K-actor Song Kang lets his inner beast loose again for horror-fantasy Sweet Home 2

SINGAPORE – It has been three years since the monster-battling horror-fantasy K-drama Sweet Home, but stepping back into the shoes of protagonist Cha Hyun-su for Season 2 was no problem at all for leading man Song Kang.

Much like how Hyun-su has a beast trapped inside him that gives him supernatural abilities, the 29-year-old South Korean actor says his on-screen counterpart is hidden in him.

Sweet Home 2 premieres on Netflix on Dec 1.

In a video conference call with regional media in October, Song recalls: “I thought I would feel out of place after three years, that it would take some time to get back into character. But the minute I saw the set and location on my first day (of filming Season 2), Hyun-su just broke out of me. It was very odd, it was as if someone unleashed Hyun-su from inside me.”

In the first season, Hyun-su is a depressed high school student who moves into an apartment complex only to find himself caught in the middle of an apocalypse. People – including himself – begin turning into dangerous monsters that take the form of their deepest desires.

When Sweet Home premiered in December 2020, it was a big hit which drew more than 22 million viewers in the first four weeks of its release. It was the first South Korean series to enter Netflix’s top 10 list in the United States and also notched up top 10 appearances in more than 70 regions.

In June 2022, Sweet Home was renewed for two more seasons.

Song says Hyun-su will become more mature in the second season, as the story shifts its focus to the apocalypse’s survivors and their experiences with military experiments aimed at separating the monsters from their human hosts.

“Hyun-su’s a stronger character now. He really tries to give more of himself. He throws himself on the front lines and sacrifices himself to save other people,” he says.

Song Kang stars as Cha Hyun-su in the second season of Sweet Home, PHOTO: NETFLIX

In the three years between the two seasons, Song has kept busy. The award-winning actor proved his chops as a romantic lead with series such as Nevertheless (2021) and Forecasting Love And Weather (2022).

Still, the K-star is glad to be back in the midst of monster-slaying madness.

He says: “What’s great about Sweet Home is that it allows me to quench my thirst for really emotional acting that the show requires me to do in a very dramatic fashion.

“I always feel happy when I act in a romance series, but Sweet Home leads me to discover new things about myself, things I didn’t even know I was capable of doing.”

He adds that it is a show with lots of action and computer graphics, which is not something that many people get to experience.

Song Kang says his character Cha Hyun-su becomes stronger and more mature in the new season of horror-fantasy series Sweet Home. PHOTO: NETFLIX

While Sweet Home can get dark and scary, Song says there were still plenty of enjoyable moments during the filming, especially when  they   filmed in  Jeju island.

As most scenes were set in the day, the cast and crew often wrapped up work before sunset.

He adds: “I had to do some wire action in Jeju, so it was thrilling and fun. It was as if I was at an amusement park. I felt like I was on vacation.”

• Sweet Home 2 premieres on Netflix on Dec 1.