Oh Kwang-rok makes a father's remorse uncomfortable to watch without turning him into a villain. We value the tenderness and neediness he brings to Return to Seoul, a substantial part for an actor accustomed to brief appearances.
Fi1m perspective
In Return to Seoul (2022), Oh Kwang-rok plays a father who apologises as though forgiveness ought to follow immediately. He is soft, drinks too much and wants reassurance from the daughter who has come to meet him. We felt uncomfortable watching him, because his remorse keeps asking Freddie to put his feelings first. Oh makes that pressure apparent without making the man seem calculated; he can be sorry and still ask too much.
He came to film after nearly two decades working mainly in theatre, with Waikiki Brothers (2001) marking the transition. Park Chan-wook gave him small parts across Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005). The suicidal man in Oldboy is an early example of his ability to suggest quiet desperation in a brief appearance. He has a distinctive nasal voice, useful for someone repeatedly cast as ordinary men and eccentrics who must register quickly.
Davy Chou gives him more to do in Return to Seoul, without making the reunion his story. Kim Sun-young's aunt does most of the talking, while Park Ji-min's Freddie sits unmoved through the family's emotion. Oh's father need not explain everything himself for his unhappiness to be clear. What matters is how he plays against that unresponsive daughter: we can understand his wish to be forgiven without finding her cold for withholding it. Chou is right not to hurry them towards an understanding.
The later chapters of Return to Seoul are thinner than its first, and Oh's performance cannot make them equally compelling. Park Ji-min remains the chief reason we recommend the film, with Oh helping to give her someone difficult to respond to. His father invites tenderness, but the self-pity makes an uncomplicated response impossible, and the performance is better for letting us see it. Start with Return to Seoul, and allow yourself to feel sorry for him without taking his side.
Biography
Oh Kwang-rok is a South Korean character actor. Born on 28 August 1962 in Busan, he began his career in theatre, making his professional debut in a 1982 production of Death of a Salesman. He trained at the Samil-ro Warehouse Theater and was a founding member of the theatre company Wanjamunui.
He moved into film in the late 1990s and gained recognition for his role as Hyun-gu in Waikiki Brothers (2001). Subsequent appearances include Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and Oldboy (2003).
In Return to Seoul (2022) he played Freddie's biological father. He received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 2023 Asian Film Awards for the performance.
