SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - South Korean actors Song Kang-ho and Kim Min-hee were included in the list of "The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century (So Far)" published by the New York Times.

On Wednesday (Nov 25), the American newspaper released the list of 25 actors, along with a comment that reads "these are the performers who have outshone all others on the big screen in the last 20 years".

In the list of 25 internationally known screen figures are two South Koreans - Song Kang-ho and Kim Min-hee.

The New York Times published an interview with director Bong Joon-ho, who worked with Song in Parasite (2019), which won four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the 2020 Oscars.

Song, 53, is known as Bong's longtime muse, having featured in his three other films - Memories Of Murder (2003), The Host (2006) and Snowpiercer (2013).

"Especially to the Korean audience, Song projects the quality of the typical Korean working man, a neighbour or friend you might encounter in your neighbourhood," the story reads.

Song is also known for playing the title role in A Taxi Driver (2017), a movie based on the real-life story of a taxi driver and a German journalist during the Gwangju Uprising in 1980.

Along with Song, Kim, 38, earned a spot on the list.

The New York Times referred to Kim's acting in art house film director Hong Sang-soo's 2015 film Right Now, Wrong Then as an "exquisitely nuanced performance," and also mentioned her performance in director Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden in 2016.

"She goes big and small, veers from monstrous to mousy, and alternately hides her character's feelings and lets them run amok," the list exalts.

Other actors who made the list include Denzel Washington, Nicole Kidman, Keanu Reeves and Tilda Swinton.