NoveLight ™
Cheonghong Action School
The cradle of stunt performers, founded by South Korea’s top martial arts director, Kim Hongbaek.
Lately, Professor Kim Hongbaek had been receiving a flurry of calls. All because of a certain variety show he had agreed to appear on.
“They said you’ll need to be on set from the next shoot onwards.” “Hmm…”
To be honest, he originally intended to decline. Variety shows weren’t really his thing.
However, this time, something piqued his interest.
‘Some of the actors from our academy are participating.’
Most well-known action actors have come out of Cheonghong Action School. But this time, it was different—female actors. The cast primarily consisted of young actresses, which sparked his curiosity. Traditionally, female actors were often sidelined in action roles.
But that’s only natural since action acting is, after all, ‘acting.’ When filming, the preference naturally leans towards male actors who can deliver larger, more powerful movements.
“Impact…”
The force of acting—that’s what action scenes require the most.
For the performance to have power, both the emotion and the body must be in sync.
“Nowadays, though, filming techniques have improved, so stunt doubles are used more often,” remarked Professor Sung Hocheol.
In the past, back when Hong Kong movies were popular, it was customary for actors to perform their stunts. But nowadays, who would actually perform the stunts themselves? It's easier to let someone more physically adept handle the action scenes. That’s the current trend, but…
“This time, I think I should participate.”
It seemed like an opportunity to promote a traditional action actor.
“And I’m a bit concerned about Seoyeon being involved.” “…That’s part of it, too.”
Coincidentally, today was the day Seoyeon was supposed to visit. Probably because of Hyper Action Star.
In fact, a large portion of the recent calls Kim Hongbaek received were about that. The participants in Hyper Action Star were flocking to Cheonghong Action School, seeking guidance in action acting.
It helped that Professor Kim Hongbaek himself had agreed to appear on the show. Though he rejected most of those calls.
Action acting isn’t something you can master with a crash course in a day or two.
‘Did they get scared after signing up?’
While a few actors were directly recruited for Hyper Action Star, most participants applied freely from outside. Although they were selected based on their profiles, many also came in through agency connections.
From the beginning, Hyper Action Star was a challenging show, viewed skeptically within the industry. A variety show with a higher chance of failure than success.
An outdated public audition format. And since it focused on acting rather than singing, there were fewer elements to engage the audience.
That’s likely why many actors who could do a bit of action signed up—to boost their recognition.
‘But then they had to rappel down the building in the first meeting.’
Suddenly, the show caught the public’s attention. Every day, the views kept climbing. Even the actors who joined half-heartedly couldn’t help but feel the pressure.
With the scales tipping from failure towards success, if they didn’t show something impressive, they might miss out on the opportunity.
“Ah, it seems Seoyeon is already here warming up.” “Is that so?”
Professor Kim Hongbaek headed to the stunt training ground with his now-familiar steps. Previously, many actors had viewed Seoyeon with a critical eye, but now things were different.
Whenever they crossed paths with her, they would quickly avert their gaze.
Because…
“Is there anyone willing to practice a scene with me today?” “…”
At Seoyeon’s request, everyone lowered their eyes. There was a lot to learn from working with her.
A lot, but… being thrown several meters also tends to throw everything you’ve learned out the window. Life’s impermanence. People grow detached and start seeing life flash before their eyes.
Anyway, the kind of acting that flirts with life and death. Thanks to that, they could now handle most stunts with a smile, which was satisfying in its own way.
‘But still, partnering with her too often is a bit…’
Seoyeon’s eager gaze reminded them of a dog sitting by the door, tail down, waiting to go out for a walk. If they accidentally made eye contact, they’d end up grabbing the leash and going on that walk.
In the midst of this strange atmosphere…
“Ah, Master.”
Seoyeon called out to Professor Kim Hongbaek as she spotted him. All the actors at Cheonghong Action School called him “Master.” There wasn’t any special reason—it was simply because the work involved physical training, and they saw themselves as his disciples.
“We received word about today’s mission.” “Mission?” “The Hyper Action Star mission.”
Professor Kim Hongbaek nodded. It seemed they were informed of the general outline of the mission before filming.
‘That explains all the recent calls.’
Now that they knew what they’d be filming, they could focus on mastering that specific aspect. Of course, Professor Kim Hongbaek had no intention of helping with that.
‘But shouldn’t they also tell me what we’ll be filming?’
He wondered about it but figured they trusted him. After all, he was just there to demonstrate.
“What’s the mission?” “A shootout,” Seoyeon mumbled, a bit uncertain.
It’s not like she had never handled a gun before.
She hadn’t in this life, but she had in her past life. Because of an incident where a fellow soldier went on a shooting spree, she couldn’t serve in the military. She was exempted, but she had undergone six weeks of military training, so she had some experience shooting a gun.
‘But that’s not quite the same as being in active service.’
To be honest, it had been so long that she barely remembered how to do it. Some of her past life memories were fading over time.
