[HanCinema's News] South Korean President Congratulates Song Kang-ho on Cannes Win

On May 29th, South President Yoon Suk-yeol released a letter addressed to Song Kang-ho. The letter in question addressed the legendary South Korean actor winning Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival the previous day. The letter congratulates Song Kang-ho on behalf of the South Korean people, making references to "Secret Sunshine" and "Thirst" from earlier in the actor's career, other films of his which were also internationally acclaimed.

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Yoon Suk-yeol went on to write that without the power of Song Kang-ho's acting, spectators would not be so moved. Yoon Suk-yeol claimed that Song Kang-ho's powerful acting was a level up for South Korea's cultural reputation, and a boost to morale in a South Korean milleu that is still struggling to recover from COVID-19. Yoon Suk-yeol also expressed congratulations to director Hirokazu Koreeda as well as the production staff for "Broker" at large, before congratulating Song Kang-ho again.

Yoon Suk-yeol also sent a letter to Park Chan-wook, who won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for "Decision to Leave" at that same. This letter mostly reads the same as the first one, with this one including references to "Oldboy" and the more recent "The Handmaiden" as important cultural contributions from the South Korean director. In both cases, the recently elected South Korean prsident expressed support for the future endeavors of the two filmmakers.

Written by William Schwartz