Jeon Moo-song

Jeon Moo-song (born September 28, 1941) is a South Korean actor.

Jeon was born on September 28, 1941, in Nae-dong, Dong Incheon-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon as the eldest of three sons and four daughters who grew up in a poor fisherman family.

His father is from Haeju, Kōkai-dō (Hwanghae Province), Korea, Empire of Japan, and his mother is from Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do.

Jeon frequently visited his mother's family in Seosan, during his childhood vacations.

His maternal uncle, a farmer, had a knack for storytelling and would captivate Jeon with his one-man performances, leaving a lasting impression on him.

Despite difficult circumstances, with the full support of his uncle and aunt, he was the only one of his siblings who attended kindergarten.

When he was in the second year of elementary school, his family fled when the Korean War broke out, and they sent him to a nearby school despite the hard life of the evacuation.

His family returned to Incheon at the end of the war.

Around this time, Jeon Moo-song started playing baseball at the recommendation of a friend who had returned from Japan.

He hoped to become a baseball player.

In the 1950s, Jeon attended Incheon Middle School, a prestigious school at the time.

His father was so pleased with his admission that he threw a drinking party for the locals.

He was planning to continue his baseball team activities in middle school.

However, Incheon Middle School had no baseball team.

He led the creation of a baseball club, but the dream was abandoned when the baseball club was disbanded against the principal's objection that the students wanted to focus on their studies.

Afterwards, Jeon Moo-song pondered over his career path.

Her biggest concern was 'Is it right to go to college in a difficult family situation?' as he had six younger siblings.

Fortunately, his principal, Gil Young-hee, encouraged him to pursue a career in industry.

This led Jeon to enroll in Incheon Technical High School (now Incheon Mechanical Engineering High School), majoring in mechanical engineering.

His decision did not sit well with his father, who scolded him for three days straight.

Prior to enrolling in Technical High School, he landed a job at Aegwan Theater thanks to a friend who designed the signboard there.

As beginner, He was tasked with whitewashing the signboard.

He eventually quit after starting high school.

However, he couldn't resist sneaking away to the Sinpo-dong theater district with his school bag, donning plain clothes.

It was at Aegwan Theater where he watched movies such as "Break Through the Wall" and "Long Live Freedom", as well as various performances by the likes of Yeoseong Gukgeuk Company, Lim Chun-Aeng Gukgeuk, and "Princess Nangrang and Prince Hodong".

He distinctly recalls watching "Blue Bird".

It was there that he found his passion for acting after being captivated by performances of "Stagecoach" and "Samson and Delilah".

During his time at high school, Jeon also played clarinet in the high school band.

After graduating, he applied for the Department of Theater and Film at Hanyang University and was accepted.

However, the high cost of tuition proved to be a major obstacle, and Jeon became devastated.

He ingested what he believed to be rat poison, but it turned out to be something else entirely.

When he woke up the next morning, feeling surprisingly better, he wondered why he had even considered taking his own life.

He was able to receive practical hands-on training at the Incheon Mechanical Workshop under the Incheon Railroad Administration.

Jeon, who had a good job evaluation, was hired as an apprentice after training.

His first job was to cut bolts and nuts to specifications.

He repeated the work of placing a lump of metal on a machine that was constantly spinning with a loud noise.

Beneath the machine, heaps of iron powder were rusting red.

Jeon began his career on stage in the play 'Chunhyangjeon' in 1964 and has since been active in Korean theatre, film and television.

In 1977, he performed as the title character in Crown Prince Hamyeol (an adaptation of Hamlet) at La MaMa in New York City, which marked the first time a Korean theatre troupe had traveled outside Korea.

Jeon also won two trophies from the Grand Bell Awards for his portrayal of an eccentric monk in Im Kwon-taek's 1981 film Mandala.