Hwang Seok-jeong: Man from 30 years ago reaches out after she manages 1,000-pyeong farm alone

Actress Hwang Seok-jeong is opening up about the past three years she spent working independently without an agency. While continuing her acting career primarily on the theater stage, she also revealed her current life managing a 1,000-pyeong farm. Following her recent resurgence in the spotlight through the film *Hope*, she drew attention by sharing an unexpected story: receiving contact from a man she had met only once 30 years ago.

Hwang will appear on the 'Hope Attack' special of MBC's Radio Star, airing on the 26th. During the broadcast, she plans to speak candidly about her life, ranging from the period that appeared to be a hiatus to her daily life as a farmer, and her long-standing connection with director Na Hong-jin.

Regarding her recent lack of television appearances, Hwang confessed that she often hears people ask, "Why haven't you been on TV lately?" and explained, "It's not that I avoided it; I just wasn't cast." She noted that although she has been working without a management agency for about three years, she has never let go of her career as an actress by staying active in theater.

For an actor, an agency is more than just an organization that manages schedules; it is a vital link between works and performers. Hwang has essentially navigated her career by traveling to filming sets and managing her own activities without that professional bridge. She shared an anecdote from the filming of *Hope*, noting that she traveled to the set via intercity bus without a manager and even had to get close to fellow actors to hitch a ride after filming ended.

For Hwang, *Hope* represents more than just a film role. She revealed that following its release, she was contacted by actresses Yeom Hye-ran and Lee Jung-eun, with whom she had worked on the theater stage, as well as a man she had met once three decades ago. Human relationships that had been severed for a long time were reconnected through this single project.

Hwang remarked that *Hope* feels like a work that brought actual 'hope' back into her life. For an actor, the success of a project has an impact far beyond mere audience numbers. The presence of unique supporting actors and scene-stealers is a crucial factor in a film's lasting impact, and Hwang is being recognized as an actress who imprinted her presence through a brief but powerful performance.

Her connection with director Na Hong-jin is also significant. Hwang has appeared in three of his works: *The Yellow Sea*, *The Wailing*, and *Hope*. On the broadcast, she is expected to discuss Na's working methods and share anecdotes from past sets, explaining the background of how she became known as "Director Na Hong-jin's persona."

In Hwang's life, agriculture is a field as unique as her acting. For several years, she has operated a farm of approximately 1,000 pyeong, personally growing landscaping trees and flowering plants. She revealed that she handles much of the labor herself, such as waking up at 5 AM to spray pesticides and prune branches.

While the lives of an actress and a farmer may seem contradictory, the farm has become a foundation that sustains her. Moving away from the camera and the stage to work the soil allows her to experience the passage of time in a way entirely different from acting. She is also expected to share an unexpected situation she experienced on her land that evokes memories of the film *Exhuma*.

Recently, she has become obsessed with making *kimchi*, stating that she made *kimchi* about 30 times this summer alone. She will bring her homemade cilantro *kimchi* and *jangajji* (pickled vegetables) made with wild greens gathered from Jirisan to the studio. This highlights that, contrary to her glamorous image, she leads a very practical and labor-intensive daily life.

The film *Hope*, which is garnering renewed attention, is an SF action thriller about Beom-seok (Hwang Jung-min), the head of the Hopo Port branch office in the Demilitarized Zone, who encounters an unbelievable reality after hearing reports of a tiger's appearance. Hwang appears as a public health doctor who visits the scene to examine a carcass, leaving a short but intense impression.

Following *The Yellow Sea* and *The Wailing*, Hwang—who has collaborated with Na Hong-jin three times—is an actress known for breathing life into characters with a unique texture, regardless of screen time. This broadcast will serve as a platform to show why she was away from the public eye and how she sustained her life as an actress during that time.

Ultimately, Hwang expressed a desire for a "bridge" that can help her realize her energy, talent, and dreams. As she awaits her next move as an actress, her dual life of building a foundation on her 1,000-pyeong farm is expected to be a major point of interest during the broadcast.