“A shootout…!”
Professor Kim Hongbaek’s eyes widened.
‘That means it’s safe.’
What if it had been a brawl instead? The genre might have shifted.
“The acting will involve guns loaded with paint bullets.”
Like a survival game arena. But of course, this wasn’t a survival game.
It was about the acting—action acting, to be precise.
“So no shooting at the face. They need to see the acting.”
They would wear minimal protective gear, like goggles, to protect their faces. After all, they needed to see the acting.
‘Blending action and acting…’
Seoyeon’s specialty was emotional acting. Mixing that with a shootout didn’t quite fit. There was no narrative to the scene, so she’d have to improvise a character on the spot.
“Seoyeon, you probably already know this, but you need to think about what to show in this shootout.” “What to show… My character?” “Exactly. This movie is a superpower action film. It’s a shootout, but you mustn’t forget that.”
He was right. The presence of superpowers broadened the scope of what she could bring to a simple shootout in terms of acting.
‘My superpower is regeneration.’
She hadn’t put much thought into choosing her power. It just seemed convenient. And it suited her personality.
Honestly, she had debated going with enhanced physical abilities.
‘But there would’ve been too many of those.’
It was an unexpected rappel action scene. To act while leaping from such a height, she instinctively chose something easy.
Out of the hundred contestants, thirty had chosen enhanced physical abilities. Naturally, with so many having the same power, the competition would be even fiercer.
So Seoyeon opted for a slightly different ability—regeneration. A power that allowed her to perform most of the actions an enhanced physical abilities user could do while also offering unique points and impacts.
‘But will this carry over into the movie?’
She was curious. If the protagonist’s superpower wasn’t set in stone, it might be decided during this audition.
As Seoyeon mulled over this, Professor Kim Hongbaek spoke.
“With regeneration, there’s a lot of action viewers would want to see. But from an acting perspective, it’ll be tricky.”
“Because the ability is meaningless unless I get hit.”
“Exactly. Even in a shootout, you need to show that. The kind of acting that involves getting hit.”
It wasn’t an easy role for a female actor. If it were any other actress, Professor Kim Hongbaek would have advised against it.
He might even have suggested they ask the production team to change it.
‘But for her, it should be fine.’
Professor Kim Hongbaek nodded. Seoyeon’s skin wasn’t fragile enough to be damaged by mere paint bullets.
In fact, he had never seen her get hurt. When he asked her about it…
“Uh… the skincare products I use are really good.”
He didn’t know since when skincare products could do that, but he didn’t question it. What could he do, even if he doubted it?
“Let’s start with some practice. We have model guns with paint bullets here.”
Professor Kim Hongbaek was serious about guiding Seoyeon. He knew how passionate she was about acting.
‘If…’
If Seoyeon could elevate her acting skills while mastering action…
‘The success of this movie could very well depend on her.’
Professor Kim Hongbaek didn’t think Seoyeon would get eliminated from Hyper Action Star. If she did, it would only be because she couldn’t adapt to action acting.
But even if that happened, no director would refuse to cast her. If she didn’t land the lead, she’d still get a role with significant importance.
He was certain of that.
‘No.’
Professor Kim Hongbaek shook his head, dismissing the thought of her getting eliminated. She was destined to be the lead this time.
Not a supporting role, but the lead character driving the story forward—that’s what he wanted to see from Seoyeon. He was genuinely invested.
“All right, let’s start with some shooting practice.”
So Professor Kim Hongbaek decided to pass on everything he knew to Seoyeon. She had the potential to become South Korea’s top action star.
Hyper Action Star auditions were essentially live broadcasts, from the preliminaries to the finals.
In each round, twenty contestants would be eliminated. And in the semifinals, ten more would drop out.
In the end, one actor out of the final ten would be selected as the lead in GH Group’s new movie.
Because Seoyeon was heavily featured in the teaser, she drew a lot of attention, including some negative comments. Of course, her defenders pointed out that she jumped without any safety equipment. Others argued about whether the air mattress counted as safety gear.
Despite the buzz, most of the chatter revolved around Seoyeon. There were a few mentions of other contestants, but they were fleeting, just like their brief appearances in the teaser.
Only Jo Seohui managed to generate some discussion, mainly because she was shown descending alone in an elevator.
“Alright, then.”
Lee Kitae, looking at the gathered members of Hyper Action Star’s Group A, spoke. Twenty contestants, each in comfortable attire, stood nervously. As the camera panned across them…
“...Huh?”
Seoyeon stood out. She couldn’t help but stand out.
“Uh, Seoyeon?” “Yes?” “Why are you… wearing a school uniform?”
Seoyeon stood on the set wearing a cool, short-sleeved school uniform. Among those in more practical outfits, her choice was particularly eye-catching. When Lee Kitae PD questioned her, Seoyeon responded matter-of-factly.
Thanks
aye
Good