^

ggggiiirrllfriend???!!!! wwaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Ordinarily I'm not a fan of sequels, but I would have no qualms about watching Kim Kang-woo and Park Yong-ha go head to head again. Chae Do-woo was one of the sexiest, scariest villains I've seen in a long time. I feel like there's a lot of story yet to play out for these characters. And what a cast...absolute perfection.

I can certainly understand KKW wanting to head in a happier direction, though. Chae Do-woo's head would be a really bad place to inhabit for any length of time.

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@langdon813

"Chae Do-woo was one of the sexiest, scariest villains I’ve seen in a long time."

I AGREE!!! SEXIEST,,,YUP! YUP! Sexiest psychopath ever!!!!

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Completely agree... KKW was completely awesome and so creepiestly good.. so weird, to be so hot and evil at the same time!!!

I loved the ending to Story of a Man, I was smiling along with Kim Shin.
The chills and awesomeness of Do Woo's smile. :D

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First pic is Chae Do Woo. I never thought a one-eye stare can look creepy and sexy at the same time.

Last pic on the other hand is Kim Kang Woo, ready to do a rom-com. So happy and smiley!

I don't know about a sequel, it wouldn't be the same without Eun Soo.

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hmmmmmm i think i have to watch this now :P
its such a shame that it had low ratings
such great dramas are being push aside for mediocre ones
coughs*boys before flowers*coughs

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@12 jen

LOL!!! I can hear the BBF song...Almost Paradise..in my mind now.... URG!!!!!!!!!

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@ 3. his next project is already on the way. it's ogamdo. kinda rated r with a million x's. it's centered around the theme "eros." ughh.. yah do the research for the word, but that's his next project.

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thank you very much for this article and all the pictures :)

i completely fell in love with kim kang woo and his character CDW of SoaM

i can't wait to watch his next project, movie or drama ! i feel like a urge to watch whatever he was in (le grand chef, marine boy...)

i wouldn't mind to see a SoaM 2, but it really wouldn't be the same without Eun soo... i 'd like to see CDW's childhood for example...

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thank you for the article! even looking at these photoshoot pics of kim kang-woo, part of me is screaming "don't believe his laid back look or his innocent smile. it's chae do woo out to get us!!!" I hope they show story of a man as a rerun and get the ratings it deserved without having to compete against a popular show.

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Kim Kang Woo made Slingshot a joy to watch! I'm not saying the other main guys were not interesting but I enjoyed analyzing his character and trying to find some good in him! I never watched it with my sisters since they hated him and I couldn't stand hearing "Oh, he is so evil!" Hahaha~ He is such a brilliant actor and I'm looking forward to his next project. I just hope someone picks him for a drama soon and as a lead! XD

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Thank you for translating! Kim Kang-woo was the star of Story of a Man and I'm glad he's getting his due recognition. He made Chae Do-woo come alive and I do agree with him that if he had more time to analyse Do-woo, that would have helped in his execution of the role. But as it is, he's done brilliantly. The man needs more projects to showcase his versatility! I love that last pic, his smile is gorgeous. Have you watched his other movies, javabeans?

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Ohhhh! Thank you for the interview! Something to ease the Story of a Man withdrawal~

About ratings... yeah, this drama was just SOOOO underrated. Must be frustrating when a drama has pretty much only received good critic/feedback (from the ones who gave it a proper chance) throughout the whole thing, but it doesn't reach enough viewers~ If only more had seriuosly given it a try, I'm pretty sure they'd have stuck to it... it'd be another thing if a drama sucked and the viewers were throwing complaints everywhere due to the flaws.

Well, hope the show will re-run on Korean television and give ppl a second chance...

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Aw, he's so cute!
Who is this *girlfriend*/*fiancée* of his? She's so secretive.

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do you how much i fell in love with this guy as an actor as well as Cha Do wo
how he brought that character to life is amazing to me

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he is the Sexiest Male in K industry

Good Looking, Talented, Sexy Body
What Else??

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Oh man. He was such an effective and awesome villian that it's going to take me (and I'm sure a lot of the viewers) a long time to get over it.

I saw him on Introducing Star's Friend recently (he was cheering on MNIKSS' KyuHan who was participating in the show) and I was TOTALLY weirded out by seeing him smile and be happy.

