When asked where he would like to run to in Singapore, the lanky actor "If I can run anywhere in Singapore, I'm really looking forward to run to my fan meeting (that will take place later in the evening), I came to Singapore with one goal, which is to have fun and create great memories with my fans.
Since I know that they spend a lot of money and time to attend my fan meeting, I do not want to waste any second; I want to spend all my time interacting with my fans."He shared that his friend who lives in Singapore had given him a list of 10 places to visit for food, which he would like to check out if given the chance.
Ever since he started his Asia fan meet tour, he has been obsessed with the culture of the places that he has visited and fascinated with the way people from different cultures express their love.On maintaining his positive energy, he says, "I believe that when it comes to results, it is beyond my control.
What's more important is the process and how much effort I put in to achieve the best result that I can." The two must-have items on his travel list are medication for allergies and flu. Once he feels that the flu is coming, he will immediately pop his Theraflu tablet.
When asked why he wanted to be known as a rom-com (romantic comedy) genius, he shyly answered that he was nervous when posed that question and wanted to re-affirm that he is not a genius. "I need to do my best at my drama and acting. To present the best acting possible is something that I really need to do before I can earn that title."
Before he acted in Lovely Runner, the drama that recently propelled him to fame, he had participated in various genres, from action to fantasy to now, rom-com, "I do not want to choose, although I love romantic comedy, I do not want to be typecast in a specific role." To immerse himself in his roles, he will first pay close attention to his acting partner's character and understand the situation that the character is going through, "I will try to study deeply and put myself in the shoes of my partner's character, so that I can interact better and immerse myself in my own role."
Aside from Ryu Sun Jae (his breakthrough role in Lovely Runner), the 32-year-old actor disclosed that another of his memorable roles in 20th Century Girl helped him overcome his camera phobia and other traumas. After that movie, he was able to better immerse himself in his roles.A watermelon lover, he laughedly shared that he was amazed and could not resist taking a photo with the huge watermelon when he went grocery shopping at a supermarket in Taipei.
On mostly playing roles with tragic endings, the lanky actor revealed, "most of my past works were one-sided love which were usually not successful. Despite Lovely Runner having a happy ending, when I received the script for episode 16, I was overwhelmed with sad emotions. I remembered calling the scriptwriter to discuss my sad feelings."
While filming with Kim Hye Yoon, the female lead of Lovely Runner, the 1.9-m actor did not recall anything being very difficult. Instead, he remembered shooting a scene in an old house with a very low ceiling, and everyone laughed that he was as tall as the door.
Byeon is very grateful that, due to the success of Lovely Runner, he gets to travel the world to meet fans and local media.
On receiving any letter that has inspired him, the former model disclosed that "as I am touring for my fan meets, I have received a lot more letters from my fans. Every moment of interaction I have with my fans is like a letter to me.
"Similar to the lyrics in Sudden Shower (the OST from Lovely Sudden), while Byeon is like a gift to Tong Tongs (the name for his fans), he felt that Tong Tongs are beautiful gifts to him too "while the journey had been difficult, I can confidently say that I did my best and thanks to my fans, their unwavering support and love, will keep my going for the long journey that I'll have ahead."
The actor even thanked the media for spending time at the press conference despite the heavy downpour: "It feels surreal every time I meet the media. I am very grateful for the media's time to write about me and my fan meet." What a charmer!
Despite the 2024 Byeon Woo Seok Asia Fan Meeting Tour Summer Letter in Singapore starting almost an hour late at Singapore Expo Hall 3A, his fans screamed when his pre-recorded image asked if he could start the fan meet immediately.
Dressed in a blue and white striped long-sleeved tee, the lanky actor appeared on stage with an upbeat song, Loveholic, the OST from Lovely Runner, the drama that catapulted him to global fame."I've been waiting so long for this fan meet. We'll create great memories together. It's my first time in Singapore and I'm here for all of you. Yesterday, I had a little outing, and I found the country to be so beautiful, that I want to come back again," he said, earning more screams from the female-centric fans in the audience.
Photo : Three Angles Production
Byeon divulged that filming took ten months, plus the two months of airing, he had lived almost a year as Sun Jae. While playing the high school Sun Jae, he focused on how inexperienced the youth was when expressing his love to Im Sol. He also put a lot of effort into building his physique as Sun Jae was initially a swimmer in the drama. Byeon then worked on his stage performance as Sun Jae became a musician. In the first fan segment All the Times of Sun Jae, fans were picked to re-enact three iconic scenes with Byeon, who had graciously requested to take selfies with each of them on his mobile phone.
