“What kind of discrimination could you be facing”: Song Joong-ki’s comment of married actors facing discrimination draws ire from netizens

Song Joong-ki, one of the top actors of South Korea with hit shows such as Vincenzo, Descendants of the Sun, Reborn Rich, came under hot waters for his comments regarding married actors on June 16, 2023. In a clip of Song Joong-ki's interview with YouTube channel Alien Mandarin, the 37-year-old actor commented that “being a father, being a husband” usually means losing out on a job in the acting industry.

The comment ignited a lot of flak from both South Korean and international fans as they believed that it was rather privileged. They compared his comment with the myriad of comments by female actors facing extreme discrimination and even male actors’ who were allegedly outed for being misogynistic yet are thriving in the industry.

---

Song Joong-ki’s comments about losing job when an actor marries gets vehemently criticized, full interview video offers clarity

On June 16, 2023, Song Joong-ki went viral talking about being a father in a Chinese interview with the YouTube channel Alien Mandarin. Two days ago, the 37-year-old actor welcomed his first child, a boy, with former British actress Katy Louise Saunders, in Italy. He posted a picture of his son holding his finger on his official fancafe announcing the good news.

The interview was done when the Vincenzo actor's wife was still pregnant during his movie’s (Hopeless) premiere at Cannes Film Festival 2023. The interviewer told him about a famous Chinese expression about a professional and personal life being called a “double harvest.” The interviewer then asked Song Joong-ki's opinion on it.

“Your movie has been premiered at Cannes, while your baby is on the way. The Chinese have this saying, “a double harvest in work and family life.” What do you think about the relationship between the two?” (as per translation via Koreaboo)

Song Joong-ki responded that it looked like he was losing out on jobs. He explained his stance by saying that having a child and a wife in the South Korean acting industry equals to losing business for actors.

“Sometimes, being a father, being a husband, that means losing a job in this business. Being a father and having a baby, and a marriage with a woman, in this business, sometimes, it looks like [I’m] losing my job more and more.” (as per translation via Koreaboo)

The comment did not sit right with netizens as they criticized his way of thinking. Both Korean and international fans had similar reactions. They talked about actresses having a difficult time both professionally and physically after the birth of a child and some problematic actors still getting ample work opportunities. Moreover, they even refuted his comment by talking about married actors who are still working well.

English translation of Korean netizens' comment on theqoo forum (Image via pannchoa)

Soon after, some netizens found Song Joong-ki’s full interview and discovered that his response was cut in between. After the controversial comment, he had added that those incidents occurred on “a case to case basis” and he wasn’t scared of it since his family was more important than work for him.

“Yes, case by case, okay, But I am not afraid about this. I don’t care. For me, family is always much important than work. But I love my job, and then I’ll do my effort always for myself and for my family. I can be a good actor, and then I can be a human as a father, as a husband, and as a son. So I can do it like both. [sic]” (as per translation via Koreaboo)

However, South Korean netizens were not fully convinced by the answer.

South Korean netizens' comments after watching the full clip on theqoo (Image via Koreaboo)

---

Song Joong-ki will next appear in a movie titled My Name is Loh Kiwan, which is slated for a 2024 release.