[23] Multi-talented talent Lee Gwang-ki – Chairman Kim Jong-gyu of the National Trust for Cultural Heritage
Kanbu. It is a slang term that is commonly used to mean ‘on the same side’ or ‘between people who can share everything no matter what.’ Even if you have everything in your life, can you say that you have lived a good life if you do not have lifelong friends with whom you can share healthy relationships? It is said that good human relationships have a positive effect on health. Introducing the ‘value of togetherness’ that blooms among Kanbu.
![“Lee Gwang-gi has a trustworthy mentor, the 85-year-old King of Communication.”[유재영의 전국깐부자랑]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/11/01/130343043.1.jpg "“Lee Gwang-gi has a trustworthy mentor, the 85-year-old King of Communication.”[유재영의 전국깐부자랑]")
It is not easy to brag about someone by comparing them to my father, who has a great influence on my thoughts and actions, or using all kinds of qualifiers. A spiritual father? My biological father is indeed alive and well, but if I say something like this, it will be easy to hear people call me unfilial. Even if you really respect an elderly person, it is difficult to use such expressions.
Actor Lee Gwang-gi (56). Everyone knows that he is a much-loved actor who is known for his impressive performances in unforgettable dramas such as , , , and . Everyone knows that in addition to acting, he has many talents as an artist, lives a very hard life without being seen as a celebrity, gives generously with what he has and often volunteers, so he has many people around him and many friends.
However, I have never heard of anyone who treats Lee Kwang-ki like a father. They say that he is not only a ‘spiritual father’, but also like an older brother at times and a friend who understands my heart the most. It is also a ‘human compass’ that shows the direction of living in the world. It is not easy on the human mind to introduce people and connections you like and care about to your son, and ask him to become closer to you without me, but he did so willingly. He was a person who sprinkled water every day on the flower called ‘Lee Gwang-gi’, who was once emotionally dry and having a hard time, and he still does that to this day. Just hearing the name makes me emotional and brings tears to my eyes.
In , Lee Gwang-gi played the role of Prince Singeom, the eldest son of Gyeon Hwon. Father Gyeon Hwon’s eldest son was always untrustworthy. When he went into battle, he was defeated badly, and he didn’t like everything he did, so he didn’t even think about handing over the next guard and just scolded him. So, Lee Gwang-gi said “Ugh~~~” the most in the play and just pounded his chest.
When I came out of the filming set, I had a strong ‘father’. Another father of Lee Gwang-ki, whose father passed away in 1987, is Kim Jong-gyu (85), chairman of the National Trust for Cultural Heritage. He is over 80 years old and is the ‘godfather of the publishing world.’ When his older brother (Kim Bong-gyu) founded Samsung Publishing in 1964, he helped as the Busan branch manager. In 1992, he became CEO and Chairman.
There is probably no one in the older generation who has not read the collections of world culture and Korean culture published by Samsung Publishing. He had success with books, and also served as the director of the Samsung Publishing Museum, which he founded with the intention of returning that gratitude to readers.
As a leader in the publishing industry, there is no cultural artist who does not have a connection with him, including the late former Minister of Culture Lee O-ryeong. Among them, Lee Kwang-gi is a special being. Chairman Kim still actively handles several daily schedules, but when Lee Kwang-ki calls him, he puts everything aside and rushes to work.
On the 17th of last month, I met Lee Gwang-ki, who has been working as a gallery representative for several years as an art celebrity and art director, discovering young artists and helping them to shine and stand on their own, and Chairman Kim showed up without a doubt. How did the two become ‘Human Tower’?
● The publishing company president recognized my talent at first meeting.
1995. Twenty-seven-year-old actor Lee Gwang-ki was upset. In 1985, he appeared as a child actor in the KBS drama “Sunrise Hill,” but strangely he was not cast afterward. Even if he came in, it wasn’t a role that would attract attention. There was no one who fully understood my character.
As he said, he thought about it tens of thousands of times whether he should act or not
I was dating my current wife, whom I met as an older brother and younger sister in the same neighborhood. I wanted to get married, but I wasn’t in a position to confidently share anything with my wife and her parents. My wife majored in dance at a famous university whose name you might recognize. There must have been men with good conditions, and Lee Gwang-ki himself must have felt undervalued.
Anyway, although he had a cute appearance and a lively and warm personality, he was holding on to his wife (this is what he claims), but inside he was more anxious. To win the hearts of his wife’s parents, he took out a loan and even paid her graduate school tuition. At that time, I happened to go see my wife’s teacher’s performance and met Chairman Kim for the first time. It was the beginning of fate.
“There is a small theater inside the National Museum of Korea. That day, Lee Ae-ju (Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 27 Seungmu holder, former professor emeritus at Seoul National University, passed away in 2021) gave a presentation and invited me. At that time, where did the people who performed have money? Nowadays, the publisher doesn’t seem to care much, but back then, the publisher provided a lot of support. So to speak, I went there to have an after-party after the performance. Before the performance, Miss Park (Lee Kwang-gi’s wife) greeted me as a student of Lee Ae-ju. “Lee Gwang-gi is next to him.”
