Lee Kwang Soo Talks About Dating In Public, Potential Guest Appearance On "Running Man," And Focusing On Acting And Treatment

Aug 09, 2021

Lee Kwang Soo recently participated in an interview with Sports Chosun to promote the upcoming film “Sinkhole.”

“Sinkhole” is a comedy disaster film about a man who has saved up for 11 years to buy his own house only to have it disappear in a sinkhole in less than a minute. It stars Kim Sung Kyun, Cha Seung Won, Lee Kwang Soo, Kim Hye Joon, and more. The film was supposed to be released last year, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee Kwang Soo said, “The movie was supposed to premiere last year but was delayed because the situation wasn’t good. I think that it’s something to be grateful for that we can premiere movies during this period at all. It’s difficult to promote the movie though because we want to be cautious about telling people to go to the movie theater right now. But it’s a good movie for these current times. It has a hopeful message about people overcoming crisis together, so I think that people can feel hopeful and gain a sense of strength through it.”

About his chemistry with the cast, he said, “I’m really grateful toward Cha Seung Won in particular. He’s the oldest and the most senior, but he made the atmosphere on set really comfortable and approached us first. Because of him, all the actors and production staff on set could have fun filming.” He added, “While I was filming this movie, I learned about the importance of chemistry. Thanks to such great colleagues, it was like spending time with family. Because of them, I was able to act while trying the acting that I’d wanted to do.”

Lee Kwang Soo also mentioned his ankle injury. He fractured his right ankle in a car accident last year and the persistence of the injury led to him stepping down from “Running Man” after more than a decade on the show. He said, “I won’t take a long break from promoting. I’m going to have surgery to remove the metal pins next week and I’ll undergo rehabilitation treatment. It’s not to the extent that it will impact my day-to-day life. I was a bit lazy before about rehabilitation treatment, but this time I’m going to focus on it.”

Many people have referred to Lee Kwang Soo’s departure from “Running Man” as returning to his “real job” of acting, but Lee Kwang Soo said, “I’m not sure about that myself. I think that I’m the same as I was before. I don’t feel a sense of pressure about ‘returning to my real job.’ There’s nothing that’s changed from when I was on ‘Running Man’ to when I’m not. I don’t feel a sense of pressure about showing a totally different side of myself because I’m not on ‘Running Man’ either. I just want to keep going as I have done until now and do the best acting that I can.”

Lee Kwang Soo recently appeared on “My Little Old Boy,” where “Running Man” castmate Kim Jong Kook appears as a fixed cast member. “Even before the broadcast aired, I called Kim Jong Kook and apologized in advance,” he said. “I explained to him that I said this and this, and that even though the preview cut it like this, I didn’t actually go that far. I apologized to him before the episode even aired. But he already knows what I think about his personality, so he wasn’t that bothered by it.”

Contrary to his comedic image on “Running Man,” Lee Kwang Soo shared that he doesn’t really have a funny personality. “I’m not actually the type to talk a lot,” he said. “When I meet someone for the first time, there are times when they’re disappointed because they were expecting me to be funny and honest and outspoken. I’ve experienced a lot of worry and stress over that in the past. But now I’m older and more comfortable with myself than before. I can speak with others more comfortably. I was really careful about interacting with people in the past, but now I realize that that makes other people uncomfortable, so I try to be more comfortable now.”

Asked whether he would ever be a guest on “Running Man” in the future, he said, “I think it would be funny, but I think it would also feel really strange. Of course it would be very welcome to see them all again, like returning to one’s hometown, but I don’t know. It’s hard to express in words. I think that it would feel very different if I returned as a guest rather than a member.”

Lee Kwang Soo has been in a public relationship with actress Lee Sun Bin since December 31, 2018. In the past, the actor had spoken about feeling pressure about going public with a relationship, and when the interviewer brought up Lee Sun Bin, he said honestly, “I still feel the same.” However, he added, “We’re just dating normally like other people do. It’s not like we can’t meet up outside if we want to. We go and eat good food together and we’re happy.”