I Will Live As An Actor

I will live as an actor Episode 134 Baek

Jang-hoon.

A master of the Korean film industry, he is the one who made the film industry bloom in Korea, which was once a wasteland. Just like the majestic height of the Taebaek Mountains, Baek Jang-Hoon’s status in Chungmuro cannot be expressed in words. He was a person whose life itself was evaluated as a movie. How dare you call him a living legend in the film industry?

The panoramic view of the city is like a dense jungle with lush greenery. Gray buildings rising up in place of old trees are rampant, and the roads between them are crowded with cars instead of countless wild animals. In this urban jungle, where you could easily get lost if you look away, there is a building with an unusual appearance.

“I feel nervous whenever I come here.”

This unique architectural style, where the exterior wall is finished with full glass and reflects sunlight and shines like crystal, makes you think you are visiting a famous foreign city. It is a sacred place and a utopia of dreams that every filmmaker in Chungmuro would like to visit at least once. This is the headquarters of Baek Jang-hoon Production.

“How did you get here?”

The employee at the desk stands up when he sees the young man walking in.

“I came to see Director Baek Jang-hoon.”

“Did you make a reservation in advance?”

“No, I came here unexpectedly, so I couldn’t really contact you. If I tell you that England has come, you will know.”

“yes?”

After coming to Seoul, I used to come and go to this office building like it was my home until I was called a 10 million cameo. It’s easy to get used to it, but as soon as you step into Baek Jang-hoon Production’s headquarters, an inexplicable tension envelopes your entire body.

How much effort did you make to once set foot in this place? Eventually, the suspicious female employee grabbed the receiver and opened her eyes wide.

“He wants you to come up now.”

“thank you.”

The female employee’s gaze, staring at the receding back, is still full of puzzlement. However, it is not easy to recognize the face because the hat is pressed down.

This is the representative office where the grandfather’s character is clearly revealed. The worn furniture clearly showed signs of age, and the gramophone and old vinyl records made you think you had come to Nakwon Shopping Mall. At least the posters of representative works on the wall tell us that this is a production.

“grandfather.”

“Shall I give you a drink or warm green tea? No. I have some pu-erh tea that I brought in from China a while ago. I’ll give you that. It has a great scent.”

“Aren’t you curious why I suddenly came?”

Grandfather says as he pours tea into a teacup.

“When Yonseok was young, we would go to work together every day. I’m curious. Even when we were eating breakfast, we didn’t say anything. Now, drink before it gets cold.”

“I found a script.”

“Script?”

A look of puzzlement appears in the grandfather’s eyes. That’s because, without going too far, there are so many scenarios just for production alone. Of course, not all of them are filmed. Among numerous scenarios, only selected works can go on to be produced.

“It’s a complete script that was completed without a synopsis or treatment. I’ve already submitted it to film companies several times, but it looks like it’s been rejected several times.”

“I guess the author who wrote it is unknown?”

I can’t deny it. Most film studios do not accept transcripts. This is because there is no time or staff allocated to read each of the numerous script writers’ scenarios in the first place. Therefore, we can only get a taste of the work with a simple synopsis and treatment.

What’s more, isn’t he an unknown author? No matter which production company in Korea you go to, you cannot expect them to be generous enough to read an unknown script. In short, Go Gwang-tae’s approach was wrong from the start. At that time, the grandfather put down the teacup loudly and elaborated.

“But it looks like you’re interested, right?”

“Very much.”

“If England says that, you are immersed in the script. Is the reason you are telling Haebi that you are asking her to look at the script again?”

“You’re half right.”

“Half of it is right?”

“Is this script really?”

Grandfather looks puzzled. However, his eyes become curiously curved at the subsequent remark.

“I was wondering if this was a work worthy of my grandfather personally directing the megaphone.”

* * *

As you get older, your concentration tends to decline. Hasn’t time passed as much as the gray hair on my head? Vision and hearing also deteriorate. I thought my memory and concentration were also diminished because I kept so many things in my head. But at this moment, it feels like I have returned to my younger days.

How many hours have passed? It was after England, who was like a grandson to him, left. It started with unfolding a page of an old script that was covered in hand stains. It was like I couldn’t take my eyes off my son-in-law, as if he was in darkness and the light only came from the screenplay.

“Hoo.”

I even took out my reading glasses, which I don’t usually wear, and put them on. I don’t mind if my cheeks twitch occasionally and the frames of my glasses slip and sting the bridge of my nose.

As a film director, I have been working in Chungmuro for a long time, but it has been a long time since I have seen a work that immerses me this much. As proof of this, he was unwavering, with only occasional exclamations and throat-clearing. It was then.

smart.

At the sound of knocking again, Director Baek Jang-hoon looks up. After briefly telling them to come in, the production staff carefully opens the door.

“Director, it’s regular meeting time.”

“Is it already so late?”

This is a meeting held regularly every week with the production staff. Director Baek Jang-hoon, who normally would have arrived at the conference hall before anyone else, did not show up, so he ended up coming to meet him. Of course, the time has already passed. Director Baek Jang-hoon lets out a helpless laugh.

