When the interviewer questioned him about the details of his transition from a model into an actor, Kim Young Kwang answered, "There wasn't anything specific. I was just [modeling] and got a call one day."
The actor explained, "I started off with minor roles and as I was doing them, I felt really resentful. I was doing well as a model and thought, 'Why do I have to do dramas like a fish out of water?'" recalling the halting start to his acting career.
Kim Young Kwang added, "So I thought that if I act better, I'll be able to get good roles like my seniors and show everyone my acting. I took on more dramas with that in mind."
After this interview, netizens took offense to what Kim Young Kwang said, particularly about his expression "fish out of water," which seemed to condescend smaller acting roles. However, others have come to his defense with comments that read, "He's not saying the minor roles are fish out of water..he's saying that's how he felt when he was doing minor roles so he tried....harder," "Is what he said really a problem? He didn't say that to the people with minor roles; he felt like that himself so he worked even harder...are y'all even reading the article before leaving comments?" and, "He's saying his own situation was like a fish out of water; why are the netizens going batshit crazy, I don't understand. I mean, come on, are you not netizens but journalists?"
Kim Young Kwang responded to the backlash through his agency on October 29, stating, "I believe there was a misunderstanding from the release of certain content. The expression 'fish out of water' referred to the feeling of incompetence I experienced when I was beginning my acting career, because I was surrounded by such talented actors. So I used that as motivation to strive to be better actor. The misunderstanding arose from trying to deliver how I felt and I'm sorry to all the aspiring actors and minor roles who were offended by this expression. I will be more careful from now on."
You can watch Kim Young Kwang's interview portion around the 3:45 mark in the video above.
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