After the interactive segment, a compilation of greetings and written messages in Korean, prepared by his fans (Tong Tongs) from Singapore, was televised on the big screen. Byeon cried while the fans sang the chorus of Sudden Shower (another OST from Lovely Runner), "I absolutely had no idea that you'll prepare this lovely surprise at this unexpected moment. I can't hold my tears. Once again, thank you so so much, I'm getting so much positive energy from you, I hope everyone too will receive this positive energy."
The next segment is Taste Balance Game where Byeon gets to choose one of the 2 given options
Q1: Where would you like to go during your trip to Singapore
(A) World's largest greenhouse Gardens by the Bay
(B) Universal Studios Singapore
Ans: (B) as he loves rides on the roller coaster
Q2: What if you had to give up one of the two during your trip to Singapore?
(A) You can't take pictures at the infinity pool at hotel Marina Bay Sands, Singapore's landmark
(B) Not being able to eat Singapore's signature dish, chili crab
Ans: (A) as he really wants to have his chili crab. Having good food is most important to him when he is travelling.
Q3: What if you win the lottery with different odds?
(A) 100% chance of receiving 5 million won
(B) 10% chance of receiving 10 billion won
Ans: (B) he wants to buy a house, take good care of his family and save half of the 10 billion won winnings, He feels happy just by thinking about it.
Q4: What if you had to go a year without one of them?(A) Living without a cellphone for a year
(B) Living without a friend for a year
Ans: (A) he loves spending time with his friends, he usually visits cafes, play Korean football or go on 2D1N trips with his friends
Q5: what if you had to do one of the two?
(A) Going to buffet alone
(B) Going to an amusement park alone
Ans: (A) he usually spends time alone by lying down a lot at home to watch TV
Q6: As an actor, which power would you prefer to have?
(A) The power to not feel tired even without sleep
(B) The power to memorize scripts perfectly after reading them once
Ans: (A & B) both are equally challenging to him. As he does not have that good memory, he tries his best to memorise all his scripts. He will pay attention to understand the emotions of the character, after that, memorizing the script becomes easier for him.
The 3rd segment requires the actor to complete 3 missions within 60 seconds, to win Lovely Runner poster to give to 5 lucky fans. Despite numerous re-starts, Byeon completed his missions 2 seconds before the allocated time. Similarly, the 5 fans were also treated to a selfie each, with the well-mannered star on his mobile phone.
Next was Q&A segment where fans posted questions for Byeon
Q1: What is your TMI for today?
Ans: The staff had prepared a nice bento meal with tteoboki for lunch, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Q2: If you have (sic) 1 day to spend with any Tong Tong, what will you do?
Ans: I will take my Tong Tong for a nice tteoboki lunch, go universal studio for a then, then end the night with chili crab for dinner and watermelon for dessert.
Q3: Watching your videos/dramas and seeing your posts is always healing after a long, hard day at work. What's healing for Byeon Woo Seok after a long, difficult day or after a period of back-to-back schedules?
Ans: Lying down on my sofa enjoying a fruit platter
Q4: Is there an actor, film or TV series that has inspired you the most?
Ans: Personally, I love (the movie) The Notebook, it is very inspirational. It started my love for melodramatic genre.
Q5: Imagine you are making a time capsule, what three items would you put inside?
Ans: Watermelon seeds, ready to eat tteoboki and a bank book which states my savings of 50% of the 50 billion won (that I had won in the lottery)
Q6: If you can (sic) have one supernatural power, what would you like to have and why?
Ans: the ability to teleport, I can save a lot of time from travelling
In between his preparations to take a group photo with the audience, the earnest performer commented "I feel great sharing things about myself with all of you. The next opportunity I get, I'll share more about myself. Of course, I'll send my love to my fans too. I had such a wonderful time, hope all fans will feel the same when you think about this fan meet, and want to re-live it. I'll get back to my grind in Korea after this, I wish to be back in Singapore to meet you again very soon. I'll look forward to that" followed by his recorded rendition of I think I did (OST from Lovely Runner)
Special thanks to Three Angles Production for inviting KpopStarz to cover 2024 Byeon Woo Seok Asia Fanmeeting Tour Summer Letter in Singapore and his Press Conference
Writer: Wang | Photo Credits: Three Angles Production | Video Credits: Lina Oh, Edited by Melin
