Song Chang-eui (born January 24, 1979) is a South Korean actor. Though better known as a musical theatre actor, notably in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Gwanghwamun Love Song, Song has also starred in television dramas such as The Scales of Providence and Life Is Beautiful.
Career Song Chang-eui began his career in musical theatre in 2002's Blue Saigon. Most famous for playing a transgender rocker in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, he also starred in the stage adaptation of Hollywood film The Graduate, the musical adaptation of romantic comedy 200 Pounds Beauty with Bada, a musical based on The Sorrows of Young Werther, popular German musical Elisabeth with Ock Joo-hyun, and Korea's first jukebox musical Gwanghwamun Younga (younga is the Korean word for "love song" or "sonata") featuring the hit songs of the late composer Lee Young-hoon.
After doing small roles on television starting 2005, Song gained fame in 2007 when he starred in Golden Bride, a drama about an inter-cultural marriage between an elite Korean man (Song) and a young Vietnamese woman (played by Lee Young-ah). He followed that with leading roles in the revenge court thriller The Scales of Providence, and the post-war film Once Upon a Time in Seoul. The latter, titled Boys Don't Cry in Korean, is about two orphaned friends (played by Song and Lee Wan) who become involved in the black market to escape poverty. Song had to lose 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) and shave his head for his role. In 2009 he was cast as the antagonist in the Kwon Sang-woo starrer Cinderella Man, a Prince and the Pauper tale set in the world of fashion merchandising, which drew lackluster ratings.
Penned by renowned drama writer Kim Soo-hyun, the 2010 weekend family drama Life Is Beautiful became memorable and somewhat controversial for its depiction of a loving, functional relationship between two homosexual men, the first Korean show to do so in the primetime slot of a public network. The drama was a hit with average ratings of 20%, and Song earned praise for his portrayal of a gentle, kind doctor of internal medicine, who happens to be openly gay and in love with Lee Sang-woo's divorcee character.
Song and Seo Ji-hye played a married couple in melodrama A Lone Tree (the Korean title Tree that Sleeps Standing speaks to the theme of a person's desire to stay next to and support a loved one), then he had a supporting role in A Reason to Live, a contemplative film on grief and forgiveness starring Song Hye-kyo.
He returned to television in the 2011 campus romance Heartstrings (also known as You've Fallen for Me). The drama was co-produced by the Seoul Institute of the Arts, which provided its campus for filming. Song, a graduate of the arts-specialized university, said the classrooms, library and the atmosphere made him feel nostalgic. He and co-star Park Shin-hye had previously worked together as voice actors for the local hand-drawn animated film Green Days: Dinosaur and I.
Song starred in two series in 2012: Syndrome, a medical drama on cable about neurosurgeons, and The Great Seer, a historical epic about the founding of the Joseon Dynasty. Kim Soo-hyun cast him again in her 2013 weekend drama Thrice Married Woman, in which his character has lingering feelings for his ex-wife.
In 2014, Song played the titular character in police procedural Dr. Frost, adapted from the webtoon of the same title. He was then cast as a widowed father with a troubled son in the Make a Woman Cry (2015).
Filmography Film Year Title RoleNotes 2002 Emergency Act 19 adviser 2 2005 My Girl and I Park Jong-goo 2007 Pacchigi! Love & Peace Jin-sung 2008 Once Upon a Time in Seoul Tae-ho 2010 A Lone Tree Jung Gu-sang 2011 Green Days: Dinosaur and I Kim Cheol-soo animated, (voice) A Reason to Live Ji-suk 2020 Beyond That Mountain Kim Ik-hyun 2021 The Recon Kang Sung-gu
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2005 Rainy Day on the Tenth Yoon-seok Wedding Yoon Hyung-chul The Youth in Barefoot Hwang Joon-hyuk Drama City: "My Sweet Bloody Lover" Jin-woo one act-drama 2006 The 101st Proposal Seo Hyun-joon 2007 Golden Bride Kang Jun-woo Lee San, Wind of the Palace Jeong Yak-yong 2008 On Air Himself Cameo (episode 11) The Scales of Providence Jang Joon-ha 2009 Cinderella Man Lee Jae-min 2010 Life Is Beautiful Yang Tae-sub 2011 Heartstrings Kim Suk-hyun A Thousand Days' Promise Noh Young-soo 2012 Syndrome Cha Yeo-wook The Great Seer Lee Jung-geun 2013 Thrice Married Woman Jung Tae-won 2014 Dr. Frost Baek Nam-bong 2015 Make a Woman Cry Kang Jin-woo 2017 The Secret of My Love Han Ji-seob / Kang Jae-wook 2018Hide and SeekCha Eun-hyuk 2023 Twinkling Watermelon adult Kang Hyeon-yul Cameo (episode 16) 2024–2025 Desperate Mrs. SeonjuKim So-woo
Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2021The Cultural History of Spoons and PotsNarrator documentary history
Music video YearSong titleArtist2005"What My Tears Are Saying"Kyun-woo"Sad Diary"2006"Alcohol"Vibe2007"Yesterday is Different From Today"Kim Ji-eun"Your Love is Enough"Baek Ji-young"Please Find Her"The Name2008"It Was You"Kyun-woo2015"She Has Come"99 (NINTYNINE)
Theater Year Title Role2002 Blue Saigon The Play 2003 Songsan Yahwa Kim Hyun Jesus Christ Superstar Jesus Christ2004 The Play X Singin' in the Rain Don Lockwood Funky Funky 2006 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig 2007 The Graduate Benjamin Braddock 2008 200 Pounds Beauty Han Sang-jun 2009 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig2010 Turandot The Sorrows of Young Werther Werther 2011 Gwanghwamun Love Song Sang-hoon2012 Elisabeth Death Gwanghwamun Love Song Sang-hoon2013 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Joseph Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig 2014 Blood Brothers Mickey 2015 Rebecca Maxim de Winter 2016 Mata Hari Armand2019I Loved YouLee Joon-hyuk
Discography Album informationTrack listingI Love You - Golden Bride OST Single Released: January 7, 2008Love 101 EP Released: March 28, 2008우주에서 Track 15 from Green Days: Dinosaur and I OST Released: June 3, 2011
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2007 SBS Drama Awards Top 10 Stars Golden Bride Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama 2008 44th Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actor (TV) SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special The Scales of Providence 2009 45th Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actor (Film) Once Upon a Time in Seoul 17th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best New Actor 46th Grand Bell Awards Best New Actor 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Actor 2010 26th Korea Best Dresser Swan Awards Best Dressed, Culture/문화인 category SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend/Daily Drama Life Is Beautiful 2011 6th Asia Model Festival Awards BBF Popular Star Award 2012 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special The Great Seer 2014 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Thrice Married Woman 2015 4th APAN Star Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Make a Woman Cry 2015 MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Make a Woman Cry 2017KBS Drama AwardsExcellence Award, Actor in a Serial DramaThe Secret of My Love 20186th APAN Star AwardsExcellence Award, Actor in a Serial DramaMBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend Special ProjectHide and Seek 2020 14th SBS Entertainment Awards Best Teamwork Award Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny 2025 MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Daily/Short Drama Desperate Mrs. Seonju
References
External links
Song Chang-eui Fan Cafe at Daum