'First Ride' Kang Ha-neul revealed the story of running away while learning Japanese from KARA's Kang Ji-young.
On the morning of the 24th at a café in Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, an interview with the film 'First Ride' lead actor Kang Ha-neul took place.
The film 'First Ride' (director Nam Dae-joong, distributed by SHOWBOX, produced by Brainshower·TH Story) is a comedy about 24-year friends who, when they gather—Ta-jeong (Kang Ha-neul), the one who finishes things; Do-jin (Kim Young-kwang), the cheerful one; Yeon-min (Cha Eun-woo), the handsome one; Geum-bok (Kang Young-seok), the one who sleeps with his eyes open; and Ok-sim (Han Sun-hwa), the lovable one—set off on their first overseas trip. It portrays the extreme friendship of five friends whose long-awaited first trip turned into a chaotic adventure.
Kang Ha-neul gave a passionate performance as Jeong Tae-jeong, who earned a perfect score on the college entrance exam and even secured a position as a chief of staff. Following the 2023 hit '30', he reunites with director Nam Dae-joong, raising expectations.
This year Kang Ha-neul has appeared in numerous works, including the theatrical films Streaming and YADANG: The Snitch, Netflix's Squid Game 3 and Wall To Wall, and Genie TV's Tastefully Yours. Working like an ox, he earned the nickname "monthly Kang Ha-neul."
Kang Ha-neul, who released six works in 2025, said, "An actor doesn't decide when a work is released. When told to promote, I promote, but people ask me, 'Don't you rest?' (laughs). I filmed one, rested, filmed one, rested, taking it easy." He added, "But works I filmed over about three to four years all came out around the same time, and even I thought, 'Did I really film this much?' Now there's nothing left. I think I'll rest for about three years going forward."
Asked, "Do you like 'monthly Kang Ha-neul'?" he said with a pleased smile, "That phrase makes me embarrassed. I think this will be the last time. I'm pleased with all the works released this year."
He said that besides his acting activities he has begun studying English and Japanese, "People around me call me stubborn. (laughs) When I decide to do something, I do it somehow. That's my style. Recently I decided 'I'll do it' and what I accomplished was finishing a game's ending. (laughs) I played a PlayStation video game, cutting into my sleep. Such things usually require 50 or 100 hours, but I played while sleeping two hours a night." He added, "I'm using apps to study Japanese and also doing English. I'm learning foreign languages because I want to learn them, not because I'm planning to expand abroad. I want to try as much as I can without giving up halfway."
Earlier, on MBC's variety show Radio Star, Kang Ha-neul said, "I was a huge fan of KARA. I was a fan even before they debuted, when I was in high school. I said I was a fan during '30' and got an autograph and that kind of thing," showing his genuine fandom. In response, Kang Ji-young boasted of their friendship, saying, "So now I'm Kang Ha-neul's Japanese teacher. We exchange Japanese messages by text."
Regarding this, Kang Ha-neul confessed with a laugh, "I'm sorry, but that ended back then. (laughs) Replying to messages in Japanese was too difficult." He added, "Messaging with a person, each message took 20 minutes to write. I searched on Google and wrestled with my phone. It was so hard... I'm sorry, but I ran away."
Meanwhile, 'First Ride' opens on the 29th.
[Photo] Provided by SHOWBOX Corp.
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