ONE presents Jang Hyuk

Jang Hyuk swept into town last week to promote a drama that hasn’t even air in Korea yet. The drama, ‘Midas‘ will only air in Korea in February, after ‘Athena‘. So why did he fly all the way here to promote it? Because of ONE.

 ONE is the latest channel offering Korean contents (Hurrah!) here in Singapore. SPE Networks (or Sony Pictures Entertainment Networks) has tied up with SBS (yes, yes, the Korean channel and not our local bus company) and will be offering exclusive SBS contents on ONE. This means Singaporeans will get to watch Inkigayo, Good Sunday and Strong Heart (L will be very, very, very pleased) and hopefully ‘Paradise Ranch‘ (Changmin fans would be so delighted) and ‘Midas‘ not long after they air in Korea.

The press conference was graced by His Excellency Mr Oh Joon, the Korean Ambassador to Singapore, Mr Gong Young Hwa, CEO of SBS Contents Hub and Mr Todd Miller, the Executive VP for SPE Networks. Yup, all the heavyweights. And no wonder, because it is a major milestone. 

His Excellency Mr Oh Joon

Mr Gong Young Hwa, CEO of SBS Contents Hub

Mr Todd Miller, the Executive VP for SPE Networks

But of course, the star of the show is really Jang Hyuk.  

He looks good doesn’t he? Even Kandace, who was helping me with the photos and seeing him for the first time, thinks he’s rather hot. Jang Hyuk is not a pretty boy. I would put him in the same category as Jang Dong Gun, Cha Seung Won- manly with a presence.

There was a very short interview on stage by the host. Here’s an edited clip of it. (The translator wasn’t great and even with my limited Korean, I know she didn’t quite translate fully). It was a pity he didn’t speak in English, which he did in the earlier group interview. His English was more than adequate. I guess he must have felt a little more nervous in front of so many people.

Does he look like Kim Dohyun, the lawyer? ^^

And then it was time for him to leave his golden handprint…

IMPRINT

CLEAN HANDS

SIGN

VOILA!

It was over in 15-20 minutes. Yup, very short. But there was a group interview much earlier and Seoul Rhythms is very pleased to be included in this exclusive group interview.

As I mentioned earlier, the translator was not the greatest and at one point, Jang Hyuk actually took over and reply in English. Although it was thickly accented, it was perfectly understandable. All the hard work on English for his first Hollywood movie paid off. Unfortunately, we were not allow to take any photos or recording of the interview, so no photos or video clips. So I apologize if I may have left out anything in the interview. But with this interview, he comes across to me as a very earnest actor, who is really, truly happy happy doing something that he loves.

Short Interview with Jang Hyuk

Q: Do you think you are successful or has improved as an actor?

JH: No, I am not successful as an actor yet and I still need to improve.

Q:  All your roles so far have been ‘grey’ characters, including Dohyun in Midas. Is there any particular reason why you are taking on such roles? (the translator seems to be stumped with my question as well as Jang Hyuk’s reply. She took a long while to translate his reply and I believe it was not a complete translation. Sigh…my question so hard meh?)

JH: All my characters are out-of-the-norm characters, who during the drama, developed and evolved and tried to become ‘normal’ again. (My note:  Although the translator didn’t say anything, I’m guessing that Jang Hyuk, who is an serious actor, relishes such out-of-the-ordinary character roles as they offer him a chance to expand on his acting skills. But this is just my interpretation.)

Q: Are there any funny moments on the set during the filming of Midas?

JH: Nothing at the moment as we have only just started filming.

Q: What do you think of your career as an actor?

JH: I was interested in sports initially. But I wanted to go to the university, so I enrolled in the acting school. Then I wanted to become a teacher but I couldn’t. Slowly, I learn to like acting as I acted out people’s lives in my various roles. Now I’m inspired to act and very happy to do so.

Q: 3D mvoies are popular in Korea now, would you consider acting in a 3D drama/ movie?

JH: Yes, if there is a possibility as long as the storyline and character role is interesting.

Q: Would you prefer to act as the good guy or the bad guy?

JH: It doesn’t matter if it’s a good guy or bad guy. It is more important that the character is able to attract the audience and I can express my emotions. I am cool but I’m hot inside (My note:  Those were his actual words!). I cry through my character roles.

Q: What is the most romantic thing a woman has ever done for you?

JH: My wife. When I went into military service, I could not be responsible for her. But I wanted to marry her, so I told if she will wait 2 years for me, I will marry her when I am discharged. She waited for me…it was very, very romantic. (Awww…….)

Q: What is your dream as an actor?

JH: My dream is to live as an actor all my life.

The whole interview lasted for less than 15 minutes.

Brief synopsis about Midas

Kim Dohyun is a bright and cheerful guy, who has passed his law exams with flying colours. But he has no ambition to climb the corporate ladder, his only wish is to find a stable job and marry his longtime girlfriend. He accepted a job in a small legal firm serving a mid-size company. But this seemingly innocent company is actually as rich as Samsung or Hyundai. His job is to make sure all the company’s dirt is swept under the carpet. In the midst of doing his job, he realized that he does like power and money. He also fell in love with  Inhe, the oldest daughter of the company and in his quest to gain her love, he sells his soul to the devil. Will he redeem himself?

They screened a very short BTS clip of Midas but unfortunately, we were not allow to record or upload it. BUT, in that very short clip, it showed Jang Hyuk filming in cold winter whilst wearing business suit. He was asked if he was cold but he replied that he seemed to do a lot of filming during winter so he’s used to it (Hmm..it is true…most of his dramas so far were filmed in winter). He carried stacks of coal, sang a song way off key to his girlfriend’s father (I guess in an attempt to impress him) and oh yes- GOT SHOWER SCENE. Hehehehe!!!!!!

There are some BTS photos out already. You can check out the thread on soompi here.

About SPE Network and ONE

SPE Network operates channels like AXN, Sony Entertainment Television and Animax and ONE. ONE has already been launched in Malaysia in October 2010 and should launch in Singapore the first half of 2011. ONE will offer general Asian entertainment, with strong focus on Korean entertainment content in it’s exclusive tie-up with SBS. Like KBS World, the prime Korean dramas should air on ONE shortly after Korea. I believe the channel will be in high definition. By the way, Animax airs an hour long K Pop music program each week called Live Power Music. Check out their site for the schedule times. 

As of now, they are still in discussion about the launch date and the package pricing. Sigh… I wish they would hurry up. I could have watched Secret Garden on my TV if things had moved a little faster. Imagine watching Hyun Bin on high definition… *drools*

(My note: If you are suffering from Secret Garden withdrawals, you can check out the merchandise on my site here)

So maybe if you want things to move a little faster, you can check with our friendly cable provider.

Ok..going to end this post finally. Here’s a photo of the guests’ golden handprints.

Of course, Jang Hyuk’s hands more interesting….

Oh yes, if you had follow my twitter, you would have known that we took a group photo together with Jang Hyuk. Now I’ve taken lots of photos of stars at press conference but never with one. So it was a little strange but nice. Nope, don’t have the photo yet. Will post if I get it provided I look decent enough to be seen.

And to end this… a very smiling Jang Hyuk. He really should do this more often. All photos with credit and much thanks to Kandace.