One of the actors who got in the spotlight due to the boom of this drama is Song Sae-byeok, a veteran theatre actor that has slowly been emerging into the Korean entertainment industry. So who is he? What has he been doing in the past years? What is his personal life like? Let’s get to know Song Sae-byeok!
Profile
There is not much known about his family and early childhood as he only recently gained fame. However, he has been recently spotted living in Jeju, through a snippet of him on Lee Hyori’s Homestay 2, as an unexpected cameo.
Career
Song Sae-byeok started his career as a stage actor. He got into acting after one of his seniors from his part-time job asked him to come along to a drama club meeting. This started to trace his path into the theatre and acting in general, despite his introvert and shy personality. Thankfully, his father also approved of his choice to pursue acting as a career after having seen his son grow and flourish through the drama club, hoping that he would one day hit big. Thus, Song Sae-byeok started auditioning left and right for roles in various theatre productions. His big break, however, came when he starred in the movies Mother and The Servant back in 2009 and 2010, making his first official debut in the movie industry. Mother, directed by critically acclaimed Bong Jun-ho, is a crime-drama that has Song Sae-byeok playing as a detective who investigates the crimes that have been done in the area. On the other hand, The Servant depicts the traditional folktale Chunghyangjeon from a different perspective, the servant of the male protagonist to be exact. Both Mother and The Servant received astounding reviews and response from the public for its fresh new take on stories that have already been told before. Both films led him to be nominated for and receive the Best New Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards, all throughout awards season. His success led him to be cast in other hits such as Cyrano Agency and Meet the In-Laws. Song Sae-byeok took a hiatus in 2015, taking a break from the industry as a whole before returning in 2018 with works such as Seven Years of Night and My Mister. My Mister, in particular, garnered a lot of attention recently within the online community, fans and the public in general. At first, it was mostly criticism for the niche plot that explores love that transcends a very wide age gap, but it came to be more favorable as the time went by. In the case of Seven Years of Night, the reception has been positive from the start, with fans anticipating the revenge crime thriller. It even led to Song Sae-byeok being nominated for Best Supporting Actor in one of the awards this season. It is to no one’s surprise that the success of his projects have led to even more works lined up for him in 2019, such as Real Culprit and Possession.
Personal Life
With the rise of his fame, it is only natural that the general public start to be more aware and become curious about his personal life, yet the only thing that stands out seems to be his relationship with stage actress, Ha Ji-hye. Ha Ji-hye, currently his wife, is someone Song Sae-byeok has been with since 2010, while he was promoting the movie The Servant. As a stage actress, compared with Song Sae-byeok, of course, she gets to be a lot more reserved and outside of the public eye, thus there is not much about her online. The two apparently met through a theatre production they did together in 2005 and have been close and dating ever since. She gained attention when the poster for her character in the said production for the showing in 2010 surfaced and the general public could finally place a face to the name. Ha Ji-hye herself is well-known in the theatre industry and that fame is finally transferring over to the more public-friendly sphere. On October 31st, 2014, news came out that the two are to tie the knot in two days. Ha Ji-hye and Song Sae-byeok tied the knot on November 2nd in Jeju-do, with close family and friends. The ceremony carried out was very private and personal, unlike celebrity weddings in general, due to the fact that both are very private people, which dictated both the place and time the two has chosen for the wedding. To this day, the two are still happily married and have no plans for children any time soon.
