PARK SEO JOON. South Korean actor Park Seo Joon, a Bench global ambassador, speaks at a press conference at the Manila Peninsula, MakatI on Saturday, September 28, 2019. Photo by Vernise L Tantuco/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – He’s only been in the Philippines for over a day, but already, Park Seo Joon is hoping to come back for more work opportunities, including acting.
The South Korean actor was in Manila on Saturday, September 28, for a press conference as Bench’s global ambassador. He arrived in Manila the day before and is set to have a fan meet on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena. (LOOK: Park Seo-joon is in Manila)
Responding to a question on what he’d want to try or where he’d want to visit in the Philippines, Seo-joon said through a translator that Manila strikes him as a good place to work.
“I mean, acting is a craft that doesn’t really need language. You can close barriers with a craft like acting,” said the translator and event host Sam Oh.
“More than leisurely activities, he thought that ‘Oh, this would be a good place for me to come back, I mean I’m here with Bench, but I would maybe think of other work opportunities’ and how he’d like to come back and do more work here,” said Sam.
Seo-joon is known for his roles in Korean romantic comedy TV series like Fight For My Way (2017) and What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? (2018). (READ: Beginner’s guide: The K-drama starter pack)
He also starred in the action horror film The Divine Fury directed by Kim Joo-hwan.
‘Dream role’
While he waits for acting opportunities in the Philippines, Seo-joon is busy with his current project, Itaewon Class, a TV series about a group of stubborn young people who rebel against the status quo. It’s based on a popular webtoon by Jo Kwang-jin and will be directed by Kim Sung-yoon.
For Seo-joon, his Itaewon Class character is his dream role, as it requires him to portray a character from high school until he’s 35 years old.
“[The character is] not a chatty, outwardly warm character but is actually secretly warm inside, so this is a very interesting character that he is really excited about portraying,” Sam said, translating for Seo-joon.
“And I personally feel that this character could be very reassuring to the youth in Korea today,” he added.
“A lot of young people in Korea are struggling right now with problems with getting jobs and all kinds of things that they’re facing in life and so I feel like this will be a source of comfort to the young people who will be watching.”
Though he did not name the drama directly, Itaewon Class is the only upcoming project that has been confirmed for Seo-joon as of writing. The actor said he will be working on this project until early 2020.
Most challenging role
Seo-joon has played many a crushworthy character and has even been called the “Asian Ryan Gosling,” which has led fans to wonder – which of his characters is he most like in real life?
Seo Joon said he can’t just choose one, as there’s a little of each character in him. “It’s because there are little bits of me in these characters, I can sort of exaggerate that when I portray the character,” Seo Joon said.
When it comes to his most challenging role, however, the actor named one after a short pause: Ko Dong-man from Fight For My Way.
In the series, Dong-man is a former taekowndo jin but gave the sport up because of a painful past. He eventually becomes an mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.
“It wasn’t so much the acting part that was challenging. Obviously there was a physicality that was involved, and so there was a lot of training to do, there was a lot of preparation physically, so that was really challenging for him,” Sam said, explaining for Seo-joon. – Rappler.com