He's an amazingly versatile actor but, right now, the only image I have in my head of him is from A Story of a Man and this MV--> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6RQerFIz6Q&feature=player_embedded

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i started liking him when i first saw him in the beast and the beauty and asked myself who is this cute guy? (i thought he resembles Kwon sang woo a wee bit). he did a great job i must say in portraying chae do woo, albeit i started watching this drama up to ep ummhh i guess 4 or 5 i didn't finish through. having said that doesn't mean i wasn't impressed with it, i actually thought it was a good drama which i intend to continue when i get a chance. i do hope to see him in a lighter role as opposed to being a bad guy! more power to you in all your endeavours! aja

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OMG! at first i thought he was kim sang woo..and thought that kim sang woo's name was really spelled kim kang woo! (i know...*slaps self*) lol..but he looks so much like kim sang woo..like no kidding!!

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He is ridiculously handsome...and my new favorite eye candy, hehe. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance yet to see his acting. However, I did look through some of your "Story of a Man" recaps, and just from the images alone, I could tell that he was good at being emotive & expressive with his face, body language, and subtle gestures.

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I really really really like this series. It has everything - very good story and solid acting. It's a lot better than those stupid Cinderella fairy tales and husband cheating on wife stories. Give this series a try, you'll like it.

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at 14, oooh niceee hhehe cant wait for that loool
but omg he really is really good at what he does.
chae do woo was sooo evily sexayyy
keep it up man!

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I really loved this interview!

"It’s not such a bad thing that people close to him who know him well start to doubt him as a bad guy. That’s how realistically he acted Chae Do-woo."

Agree!!!!!!!! It's realistic that it's so natural. I would never had believed this was his first try at being the villain.

When referring to the smile CDW gave and it said "he made audiences shudder. ", I felt it too... At the time I had not watched the ep yet, but simply seeing the picture was enough to make me get shivers.

He's an awesome actor and while I wont be watching him in Ogamdo, I hope it succeeds well.

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I think he looks damn handsome as CDW even though he is an evil... he is crazy but very neat and clever... at some point i started to like him... and pity him i guess because of his love and care for his sister which contains a mixed feeling..

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Kim kang woo is so good in protraying chae dong woo. I was surprise with his acting skills. He is hot and talented but i never know there was such a actor call kim kang woo before story of a man.

He make a wise decision to act as a villian in this drama. He just have tha look of a breast hidden in a gentleman suite. His gesture and facial expression is just plain freaky and evil. He can really act convicingly as a vilian (psychopath). I am glad that people get to see his potential. The director and scriptwriter is good in getting the right actors and actresses for - story of a man.

Hope there is a sequel to SOAM with its original cast and a more exciting storyline. Eun soo can come back as a different role. Perhaps a nurse. :) and this time round have a happy ending with kim shin.. ( better ratings - above BOF of 30%/!)

SOAM --- an amazing drama .. fighting!!!

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I have to say that I'm disappointed with the ratings too. I am in love with this series~ Kang Woo blew my away with his acting skills, leading me to really love Chae Do Woo's character. Hehehe. I still have 7 episodes left to finishing the series, but my brother and I fell in love with the series since episode one. :D

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to 1), his girlfriend is Han Hye Jin's (the actress) real-life older sister.

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lol he looks really different when he smiles!!!

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Damn he's so good in 'Marine Boy'..awesome chemistry with the dreadfully sexy Park SiYeon again..

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He acted good in the drama. He deserves an award for this.

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I think I was grinning along with Shin at CDW creepy smile at the end. That was a fantastic moment/scene and pretty much summed up their relationship. I am looking forward to his new projects (and might check up on older ones). But he was amazing...It would be interesting to see him in a rom-com! Also, I agree while the ratings were low---this drama was so well done and well-acted. Especially KKW...I hope he wins an award for his performance!

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Although this drama didn't get a large response in Korea, it truly was a stellar drama that could rival any prime-time American TV drama.

The ending smile sent a shiver down my spine. Absolutely chilling!

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yeah he was very good... what other drama he acted? i hope to see it soon

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King Kang Woo did a great job in this drama, brought out the true villain look and character. Well done!

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I'm still thrumming over the goodness of this drama. Ah, I love it when any kind of art is genuinely well-done (i.e. thought out, trusting the viewer); it's like nutrition for the spirit. Yum.

Kim Kang-woo, please wait a year before you hold a fanmeeting in Seattle, please! ^^

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hes mine..

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