Why Uncle Samsik star Tiffany Young isn’t “chasing” political K-drama roles

Disney+’s Uncle Samsik stars K-Pop idol and actor Tiffany Young in her first major leading K-drama role, but speaking with Dexerto, she’s revealed she isn’t purposely looking for political roles.

Tiffany Young is a name many K-Pop fans would recognize as part of Girl’s Generation. But besides the music industry, she’s embarked on an acting journey that led her to Uncle Samsik.

In Uncle Samsik, Young is Rachel Jeong, a member of the Albright Foundation who seeks to help Kim San and Uncle Samsik in their ambition to change South Korea during the 1960s. Uncle Samsik is full of political storylines, but it’s not the first time Young has appeared in the genre.

Previously, Young starred as Rachel in Reborn Rich, a time-traveling K-drama set in the late 80s using the 1997 Asian Financial crisis as a backdrop. In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Young reveals she isn’t purposely seeking out the political genre.

“It’s not that I’m chasing after specifically political pieces. It’s just stories that connect with an audience despite the period. That it’s still a conversation to be had,” explained the actor.

Young explained Uncle Samsik “enamored” her from the first script reading with how “authentically Korean” it was.

For her, the K-drama takes place in an “era of when my parents were born, and when my grandparents were living and traveling and dreaming of coming to America, and then coming back to Korea. So there was a connection there.”

During the press run for Uncle Samsik with Song Kang-ho, Young remembers him saying, “this is much more than just the 1960s of Korea. It’s a story about the human spirit and survival instincts and how people overcome and how a culture and country overcomes to chase after their dreams.”

One could say it’s a Korean diaspora story, just like Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko. Uncle Samsik presented itself as a prime opportunity for Young in a leading role while also telling an impactful story.

“I definitely wanted to start this chapter of my acting career with something I was curious about. I think it’s so important to be first curious about it yourself before presenting it to an audience. So having curiosity and starring in conversation starting stories was definitely the reason why I wanted to be a part of this project,” said the actor.

Her role as Rachel in the K-drama isn’t her only venture; she also currently stars in the musical theatre production of Chicago as Roxie Hart. But what’s next for Young on screen?

“I realized I do love a challenge. And that I do love challenging myself, especially in the storytelling aspect. Everyone’s like, “Don’t you want to do something happy and bubbly?” I’m like, we can always do that. I’ve done that with my music but in terms of choosing the right projects as an actor, I am not afraid of the challenge,” confessed Young.

Uncle Samsik is available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu. You can catch up K-drama content like the Hierarchy post-credit scene explained, what happened in The Atypical Family, and new series to stream.