“I was getting married, so I had to carry her bags to impress my wife. Like a manager. But at that time, I was discharged from the military and something was not going my way. “It was a turbulent time for me as an actor.”
Chairman Kim remembers that his first impression of Lee Gwang-gi, who was bright and polite when they first met, was special.
“They even followed me to the after-party. I guess it means he met his ‘princess’ well. There is a saying that ‘the first impression is the last impression,’ and it seems like Lee Gwang-gi’s good impression will last a lifetime. The trust they gave me in a short period of time was enormous. I heard that day that his acting career wasn’t going well, but he was still smiling. I saw talent. He even takes care of his girlfriend’s needs. From there, I became convinced that my impression of Lee Gwang-gi would not change until the end of my life.”
“After that day, the chairman really liked me.”
Lee Gwang-ki, whose father passed away when he was retaking college in 1987, gained a strong ally who filled the emptiness in his heart.
● The person who became a guide in my life also connected me with guides in the world.
<img src="https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024
Before seeing the light of day with “Taejo Wang Geon” in 2000, what gave Lee Kwang-gi his greatest strength was his connection to the world. Chairman Kim held my hand and tied it here and there.
“I really respect you, Chairman, so please surround me with good people. It’s not easy. This means that they know and analyze my style and the person introducing me very well. He was always thinking about whether I would get along well with this friend or that person. When my future as an actor was uncertain and difficult, I had an affair for a short time. I started a management business, and there was an actor I was trying to promote, so I asked the chairman to introduce me to a reporter. Then he introduced me to the CEO of a sports newspaper. I was asked to come, so I went and was embarrassed because it was the president’s office (laughter). “I still get along well with the reporters I met after being introduced to them back then.”
I met many mentors in the world. Chairman Kim said, “Lee Kwang-ki has a lot more to live than me and a lot to explore, so I need to meet more good people,” and made valuable connections in this field and that.
It was Chairman Kim who introduced the late former Minister Lee O-ryeong, a ’master’, as a mentor to Lee Kwang-ki. Lee Kwang-gi learned the wisdom of living in the world while having a New Year’s blessing meeting with former Minister Lee every January. Before passing to rest, former Minister Lee planted a commemorative tree at ‘Studio Ki (now Gallery Ki)’, which Lee Kwang-gi had set up in Paju Book City to exhibit his works and interact with cultural creators, and said, ‘Give thanks and joy to many people through culture and art. He left a message saying, “I hope to become a beloved studio talent.”
He gave me endless trust, to the point where I believed he was my own son. What was truly touching was that he had been absorbing Chairman Kim’s life philosophy from some point on.
“When I look at the chairman, even if he is in an unpleasant situation, he overcomes it wisely without showing any displeasure. Later, I found myself unconsciously observing the chairman’s every move. That continued for 30 years. “It can be said that Lee Kwang-ki, a role model in life, is the nourishment of the human being.”
From Chairman Kim’s perspective, he also wanted to boast about Lee Kwang-gi, who is like his son, who has pioneered a life path that everyone can applaud. I wanted Lee Gwang-gi to be an example to someone.
“It was when we were newlyweds. The chairman called me to a Chinese restaurant near my house. An employee who worked at the chairman’s company was delivering at that restaurant. The chairman came willingly to encourage the employee. Then he called me and said, ‘Madness, you are working hard even though you are experiencing difficulties as an actor. He said, ‘I want you to tell me these things and support me.’ “I was really surprised and impressed by the chairman who did not ignore the people around him who were having
a hard time.”
● Know the ‘despair you can handle’
‘I didn’t know. Was I really relying on the Chairman? .’
In November 2009, Lee Gwang-gi experienced something that felt like the sky was falling. My 6-year-old son Seok-gyu, whom I had raised beautifully, suddenly passed away. Seok-gyu, who was sick with swine flu, said his last words, “It’s thundering outside,” and left his father and mother.
The first thing Lee Gwang-ki did was call Chairman Kim, even though he wanted to follow in his son’s footsteps right away, and while he was in a state of collapse and unable to even think about what was going on. It was like that even though I had a father-in-law, a mother-in-law, and a mother.
“Seok-gyu came to our house when he was little. I also play with my granddaughter. But at 7 o’clock that morning, Gwang-ki called and cried and said that Seok-gyu had gone to heaven. Before that, Gwang-gi made a lot of prank calls. Let’s act. I really thought it was a prank call. I left crying loudly. He said, ‘He’s gone’, and my hands were shaking when I heard that. “He said, ‘My grandson, my grandson.’”
Lee Kwang-gi was so shocked at the time that he gave up everything. He voluntarily left the program he was appearing in and stopped broadcasting activities. He even attempted to end his life by climbing onto the roof of a building. When I went to report my son’s death, I took 15 copies of the last resident registration documents with my son’s name ‘Lee Seok-gyu’ written on them, sat down and sobbed in front of everyone.
“I really had a mental breakdown. I couldn’t do anything. I tried to call him here and there to comfort him, but he refused each time. “There was a time when tears just rolled down my face when even my son’s age passed by on the street.”
He was unable to escape the guilt and pain of not being able to protect his son for a while, and returned to ‘Lee Gwang-gi’ after volunteering in Haiti, where an earthquake occurred in 2010.