“Hehe. As I read the words in the script as if savoring each sentence, I didn’t even realize how much time had passed.”

“Do you have a separate script for the director to look at?”

“I came across it through Young-guk, and it felt like a bamboo rain was hit on my worn-out body. It brought me to my senses. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt this way. The more I read, the more live fish jump in my palm. It feels like fun. Director Cha, can you find the writer who wrote the screenplay?”

Director Baek Jang-hoon holds up the script. The script is so old that you can tell it’s old even at a glance.

“They say it’s writer Go Gwang-tae, and he’s in Sillim-dong’s gosi village. And Director Cha, I guess I’ll have to postpone my schedule.”

“You mean regular meetings?”

At that moment, Director Baek Jang-hoon appears to be shaking his head. Director Baek Jang-hoon follows Chief Cha’s puzzled gaze and smiles faintly. And then I take a look at the old script.

“What I’m saying is that I will have to postpone my scheduled sabbatical year.”

* * *

Acting is a series of learning. A lot of effort is required to explore the world unfolding within a single script. In that sense, England can be seen as a natural hard worker.

Didn’t you already realize it in your past life? The light of talent given to you was as dim as a firefly, and in comparison, the light of Chungmuro’s famous actors was like the flickering sun.

It was said that the gap that could not be filled was overcome through hard work. When I played the role of a homeless person, there was a time when I stayed among the homeless people at Seoul Station for 15 days. Oh my gosh, my last nickname was crazy.

“advice?”

Professor Shin Jeong-gil looks at England, who is sitting across from him, with a puzzled gaze. It was not unusual for an undergraduate student to meet his professor, but the gist of the interview was unusual. If I were an ordinary law student, most of the questions would have been related to the bar exam or the legal profession.

“It’s not about law, but advice about acting. Aren’t you a more expert in that field than me?”

This is Professor Shin Jeong-gil, who has been involved in the legal field his entire life. He was a person who was literally alienated from visual media as he did not even watch television much, let alone the theater. At that time, Professor Shin Jeong-gil asks again with a strange gaze.

“Maybe your next work will be about law?”

The life of a lawyer is very similar to that of a politician, but different. Isn’t this a job that you won’t miss anywhere if you’re not careful? For the rest of my life, I have to see through the lies of criminals. England raises his head and looks at Professor Shin Jeong-gil.

“Professor, have you ever felt irritated while working as a judge?”

“It’s inflammation… It would be a lie if I said I didn’t feel it. It was a career I chose while serving as a probationary officer at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, but there were times when I felt skeptical. Sometimes it felt like I was wearing a mask.”

“…….”

“On the outside, it was clearly a profession that others looked up to and envied, but in reality, it was festering and rotten. You may not even know that that’s why I quit being a judge and took the path of nurturing younger students. ”

From the beginning, I knew that Professor Shin Jeong-gil was an unaffected person. But I had no idea that he would be this honest and honest beyond my imagination. That’s because most people in the legal profession are building a huge wall against your pride.

“Have you ever regretted making a decision as a judge?”

“That’s right. First-timers are always very motivated. There was an 80-year-old man who couldn’t endure hunger and ended up stealing groceries. It was his first offense and the damage was minor, so the case ended with a suspended sentence. But it turns out that the old man also committed suicide. “I stole it not to enrich my stomach, but for my grandchild. I can’t forget the sight of the old man crying for his life in the courtroom, saying he didn’t even have money to pay the fine.”

“Isn’t that an unavoidable ruling as a judge?”

“That’s right. The law should always be fair to everyone. But it was mind-boggling to see the chairman of a company that later embezzled tens of billions of dollars hire a large number of lawyers disguised as military officials and receive probation. Is it true that groceries “I wonder if the weight of the sins of the old man who stole his money and the chairman who embezzled tens of billions of dollars are the same.”

Professor Shin Jeong-gil wipes his dry lips.

“It probably would have been the same even if I had chosen to be a prosecutor or lawyer instead of a judge. The legal profession itself is like that. It must protect the law more than anyone else, be fair to all, and balance the law, which is said to be the good of common sense.”

“…….”

“Sometimes I can’t keep it. The beliefs I had when I first started out weren’t strong enough to climb the huge pyramid called the organization. Although it’s close to the law, in some ways, it’s the furthest from the law. Indeed. Isn’t it ironic? That’s why you don’t even know why I’m here right now. Because I couldn’t do that. To encourage the faith of the new sprouts a little more. Just recently, you asked me if I had ever made a decision and regretted it.”

Professor Shin Jeong-gil’s wrinkled eyes are closed. Reminiscences fill the half-opened eyes, as if recalling the past that had settled down.

“It is said in the Talmud that before handing down capital punishment, a judge must feel as if his own neck is being hung. As a first-time judge, I am currently serving as a first-time judge who made an elderly man who stole groceries for his grandchildren aware of the crime and sentenced him to a fine and probation. “I feel the same way. I wonder if I may have sentenced that old man to death.”