Veteran actor Kim Nam-gil, 43, remembers his debut Netflix series, “Song of the Bandits,” as a project full of never-before-seen challenges in his 24-year acting career.

From handling rifles to weathering the elements in sandstorm scenes, Kim said almost every aspect in shooting the show was new to him, especially as not many Korean films and dramas have been inspired by the Western genre.

Kim explained that he spent a lot of time getting used to an unfamiliar weapon, the Winchester rifle.

"I carried a Winchester replica and trained with it as if it were part of my body. It was a necessary process not only to shoot smooth action scenes, but also to prevent injuries," Kim said in a recent interview with reporters at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul.