Song Joong Ki - the star once known as the "rating king" of Korean cinema - is going through a difficult period when he is constantly involved in scandals and failures.
His latest film, My Youth, released with high expectations but fell into a state of poor ratings in Korea, even being considered one of the worst opening works in the actors career.
The ratings of the first two episodes of My Youth are only about 2.9% and 2.8% nationwide (according to Nielsen data) much lower than the average of his previous works. Even Song Joong Ki's film was surpassed by Go Hyun Jung's rivals by more than 3 times.
His film career has also faced challenges with a number of recent commercial failures such as "Bogota: City of the Lost" in 2024 and "Hopeless" in 2023.
Both works are struggling at the Korean box office. In addition to the script factor, Song Joong Ki's acting was criticized for lacking depth. At that time, many viewers thought that Song Joong Ki was not a popular face on the big screen.
The star born in 1985 is only highly appreciated in TV series. In nearly 20 years of his career, Song Joong Ki has only played the main roles in 5 TV series, but most of them were films that caused a stir.
However, when he returned to TV series this year, the actor surnamed Song was also facing bad luck.
Pop culture expert Kim Heon Sik commented on Song Joong Ki's comeback: "From the first episode, this film lacked appeal."
Not only disappointed with the film's achievements, Song Joong Ki was also criticized for some statements during film promotions, affecting his image, which was associated with decency.
Many viewers criticized the actor for "talking openly about his wife and children". He was criticized for crying too much, often taking his small family as the topic every time he went on shows.
During a trip to promote the movie "Bogota: The City of the Strayers", when he heard the mention of a deserted cinema, Song Joong Ki burst into tears. His reaction was commented by the Korean public as " crying too much", " crying to hope for sympathy".
Some audiences believe that his personal image - especially the fact that he once stated "being a father means losing many career opportunities" (2023) - has made many Korean audiences angry.
After divorcing Song Hye Kyo, the actor chose to focus all his energy on his career by participating in many consecutive film and television projects. However, the results have not met the expectations of the audience, when most of the works have not created a buzz.
In contrast to the golden age of The Sun's fate, Song Joong Ki is now facing the pressure to reaffirm his position in the entertainment industry. Many fans still expect him to soon regain his form thanks to his acting experience and inherent appeal, but it is clear that the path ahead of the actor surnamed Song is not easy.
