Hyun Bong-sik lands first film lead role 12 years after debut with upcoming 'Your Dad'

12 years in, finally the lead

Hyun Bong-sik debuted in 2014. Twelve years later, the 41-year-old is finally top-billed in a film. Neo-ui Appa ("Your Dad"), scheduled for release in the second half of 2026, marks his first leading film role. He described the feeling in the most Hyun Bong-sik way possible.

"It feels like eating chicken breast every day and then going out to eat," he said. "It's like gaining one more pleasant memory while living the same daily life."

The film follows a careless father and a mature son. Their relationship fractures when the son invents a fictional father to spare the real one from burden.

A 10-year director connection

Hyun Bong-sik first met the film's director through an independent film a decade ago. Your Dad is that director's first feature. The lead credit isn't what matters to him.

"It's not good because I'm the lead, but rather because 'I'm growing together with this person,' which feels better."

He appeared on MBN's Kim Joo-ha's Day & Night (episode 43, airing September 19 at 9:40 PM) to discuss the film and his broader philosophy. He calls it "Bong-sik-jeok sago" (봉식적 사고): refusing to treat his own quirks as weaknesses. His dialect. His face. Protruding teeth. Even his older-looking appearance — all competitive edges. "My youthful appearance is also my competitive edge as an actor. It's something others don't have."

Where he's been, where he's headed

Hyun Bong-sik has built his career across some of the biggest Korean films of recent years. 1987. Hansan: Rising Dragon. Seoul Spring. Crime City 4. Veteran 2. Supporting roles in blockbusters for over a decade — the chicken breast, as he'd put it.

On the streaming side, he appeared in the Netflix original series Deulchwi this year. The Netflix original Gaeinjeok-in Taxi is still forthcoming.