Mark Balneger Talks Building a New Life in South Korea, Landing Acting Roles, and Lessons Learned Along the Way

Ida Tirkkonen of Genius Korea found Mark through a LinkedIn post about his acting jobs and asked for the whole story: arriving in 2011, the working holiday in 2015, a first job in a whiskey bar in Itaewon, and how one weekend shoot playing an American soldier turned into two dozen dramas, fifteen movies, a dozen commercials and the TWICE "BDZ" music video. Lunch with TWICE included.

The honest part is about the market. Foreign extras are cast on looks, the work has become more crowded and less well paid since 2015, and being on time and easy to work with is what got him rebooked. He also explains why he never wanted to act full time, what he regrets (not keeping a portfolio), and what comes next: UpperClass, a trip to Canada to meet new clients, and a unicorn as the milestone. The fun questions at the end cover his K-pop role, his anthem, and which K-drama world he would live in.