“I felt Seok-gyu’s body temperature in the sky from a child I met in Haiti. That was a gift. To me. “I said, ‘Okay, I’m healing after receiving the gift, so let’s give this country a gift in return.’”
Lee Kwang-ki donated the entire amount of Seok-gyu’s insurance money to Haiti for emergency relief expenses. After coming to Korea, he held a charity art auction to help Haiti, and in addition to fundraising activities such as exhibiting photos of Haitian children, he built three schools in Haiti. At the same time, I met and interacted with writers and opened up a new world for myself.
“After listening to the chairman’s consolation, I came to a realization. I thought, ‘Heaven has given me a despair I can endure.’ The Chairman said that any despair that can be endured can be turned into a blessing. Those words, the comfort I felt was so good. In other words, ‘despair is a blessing in disguise.’ “I suffered for a moment in order to receive a greater blessing.”
I changed my thoughts and a real blessing came to me. Two years after losing Seok-gyu, a new life was born. As if Seok-gyu had been reincarnated, he had a son, Jun-seo.
“When Gwang-gi broke the news that Jun-seo was born, it seemed like Seok-gyu said, ‘Dad, I’m here.’ It’s so amazing. You sublimated pain and suffering into greater love. “It is a Mahayana life, and I think this is Lee Kwang-gi’s true talent.”
“When I go to heaven one day, when I meet Seok-gyu, when I meet my father, or when I meet those who have gone before me, I will say, ‘I lived hard. I think people will welcome me if I say, ‘I’ve lived my life without being pointed at.’ When I was having a hard time, I thought of this when I saw the chairman. “Thank you for expanding me and making my thoughts bigger.”
“Seok-gyu must be so grateful from above. We are thankful for each other. Seok-gyu is worried about how much pain his father will suffer because of me, but he overcame it amazingly. You’ve become more mature. From Seok-gyu’s perspective, he would be grateful to his father and think, ‘I did a good job for my dad.’ He’s a really good son. “You went first and gave me Jun-seo as a gift, even though you seem like an unfilial son.”
“that’s right. As the Chairman said, Seok-gyu is invisible to me, but he made me see the world differently. It made me see things I hadn’t seen before. I feel that the direction of where you look in life is important. When I see the world positively, I always think positively and feel grateful. “The chairman is the benefactor who gave me the ‘eye opening surgery.’”
● If madness continues to find ‘lively roly-poly’ like madness,
‘Cheerful roly-poly’.
This is the nickname given to Lee Kwang-gi by Chairman Kim. Lee Kwang-gi’s life and human character are captured in a short expression. I didn’t even think about it for a moment because I knew it so well. Chairman Kim wrote a review of the book “The Tears I Wept Became Flowers,” published in 2021 by Gwang-gi Lee as a letter written 12 years after sending away Seok-gyu. Lee Kwang-ki, who buried his son in his heart and became a real adult, was amazing and admirable.
‘Where does the power to sublimate the great pain that should never be experienced in life into
Chairman Kim never forgets his gratitude, saying that he also receives energy from meeting Lee Gwang-gi. Chairman Kim’s lifelong motto was ‘A poet’s mind is strong in his mind’ and ‘A poet’s mind is strong in his mind’. ‘Forget about doing favors for others. However, it means ‘do not forget the grace you have received from others.’
I think Lee Kwang-ki pioneered it on his own. Chairman Kim said, “The talent of madness and the life of madness give me a good influence every day,” and he will not forget the grace of madness. I think watching Lee Kwang-gi properly from the beginning was the best thing I did in my life. I hope Lee Kwang-ki continues to give better and feels the joy of living in the process.
“Gwang-gi is a comprehensive artist who loves culture and art. “You will do well to discover ‘lively roly-poly guys’ who are just like you.”
Through that perspective, we are discovering artists and their works and informing them of them to the public. Through that perspective, I try to analyze my acting in a more three-dimensional way and become an actor that viewers can become more immersed in.
From that perspective, I want to put K-art on the world stage following K-drama and K-pop.
“I thought about what kind of Korean art the world could pay attention to. For a long time, I was looking for commonalities between Korean, Chinese, and Japanese art, and I ended up with food. You write with ink and a brush, and the ink is connected to ‘strokes’ and the letters appear. In the future, I think artists who use strokes to express Korean emotions will be highlighted overseas. So, we are planning to hold an exhibition of artists who start with strokes next year.”
Chairman Kim, who was listening to Lee Gwang-gi’s story, seemed to be thinking about what else he could do to help. Son Jin-chaek, former artistic director of the National Theater of Korea (former CEO of Michu Theater Company), who popularized ‘Madangnori’ as a performance genre for the first time in Korea, said that Chairman Kim is “a person of good taste with an innate sense of service.” He also said, “He is a person who doesn’t know how to show condescension even if he helps someone.”
“I am a person who does not believe in legends and myths, but at the first anniversary event commemorating former Minister Lee O-ryeong, I said, ‘After the Minister passed away, I decided to believe in legends and myths.’ Madness, I believe in everything you have done, what you are doing, and what you will do.”