Kim Min Seok reveals 'Shark 2' actors actually landed a few blows on each other

Kim Min Seok (35) shares what it took to play Cha Woo Sol in the action thriller Shark 2: The Storm.

Shark 2: The Storm follows Cha Woo Sol (Kim Min Seok), who is training to become a mixed martial artist after his release from prison, battling against the ruthless Hyun Woo Yeong (Lee Hyun Wook). Having fought to survive, Cha Woo Sol overcomes fear and pushes boundaries, growing stronger. Now, to protect those precious to him, he battles a new kind of “evil”. 

Following Shark: The Beginning, which was TVING’s first original movie, Kim Min Seok returned to the character of Cha Woo Sol four years later.

Kim Min Seok shared his thoughts: “It was released after such a long time, so I felt a lot of pressure. I looked so young on the screen. It was embarrassing. I even thought, ‘Why do I look so young?’ I watched it with a sense of nostalgia.” “The release date was decided very suddenly, so we were quite taken aback. Time just flew by.”

The actor also expressed his gratitude for Shark reaching number one in real-time rankings on TVING shortly after its release, saying, “I thought people might have forgotten about it, but it ended up ranking number one. I think we also benefited a lot from the webtoon’s [popularity].” 

“I was really happy to be given such an opportunity, and more than anything, I approached it with the mindset that this would be my last time playing a high school student. I feel thankful to my parents for giving birth to me. It’s a role I couldn’t have done if I didn’t look young for my age,” he said with a hearty laugh.

Talking about the action scenes, Kim Min Seok confessed, “I basically lived with Hyun Wook hyung and [spent all my time with] the stunt team, trying to memorize everything with my body. I thought action would be easy, but it was really tough. The action director wanted us to do as much as possible without employing stunt doubles, so aside from the really dangerous parts, we actors did everything ourselves. I did get hurt a bit, too.”

When asked about the difference in physical strain compared to four years ago, the actor said, “In Season 1, my character couldn’t fight, so I just showed that frozen feeling as it was. But in Season 2, since I had to fight well, I basically lived at the gym. I also received a lot of personal training. I worked out 350 days a year, ran 8km every day, reduced my body fat to 8%, and did four gym sessions a day.”

However, because there were so many scenes where the actors get hit, Kim admitted to getting “body aches quite often and hooked up to the IV drip.” “The ‘king’ look on the poster is my own body without any retouching done. I even followed real athletes during their competitions and mirrored them as they prepared,” he said.

Kim, who believes “acting is a natural talent”, also explained why he trained so rigorously: “I believed that my acting skills wouldn’t suddenly improve just by practicing. So, I thought that if I could at least make what’s seen feel real, [like the physique], it would draw viewers into the story. That’s how I mentally prepared myself.”

“I carefully thought about everything from [the character’s] head to toe.” “I paid close attention to even the way I should clench my fists. I tried to perform without stunt doubles as much as possible. Since the story depicts Cha becoming friends with the people who once bullied him, bridging that gap was really challenging.”

Kim also expressed some regret, admitting that although he wanted to show a more mature image compared to Season 1, he wasn’t as satisfied with the result as he had hoped.

When asked if he sustained any injuries while filming the action scenes, Kim Min Seok shared, “Since we fought not in a ring but on the floor, if we stepped even slightly outside the safe zone or misjudged the distance, we would end up really hitting each other. There were times when we accidentally landed a few blows on one another. When it got too painful or tough, we’d rest for 30 minutes and then get back to it again. We filmed the final action scene over eight days. Bruises were a given.”

Kim Min Seok recalled the set was “like a military [camp].” “When I looked around the set, it’s all men. Even in Season 1, it was a juvenile detention center, but I thought, ‘What kind of high school students are these? (laughs)’”. Having attended an all-boys high school himself, he felt especially comfortable on a set with so many male actors.

For Kim Min Seok, Shark was a series of “sudden” events. “When filming Season 1, I didn’t know if I would get to do a Season 2, but suddenly we started shooting and suddenly it was released. I hope Season 3 isn’t so sudden. I wish the actors have time to get in shape and prepare,” he said playfully. 

When asked what aspect he would like to improve if there were a next season, Kim Min Seok replied, “I think I should check my joints and get a health check-up. I really don’t have the confidence to do it again, but since I’ve done it once before, I think I can do it. Running almost 10 km a day made my knees make sounds. If I can properly take care of my body and season 3 gets produced, I want to show a man who truly trains hard.”

The actor also said he has been very fortunate in his acting career, stating, “I’m truly grateful that I can earn my three meals a day through acting. I did not major in this field, nor did I originally set out to pursue acting, so this isn’t just empty talk. I really think I’m lucky every single day.”

Where does Kim Min Seok’s strength, hidden behind his youthful looks, lie? He pointed to “having actually lived in society” as his advantage, explaining, “Those who major [in a particular field] usually focus on a single path starting from high school, right? They think, ‘It has to be this or nothing.’ But I graduated from a technical high school and even got an electrician’s license. In university, I majored in hotel culinary arts and learned to cook. Having lived through various experiences seems to have broadened my perspective. No matter what production I watch, I notice those details of [real-life struggles]. I think my experience of actually [having lived in the society and grinding through the challenges to] earn money is a strength. Maybe that’s why people often say I feel raw and genuine [on screen].”

The actor also shared his aspirations, saying, “I feel more and more that I should act my age, so I try not to make promises I can’t keep. Rather than setting grand goals, I focus on doing well with whatever I have to do tomorrow. When I go about it that way, time seems to pass smoothly.”

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