Bong Joon-ho called Eum Moon-seok's face 'more alien than an alien' — and '호프' has 3.6M viewers to prove it

Eum Moon-seok's lower jaw is apparently the talk of Korean cinema right now. Hope, the SF action film that opened July 15, has crossed 3.6 million viewers — and director Bong Joon-ho reportedly pulled director Na Hong-jin aside to ask: "How did you cast that actor? His face itself looks more alien than an alien, and the movement of his mouth and lower jaw is so bizarre and amazing."

Yangbae is a carpenter living in a remote house. Eum, 44, spent a full month before filming in preparation: specially made colored teeth, pronunciation training, the works. His thinking was clear. "I decided the direction that Yangbae must escape from social and moral concepts, let's go with a child," he said. He treated the mannequins in the yard and workshop as Yangbae's toys and playground. At the VIP preview, he watched himself on screen and laughed. "(Yangbae is) strange even to me."

The role sits far from where Eum started. He debuted as a singer in 2005 under the stage name SIC. Dancing 9 on Mnet came in 2013. Acting arrived later. His 2019 turn as short-haired gangster Jangyong in the drama Fiery Priest changed things — he took home the SBS New Talent Award that year. Film work followed: The Roundup (2022) and I Am a Prince (2025).

He's also a filmmaker. His short film Mihaeng landed in the non-competitive section of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. He shot another short with his own script earlier this year and is currently editing it for submission to next year's festival circuit.

His first starring film role, Kantar, is scheduled to open in early 2027. He also recently performed on stage at close friend and singer Hwang Chi-yeul's concert.

"My acting is being overrated too much so I'm anxious," he said. "I try not to get too up or down and keep the middle ground." His goal is straightforward: become the actor audiences say they'll go see a film for, just because his name is on it.