Disney+ and Hulu really swung for the fences with Uncle Samsik. It isn't just another K-drama. It’s a massive, sweating, political beast of a show set in the 1960s, a time when South Korea was basically trying to figure out how not to starve while simultaneously building a democracy from scratch. But honestly? The show lives or dies on its actors. The cast of Uncle Samsik had to carry the weight of a very dense, very talky script that deals with rice, land reform, and backroom deals. If these actors didn't have chemistry, the whole thing would have collapsed under its own pretension.
It’s about the "Uncle" who fed people during the war. Samsik. He’s a fixer. He’s a shadow. To play a guy like that, you can’t just hire a handsome face. You need gravity.
Song Kang-ho: The Titan at the Center
Let’s be real. If Song Kang-ho is in it, people are going to watch. This was his first-ever TV drama in a career spanning over three decades. Think about that for a second. The man who starred in Parasite, Snowpiercer, and A Taxi Driver—the literal face of the Korean New Wave—waited until now to do a series.
He plays Park Doo-chil, better known as Uncle Samsik. His philosophy is simple: even in the middle of a war, he ate three meals a day, and he made sure his people did too. Song Kang-ho brings this weird, oily charm to the role. He’s lovable but absolutely terrifying because you never quite know if he’s hugging you or checking where to twist the knife. He doesn't play Samsik as a mastermind; he plays him as a survivor who happened to get very good at manipulation.
His performance is a masterclass in micro-expressions. You’ll see him sitting in a dimly lit room, just eating, and the way he chews tells you more about the political tension of the scene than five pages of dialogue could. It’s that "Song Kang-ho magic" where he feels like your neighbor and a dangerous stranger at the same time.
Byun Yo-han and the Idealist’s Burden
Opposite the veteran is Byun Yo-han, playing Kim San. If Samsik is the dirt and the roots, Kim San is the flower that’s trying to grow in a polluted field. He’s an elite who studied in the U.S., coming back with big dreams of an industrial revolution.
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Byun Yo-han has this incredible intensity in his eyes. You might remember him from Mr. Sunshine or Six Flying Dragons. In the cast of Uncle Samsik, he serves as the emotional anchor. He starts off so pristine and full of hope, and watching Samsik slowly corrupt him—or "guide" him, depending on how cynical you are—is the real heartbeat of the story. The height difference, the age gap, the way they talk over each other... it’s electric. Byun plays Kim San with a sort of frantic desperation. He knows the system is broken, and he’s willing to shake hands with the devil to fix it.
The Supporting Players Who Actually Run the Show
It’s a mistake to just focus on the two leads. The ensemble is stacked with character actors who have been the backbone of Korean cinema for years.
Lee Kyu-hyung plays Kang Seong-min. He is, frankly, a bit of a nightmare. He’s a candidate for the next leader and represents the darkest parts of the political machine. Lee is famous for being a "chameleon" actor—he was the quirky drug addict in Prison Playbook and the terrifying villain in Voice 4. Here, he’s cold. Brittle. He’s the kind of guy who uses people like napkins and then wonders why his hands are still dirty.
Then you have Seo Hyun-woo as Jeong Han-min. He’s a soldier. A man of action. In a show that is 80% people talking in rooms, Han-min brings the physical threat. Seo Hyun-woo is one of those actors you’ve seen in everything (like Decision to Leave) but might not know by name. He’s incredible at playing men who are bound by duty but slowly losing their minds.
The Women in Samsik’s World
Jin Ki-joo plays Joo Yeo-jin. In a historical drama like this, female characters can sometimes get pushed to the sidelines, but Yeo-jin is the moral compass. She’s a journalist. She’s also Kim San’s love interest, but her role is way more important than just "the girlfriend." She represents the public eye—the people who actually have to live with the consequences of the men’s power games.
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There’s also Joo Jin-mo and Oh Seung-hoon. These names might not ring bells for casual viewers, but for K-drama buffs, they are signs of quality. The casting director clearly prioritized theater backgrounds and "heavy" actors over idols or trendy stars. It gives the show a stage-play feel that works for a period piece.
Why This Specific Cast Matters for the 1960s Setting
The 1960s in Korea were chaotic. We’re talking about the aftermath of the Korean War and the lead-up to the April 19 Revolution. You can't play these roles with a modern sensibility. The cast of Uncle Samsik had to adopt a very specific way of speaking and moving.
Song Kang-ho, specifically, brings a "folk" energy. He feels like he belongs in a dusty market in 1960. Byun Yo-han feels like the "New Korea"—crisp suits, Western education, but still haunted by the poverty he sees on the streets. This contrast is the whole point of the show. It’s the friction between the old world of favors and food and the new world of industry and policy.
Misconceptions About the Show’s "Vibe"
A lot of people went into this expecting a fast-paced thriller. It’s not. It’s a slow-burn political drama. If you’re looking for Squid Game adrenaline, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want to see actors at the top of their game chewing on complex dialogue, this is it.
Some viewers found the timeline jumps confusing. The show moves between the 1940s and the 1960s. This is where the acting helps. You can tell where you are in time just by looking at the fatigue on Song Kang-ho’s face or the sharpness of Lee Kyu-hyung’s posture. They didn't just rely on makeup; they changed their physical presence.
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The Director-Actor Synergy
Shin Yeon-shick wrote and directed this. He’s worked with Song Kang-ho before (on Cobweb and One Win). There is a shorthand between them. Shin knows exactly how to frame Song’s face to get that perfect mix of "I love you" and "I might kill you."
The dialogue is dense. It’s full of metaphors about "shrimp in a fight between whales" and "the smell of burning rice." It takes a specific kind of talent to deliver those lines without sounding like a textbook. The cast of Uncle Samsik manages to make the political jargon feel personal. When they talk about the "National Reconstruction Plan," it feels like they’re talking about their own lives, not just some boring government document.
Actionable Insights for Viewers
If you’re planning to dive into Uncle Samsik, don't try to multitask. You’ll miss the subtle power shifts.
- Watch the eyes, not the subtitles: Song Kang-ho says more with a blink than most actors do with a monologue.
- Track the food: Notice how Samsik uses food as a weapon or a bribe. It’s the central motif of the show.
- Research the 1960-1961 period: A quick 5-minute read on the 4.19 Revolution and the 5.16 Coup will make the stakes of the show 100% clearer.
- Focus on the Kim San / Samsik dynamic: It’s essentially a "dark mentor" story. Think Training Day but with more suits and less gunfire.
The real takeaway here is that Korean television is moving into a "prestige" era. They are moving away from the "pretty boy" tropes and leaning into heavy-hitting, cinematic acting. The cast of Uncle Samsik is the gold standard for this shift. It’s gritty, it’s complicated, and it’s unapologetically intellectual.
If you want to understand the evolution of the Korean film industry, watching Song Kang-ho transition to the small screen is mandatory viewing. He didn't dim his light for TV; he forced TV to get on his level.
Check out the first three episodes in one sitting to get through the initial world-building. Once the relationship between Kim San and Samsik solidifies around episode four, the momentum becomes undeniable. Pay close attention to the scenes in the "Eunpa" restaurant—that's where the real power is brokered.