'Love Alarm' actor Song Kang cashes in on popularity thanks to Netflix shows, will star in 'Navillera'
Song Kang plays the role of Sun-ho in 'Love Alarm', the young student who falls hard for Kim So-hyun's Jo-jo when the two are in high school. However, misunderstanding combined with teenage angst end up separating the two of them until they grow older to meet again. As Sun-ho, Song Kang impressed the audience and the industry.
He debuted in 2017 with 'The Liar and His Lover' in which he played a supporting character and his following roles in 'Man Who Sets the Table' and 'Touch Your Heart'. and 'When the Devil Calls Your Name'. It was 'Love Alarm' that really put Song Kang on the spot. After 'Love Alarm' Season 1's release, the actor landed the lead role in another Netflix original titled 'Sweet Home'.
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While many of the upcoming actors made a mark by starting off in network shows, Song Kang was able to use Netflix's booming market to his advantage. Neither 'Love Alarm' nor 'Sweet Home' was really aired on any of the networks and yet, both the shows have received a lot of attention. In fact, both of the shows are based on popular webcomics of the same name. While 'Sweet Home' as a webcomic had been completed and the show took a different route, 'Love Alarm' had no ending because the author reportedly fell sick resulting in haphazard chapter uploads.
The two shows really put Song Kang on the map as the characters were driven by strong writing. Especially in 'Sweet Home', in which Song Kang plays the role of Cha Hyun-su. The show seems to tease a release of the second season as well, increasing the excitement around the show and its cast members. Following the success of the two shows, he will play his first lead role for a network show with tvN's 'Navillera'. In 'Navillera', Song Kang plays the role of a ballet dancer.
His success with the shows on streaming site has him locally dubbed as 'Netflix Son'. Speaking of his success in an interview quoted by The Korea Herald, Song Kang said, "In every audition, I try to show the raw person that I am. I think everyone has a unique attraction, so I thought I should have one too. I think director Lee Eung-bok felt that I was like Hyun-soo ('Sweet Home') during the audition and decided to cast me."
He then added, "Although I haven’t done many works yet, this was the first time my friends contacted me after the drama’s release. I even heard that the drama was at the top spot in over 10 countries, so I am very happy." He also confessed that he underwent pressure while working on the show and said, "I was very pressured and felt lots of responsibility. Even while filming, I had doubts. ‘Is the character that I have built up until now right?’ I communicated with the directors the most when that happened. I also write a lot in my diary and read what I wrote before to overcome the pressure and doubts."
He also spoke of how journaling helped him with failed auditions and explained, "I waited for the results of many final auditions, but I ended up failing in all of them at one point. Writing in my diary helped me overcome those time."