Song Kang Ho Interview: Hirokazu Koreeda’s Broker

Song Kang Ho shares why Broker was a comfortable experience, how he collaborated with director Hirokazu Koreeda, and what he thought of IU’s role.

Director Hirokaru Kore-eda won great acclaim with his 2018 film Shoplifters, which was nominated for an Oscar, and now he’s back again with another touching picture: Broker. This time around, he’s tackling the Korean film industry, teaming up with Chungmuro actor Song Kang-ho to tell a powerful story about backdoor adoptions and found family amidst difficult circumstances. Kang-ho plays Sang-hyun, who acts as a baby broker alongside his partner Dong-soo (Kang Dong-won).

Kang-ho became widely known to Western audiences through his work in the Oscar-winning film Parasite, but his costar IU (whose real name is Lee Ji-eun) may be better known as a talented singer. In Broker, she shows off her acting chops as young mother So-young who drops her newborn off at a “baby box” but can’t leave until she’s seen him taken in by a good family. She, Sang-hyun, and Dong-soo start to form a family of their own as they search for the baby’s new home, but they must evade detectives (played by Sense8‘s Bae Doo-na and Itaewon Class‘ Lee Joo-young) on their tail to do so.

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Screen Rant spoke to Kang-ho about how he approached the delicate themes of Broker, why he and director Kore-eda had such a comfortable rapport, and what he thought of his costar Ji-eun’s growth in the industry.

Song Kang-Ho on Broker

Screen Rant: What was your first impression of Broker‘s script and of working with a respected director like Kore-eda?

Song Kang-ho: While acting, I face a lot of different film styles. I would say Broker was a resting place for me and not a battleground. Sometimes as an actor, you have to be competitive and really aggressive in approaching a role, but I thought I was really able to heal through making Broker. It was very comfortable resting place for me.

The director said you were very helpful to him in overcoming the language barrier and even suggested cutting some lines that improved the story. What was that collaboration like on your end?

Song Kang-ho: I met director Kore-eda a long time ago, so we’ve had a relationship where we visit each other and have formed a rapport. But, of course, Korea and Japan have subtle differences in their cultures. He asked for my help in pointing those things out, and I was very happy to be offering him help in those very culturally specific moments.

The message of Broker feels universal, but societal pressures women feel that could lead to baby boxes seems to be particularly felt in Korea. What has the audience reaction been to the story and how did you receive it?

Song Kang-ho: Of course, the film depicts a baby box, but it’s not a film about the system of the baby box. I think similar things exist in many other countries, and I don’t think it’s a very prevalent societal problem in Korea. But at the same time, it’s not something to be very proud of.Even though the film is called Broker, the movie really follows the life of the female protagonist, So-young. I think by being with her on the journey, the true brokers are not just the characters that I act out but also all of us. It’s a chance for all of us to really look back on some of the issues that are brought up in the film.

Speaking of So-young, Lee Ji-eun has been in the industry for over a decade now, but she’s been acting more than ever in recent years. What was it like to work with her?

Song Kang-ho: As you know, IU is a star. She’s a really famous singer in Korea. I think she had already shown her potential as an actress in the TV dramas that she was in, but she was able to really show a sense of maturity in Broker. It’s a type of performance that didn’t require a lot of direction because I think she’s very mature compared to her age. Her performance is reflective of the life that she’s led, and I think she has done a lot of studying. By studying, I mean that she’s really observed life with a lot of depth. I have a lot of respect for that, and for the great performance she brought to the film.

About Broker

Five years after winning the Palme d’Or for Shoplifters, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda returns with Broker, starring Cannes Best actor winner Song Kang Ho (Parasite). The film follows two brokers who sell orphaned infants, circumventing the bureaucracy of legal adoption, to affluent couples who can’t have children of their own. After an infant’s mother surprises the duo by returning to ensure her child finds a good home, the three embark on a journey to find the right couple, building an unlikely family of their own.

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Broker arrives in select theaters on December 26 with a wider release on January 13.