할리우드에서 활동하고 있는 김종만 배우는 5일 속초 영랑호 보광사를 방문해 회주 석문 스님과 차담을 갖고 불교영화제 발전 방향과 영화·문화예술을 통한 불교문화 확산 등에 대해 의견을 교환했다.

지난해 보광사 불교영화제에 참석했던 김 배우는 이번 귀국 기간에도 보광사를 찾았다. 이번 방문은 제작사 스타제국이 제작하는 유튜브 프로그램 출연과 함께 이뤄진 것으로 알려졌다.

보광사 경내를 둘러본 김 배우는 한국의 사찰과 전통문화가 주는 의미에 대해서도 깊은 관심을 나타냈다.

김 배우는 “미국에서 활동할수록 나의 정체성에 대해 더 깊이 생각하게 된다”며 “결국 그 근본에는 우리 문화가 있다는 것을 자각하게 된다”고 말했다.

이어 “사찰에 올 때마다 내가 배우로서 미국에서 해야 할 역할, 특히 문화 전도사로서 어떤 일을 할 수 있을지 더 많이 공부하게 된다”고 밝혔다.

할리우드에서 활동하는 한국계 배우로서 자신의 활동을 단순히 연기 영역에만 머물게 하지 않고 한국문화와 정체성을 알리는 역할로 확장하고 있다는 의미다.

김종만 배우는 최근 국제무대에서도 주목받고 있다. 그는 진미송 감독의 영화 <사일런트 보이시스>에 출연해 제79회 칸 국제영화제 라 시네프 부문에 초청됐으며, 이 작품은 지난 5월 열린 영화제에서 2등상을 수상했다. 라 시네프는 세계 영화학교 학생들의 작품을 대상으로 하는 칸 영화제 공식 경쟁 부문이다.

김 배우는 당시 실제 미국 이민자로서의 경험을 영화에 녹여냈다는 평가를 받았다. 공개 인터뷰에서도 미국 생활 15년 동안 겪었던 비자와 언어 문제, 이민자로서 백인 중심 사회에 적응하는 어려움 등을 작품 속 인물의 감정과 연결해 이야기한 바 있다.

이번 보광사 방문에서는 특히 영화와 불교문화의 접점을 놓고 이야기가 오갔다. 김 배우와 석문 스님은 불교의 정신과 한국 전통문화를 영화라는 대중매체를 통해 어떻게 보다 쉽게 알릴 수 있을지 의견을 나눴다.

Hollywood Actor Jongman Kim Visits Bogwangsa Temple in Sokcho, Reflects on Korean Identity and Culture

SOKCHO, SOUTH KOREA — Hollywood-based Korean actor Jongman Kim visited Bogwangsa Temple on Yeongnangho Lake in Sokcho on September 5, where he met with Venerable Seokmun, the temple’s senior monk, for a tea conversation focused on film, Buddhism and Korean culture.

Kim and Venerable Seokmun exchanged ideas about the future of the Buddhist Film Festival and discussed how film and the arts could help introduce Buddhist philosophy and Korea’s traditional culture to wider audiences around the world.

Kim, who attended last year’s Buddhist Film Festival, made the visit during his latest stay in Korea. His return also included an appearance on a YouTube program produced by Star Empire.

During the conversation, Kim shared some news about his recent work in the United States. In addition to his film projects, he revealed that he has also been working in advertising.

“I’ve been doing commercials as well as films,” Kim said. “Recently, I traveled to Mexico for an OpenAI advertisement related to GPT.”

As he toured the grounds of Bogwangsa, Kim spoke about the growing importance of Korean culture in his life and career.

He said that the longer he works in the United States, the more deeply he thinks about his own identity and where it comes from.

“The more I work in America, the more deeply I think about my identity,” Kim said. “And I’ve come to realize that at the root of that identity is our culture.”

He added that every visit to a Korean temple gives him an opportunity to reflect on the role he can play as an actor living and working in the United States.

“Whenever I visit a temple, I find myself thinking more deeply about what I should do as an actor in America, and about the role I can play as a cultural ambassador for Korea,” he said. “It makes me want to study our culture even more.”

For Kim, acting on the international stage is becoming more than a professional career. It is also an opportunity to share Korea’s cultural heritage and identity with audiences beyond Korea.

From Korea to Hollywood and the Cannes Film Festival

Kim has recently attracted international attention through his work in the United States and on the global film circuit.

He appeared in director Jin Misong’s film Silent Voices, which was selected for the La Cinef competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival. The film won Second Prize in the La Cinef competition at this year’s festival.

La Cinef is an official Cannes competition dedicated to films made by students from film schools around the world.

Kim’s own experiences as an immigrant in the United States also informed his approach to the role. In interviews, he has spoken about his 15 years in America, including the challenges of visas, language and adapting to a predominantly white society. Those experiences helped him connect personally with the emotions and struggles portrayed in the film.

His visit to Bogwangsa brought together two important parts of his life: cinema and Korean cultural heritage.

During his conversation with Venerable Seokmun, the two discussed how Buddhist philosophy and Korea’s traditional culture might be presented through film in ways that can reach younger generations and international audiences.

For an actor building his career in Hollywood, Kim says the further he travels into the international world of cinema, the more strongly he feels connected to where he came from.

His message from Bogwangsa was simple but deeply personal:

The farther he goes into the world, the more he wants to understand the culture that shaped him — and to share that culture with the world.

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