If fate led him then, this time he chose his fate. Actor Jang Dong-yoon debuted the following year after appearing in the news in 2015 for apprehending a convenience store robber while attending Hanyang University. Ten years on, he stands at another starting line. On the 13th, two days before the release of his first feature as a director, <Nuruk>, we met “director Jang Dong-yoon”.

Jang said, “Even if I’m clumsy, what matters is to try.” “I’m still clumsy as an actor, but I don’t regret becoming one. I didn’t start out thinking I’d act for more than ten years; I just thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be a good experience?’ and began. It’s similar with directing. I didn’t start with a grand dream of making a feature film.”

Released on the 15th, the film <Nuruk> tells the story of Daseul (Kim Seung-yoon), a high-schooler who loves makgeolli and the daughter of a brewery owner, who one day senses the taste of makgeolli has changed and sets out to find the missing nuruk. Nuruk is the main ingredient of makgeolli.

“I wanted to tell a story only I could tell,” Jang said, adding, “Rather than starting with a release in mind, I took it one step at a time and ended up here.” Although this is his first feature, he previously directed the short film <Be My Ears> (2023). It screened at festivals, including an invitation to the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival at the time, but did not secure a theatrical release.

Helming a feature was decidedly different. “I was involved in the entire process on the short as well, but the scale was so small that it was hard to go through every step properly,” he said. “This time, going from A to Z, I realized how hard it is to send a single work out into the world.”

Jang, who says he quit drinking long ago, even made makgeolli himself for the project. “I actually made makgeolli at home about twice. The film centers on makgeolli, so I felt I needed to understand the principles.” He shared what he brewed with the cast and crew. According to Jang, the reaction came back as, ‘It’s really delicious.’

He says nuruk is like the faith each person holds in their heart and leans on to live. Jang said, “People live with convictions and beliefs that can be frustrated, and from which they can draw strength again. Those around you may cheer them on or criticize them,” adding, “To depict this, I used nuruk as a symbolic device.”

While he acted himself in <Be My Ears>, this time he stayed solely behind the camera. If he makes another project, he says he is willing to appear in it again. He calls acting his main occupation. Seeing from a director’s perspective likely made him reconsider ‘actor Jang Dong-yoon’. “When a performer, without asking back, seems to read my mind and immediately catch and express it, I feel at ease. I thought I should become that kind of actor, too.”

Jang studied economics and finance. He learned filmmaking not at school but on set. “I asked veteran directors whether it would be necessary to study at a specialized film school. But they all said, ‘You go to school to shoot films, but if you’re in a situation where you can shoot films, there’s no class better than that.’”

Moving between the two jobs of actor and director, he found a commonality. “In any job, if you work hard and perform, you build a career and gain recognition. But for actors or directors, it’s always ‘over the rainbow.’ You have to invest vaguely, thinking, ‘Someday that rainbow will come to me.’ It’s like scratching a lottery ticket every time. If you don’t win, it’s over. Even if I try, nothing accumulates.”

Rather than despairing at that reality, he decided simply to move forward. “I think there’s no right answer in the world. Everything is a choice. In the end, you make the choice yourself. The people who tell me, ‘Do this, do that,’ won’t take responsibility for my life. If you ask yourself whether it’s truly what you want to do and, even clumsily, give it a try, something remains. That’s how my life has flowed. Of course, there must have been many bad parts along the way, but I think it’s enough if I live taking responsibility for my choices.”