Yoo Hae Jin became emotional while talking about the overwhelming support he received after winning the Grand Prize at the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards.
During a recent interview for his upcoming film The Assassin(s), the veteran actor reflected on what made the prestigious recognition particularly meaningful. Rather than focusing only on the award itself, Yoo Hae Jin said he was deeply moved by how genuinely happy people appeared to be for him.
“More than anything, I was thankful that people were so happy that I received the award,” he said. “I even read the YouTube comments, and I was amazed. People were celebrating as if they had walked this journey with me.”
Yoo Hae Jin added with a laugh that some people thought his acceptance speech was a little rough, but the response afterward meant much more to him.
“Everyone I met told me they cried while watching me receive the award. I thought, ‘Are people really this happy for me?’” he recalled.
The actor grew visibly emotional as he explained why he believes the public reacted so warmly.
“Maybe there is a feeling that we have spent all these years together. They know my past and probably thought it could not have been easy for me to get this far. That made me even more grateful,” he said.
The Baeksang recognition came during an especially successful year for Yoo Hae Jin. Earlier in 2026, his film The Man Who Lives with the King drew around 16.9 million moviegoers, becoming another major box-office success in his career. He has now appeared in five films that surpassed 10 million admissions in South Korea.
Despite the celebrations, Yoo Hae Jin admitted that the success also brings pressure as he prepares to introduce his next project.
“I received so many congratulatory messages when I won the award and when many people watched The Man Who Lives with the King,” he said. “There is some pressure wondering whether I will be able to hear those same words again through The Assassin(s).”
In The Assassin(s), Yoo Hae Jin plays Cheol Goo, a police inspector who begins investigating suspicious circumstances surrounding the 1974 assassination of South Korea’s first lady.
For Yoo Hae Jin, however, the reaction to his Baeksang Grand Prize appears to have left one of the strongest impressions. Seeing viewers celebrate and even shed tears over his achievement made him feel that audiences had been following his long acting journey alongside him.
