What ‘Reborn Rich’ Star Song Joong-Ki Finds Most Satisfying About Acting

Song Joong-ki has earned plenty of compliments—and dozens of awards—during his 15 years of acting in films and dramas. Yet, positive feedback is still what makes acting worthwhile. For Song, the most satisfying part of acting is being acknowledged for a job well done.

“I think it’s when the staff members compliment me on set while filming and when the viewers compliment me when the project premieres,” said Song.

The actor is currently receiving a new round of compliments for his role in Reborn Rich. In this Korean drama he plays Hyun-woo, a loyal conglomerate employee who is murdered when he discovers a company slush fund. It’s not the end for his character as he’s reincarnated. Reborn as the grandson of the conglomerate family, he’s then perfectly situated to exact revenge on those who used and abused him. As he’s sent back in time to the 80s, he also tries to prevent some of the wrongs inflicted on his original family.

“The character Yoon Hyun-woo in Reborn Rich is a secretary who serves the owners of a huge corporation called Sunyang Group,” said Song. “The story unfolds as Yoon Hyun-woo enters the body of Jin Do-joon, the youngest grandson of Sunyang Group with all his memories intact. Both Yoon Hyun-woo and Jin Do-joon set out to change things with their loving parents and family as their driving forces. I think a lot of viewers will relate to this point.”

Except for a cameo in the recent drama Little Women, it’s Song’s first TV role since his 2021 hit drama Vincenzo, in which he played a Korean-born member of the Italian mafia. Before that he also appeared in the 2021 sci-fi film Space Sweepers, commanding a ship that cleared dangerous space junk. These roles may seem to have little in common, but each attracted the actor for a similar reason. He chooses his roles based on the quality of the project’s narrative.

“I tend to think the direction of how the story flows is the most important,” said Song. “I try to select projects that are interesting and worth watching for viewers.”

Reborn Rich unfolds with plenty of surprising plot twists and the story derives a lot of interest from the way it mirrors the economic trajectory of some real-life conglomerates. Another reason Song was drawn to Reborn Rich was the drama’s writer, Kim Tae-hee, who wrote one of his previous dramas, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, a historical tale in which he played a Joseon-era student.

“Writer Kim Tae-hee’s influence was a large part,” said Song. “I was able to trust her and choose this project because I knew how Kim Tae-hee pens her projects. The attractive part of the drama’s plot was the setting where the character Yoon Hyun-woo returns to the past with all his memories intact. A story that would not happen in real life unfolds in the drama, which I felt was interesting and entertaining.”

To prepare for his Reborn Rich role, in which one character inhibits two different personas, the actor focused on his physical appearance. Hyun-woo wears suits and glasses and his dejected posture conveys how humiliated he has been. Do-joon dresses casually and has the confidence of someone born with money and power.

“When expressing the character Yoon Hyun-woo, I wore glasses for the first time while filming a project,” said Song. “And when I was portraying Jin Do-joon, I prepared a lot of props and outfits that college students would have actually worn and used at that time.”

Since appearing in Vincenzo, Song filmed a gangster movie and, while shooting Reborn Rich, he’s preparing for yet another film.

“I recently finished filming a movie called Hwaran and I’m preparing another film called Ro Ki Wan,” he said, “I am studying a lot to express the character Ro Ki-wan who defected from North Korea and settled in another country.”

In Hwaran he plays a man whose hellish existence leads him to becomes involved with the criminal underworld. As yet there’s no release date for this noir film, but viewers can currently enjoy Song’s riveting performance in Reborn Rich, which airs on Rakuten Viki.