Oh Kwang-rok

Oh Kwang-rok was born on August 28, 1962. He developed an interest in dancing during his youth, attributing his early creative influence to observing his older brother and sister. While in middle school, he aspired to become a poet, a goal influenced by his Korean language teacher. He honed a critical perspective on society by reading newspaper editorials and columns.^[5]

Oh's transition into acting began following a recommendation from his high school friend, the poet Nam Ho-seop. While preparing for university entrance exams, Oh responded to a recruitment advertisement for theater actors. He subsequently joined the Samil-ro Warehouse Theater, where he became a member of the inaugural class of the Actors' Academy. His formal training was conducted under the tutelage of prominent theater figures, including Lee Won-kyung, Lee Hae-rang, and Kim Dong-won.^[5]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Oh made his professional debut in a 1982 production of Death of a Salesman, beginning a period of nearly two decades dedicated primarily to the theater.^[5] During this time, he became a founding member of the theater company Wanjamunui. His creative contributions extended beyond acting; for instance, he provided the poster illustrations and calligraphy for Park Geun-hyung’s 1991 production of Chunhyang. He gained significant critical attention for his role in the play Lie to Me, a production that generated public discourse regarding the boundaries between artistic expression and obscenity. Other notable stage performances include The Naughty Guys and the title role in Roberto Zucco.^[6]

Oh transitioned into film with roles in short features such as The End of April and The World You See When You Close Your Eyes. He became a recognizable figure in South Korean cinema through his portrayal of Hyun-gu in Waikiki Brothers (2001) and subsequent appearances in high-profile projects like Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and Oldboy (2003). His casting in The Last Wolf (2004) was influenced by his unique nasal tone, which caught the attention of Director Koo Ja-hong during the production of Oldboy.^[6][7]

His later filmography includes Do You Like Spring Bears? (2003) and My Brother (2004), where he played a photography teacher nicknamed "Human Sleeping Pill."^[6]

Following this, he starred in the 2006 film A Cruel Attendance (Chanhokhan Chulgun), directed by Kim Tae-yoon. The plot centers on the irony of a kidnapper's daughter being kidnapped. Oh played the father of the high school girl (Go Eun-ah) who is abducted by Tong-chul (Kim Soo-ro) and Man-ho (Lee Sun-kyun), two desperate men attempting to solve their financial troubles through a clumsy kidnapping.^[8]

In 2010, Oh was triple-cast in the lead role of Hahn Young-jin, alongside Lee Young-ha and Kim Chang-wan, in the play A Nap. Directed by filmmaker Hur Jin-ho and based on a short story by Park Min-gyu, the play was the second project in the "Director Comes to the Stage" series. The narrative explores a lifelong romance between the shy Young-jin and his first love, Yi-sun, alternating between the past and their twilight years. The younger version of Young-jin was portrayed by Kim Ki-bum.^[9]

Oh collaborated with director Park Chan-wook and video artist Park Chan-kyong in 2011 for the short film Night Fishing, starring opposite Lee Jung-hyun. The 30-minute film, which won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, follows a fisherman who encounters a shamanic woman in the middle of the night. Notably, the production was shot entirely on an iPhone 4.^[10][11] In the same year, Oh transitioned into directing with the film A Pale Purple Bird. The work served as the opening film for the 3rd Seoul International Extreme-Short Image & Film Festival (SESIFF) held in Guro, Seoul.^[12]

Oh also appeared in Park Chul-soo's final film, the omnibus Active Life, alongside Oh In-hye and Kim Sung-min. Released after the director's passing in 2013, the film explored controversial themes involving crime and social taboos.^[13]

Incident.^[14][15]

Film

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The World That I See With Closed Eyes
2000	The End of April		Short film
2001	Waikiki Brothers	Hyun-gu
2002	Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance	Anarchist
2003	Spring Bears Love
	Oldboy	Suicidal man
2004	The Wolf Returns	Eagle
	A Moment to Remember	Bum at station
2005	How Does the Blind Dream?[16]	The blind	Short film
	She's on Duty	Bae Doo-sang
	A Bittersweet Life
	Sympathy for Lady Vengeance	Se-hyun's father
	Mr. Socrates		Special appearance
	Boy Goes to Heaven
2006	Vampire Cop Ricky	Vampire Hunter
	Maundy Thursday	Death row inmate 2896
	A Cruel Attendance
2007	The Elephant on the Bike	Dong-gyu's father
	Seven Days	Yang Chang-goo
2008	Like Father, Like Son	Hyun-jin	Special appearance
	Baby and I	Kwang-rok
2009	Marine Boy	Doctor Park
	Why Did You Come to My House?	Suicide man	Special appearance
	Take Off	Pharmacist
	The Case of Itaewon Homicide	Attorney Kim Byeon
	The End		Short film
2010	Man of Vendetta	GPS technician
	No Doubt	Professir Kim	Special appearance
2011	Night Fishing	Oh Kee-seok	Short film
	Countdown	Dr. Song
	Endless Joke		Short film
	Persimmon
	Always	Park Chang-soo
	Sunday Punch	Geun-seok
2012	Dangerously Excited	Bob Dylan	Special appearance
	The Spies	Man on bench	Special appearance
	The Decisive One Shot
2013	Eating, Talking, Faucking	Jo Mool-joo
	Born to Sing	Section chief Maeng
	Mai Ratima	Junk shop owner	Special appearance
	Killer Toon	Chief detective
	Rough Play	Jo Kang-ho
	11 A.M.	Doctor Seo
2014	God's Eye View	Jo Yo-han
	The Stone	Lee Soo	Special appearance
	My Sister	Detective Kim
	The Con Artists	Professor Min	Special appearance
2015	Five Senses of Love
	Alice in Earnestland	Art professor
	My Sister, the Pig Lady	Jae-hwa's father
2016	If You Were Me	Dr. Kim
	Rock N Roll Grandpa
2017	The Tooth and the Nail	Theater owner	Special appearance
	Warriors of the Dawn	Pockmark
2018	Beautiful Days	Zhen Chen's father
2022	Return to Seoul	Freddy's biological father[17]

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Television series

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Dr. Kkang	Dr. Bong
2007	If in Love... Like Them
	The Legend	Hyeon-go
2008	Formidable Rivals	Cha Gwang-soo
2011	Vampire Idol	Kwang-rok
2012	Faith	Fortune teller	(cameo, episode 1)
	Short Family	Kwang-rok
2013	Empress Ki	Heuk-soo	(cameo)
2014	High School King of Savvy	Choi Jang-ho
	Love Cells	Seo Rin's manager
	Healer	Ki Young-jae
2015	The Invincible Lady Cha	Oh Dal-soo
2016	Page Turner	Street vendor
2017	Tomorrow, with You	Shin Sung-gyu
	Drama Stage: Assistant Manager Park's Private Life		one act-drama
2018	Devilish Charm	Joo Man-sik	[18]
2020	Extracurricular	Jae-ik
2021	Melancholia	Ji Hyun-wook	[19]
2022	A Model Family	Park Deuk-soo	[20]
2022–2023	Island	Butler Jang	[21]
2024	Uncle Samsik	Joo In-tae	[22]

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