There are K-Drama fans across the globe who share the same passion. But on online platforms, it is hard to know about each other’s stories and tastes. Even if we are in the same fandom, it is hard to get to know each other. So at Kpopmap, we started the Kpopmap Fan Interview Project to get to know more about K-Drama fans from different countries. Just like the Kpopmap Fan Interview for idols, the Kpopmap Fan Interview for actors aims to open the opportunity for fans to promote, talk about, and share their love for their favorite actor/actress with our readers. Emmanuella from the UK is the next fan to answer our questions about her favorite actor. She is a fan of Lee SooHyuk! Check out how she became his fan, the reasons why she is a fan, the dramas she recommends, and much more insights about Lee SooHyuk. Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from? Hello Kpopmap! My name is Emmanuella from London. Who is your favorite Korean actor/actress? And how and when did you become a fan? My favourite K-Drama actor is Lee SooHyuk. I became a fan after watching the drama “Tomorrow”. What are the reasons why you love your favorite actor? I don’t want to start with how drop dead gorgeous he is, because I may end up typing an entire page, lol. So, I will start with all the other things I love about him. First, I love that he is an amazing actor, the way he captures the attention of the viewers in a few seconds, his command of words and the way he says them. The way he is able to embody the character, bring them to life like they are just inside him waiting to come out. The way his words carry emotion, the movement of his eyes, his body. Gosh! He knows what he is DOING!!! I love the way he takes his selfies and sends them. They mean so much to me. It’s like a love language. I love his personality; he is so sweet and charming and cute in interviews. Sometimes, I wonder, is this the same guy from “Pipeline”? I love his dedication to his job, be it as a model or actor. He works so hard and puts in so much effort in all his characters. From the way he speaks, you just know he is super smart and mature. I love the way he always leaves you wanting more. I love his general aura and packaging. He is charismatic, confident and poised. Maybe because he is a model but there are other models but none of them can compare. He is like a god! And when I watch him, I always pay attention to the movement of his shoulders and the rhythm of his strides. Not to mention the fact that he looks good in anything. And lastly, HE IS BEAUTIFUL! Can you recommend dramas or movies starring your favorite actor for new fans? I would recommend the following: 1. “Tomorrow” (his most recent) 2. “Scholar Who Walks The Night” (my favourite of them all) 3. “Pipeline” 4. “Doom At Your Service” 5. “Born Again” Also, I recommend everyone to check out Lee SooHyuk’s next project, which is an audio drama. The title of the audio drama is “Welcome to Hunam-dong Bookstore”, where he will be acting with just his voice. The audio drama will be released on October 6th! Do you have an all-time favorite scene? Can you describe it or share a video? My all time favourite scene is one from the drama “Tomorrow”, it was a scene where after an unremorseful criminal had been convicted for rape and assault and was being transported to jail. Park JoongGil (SooHyuk’s character), a grim reaper, made the bus stop and then informed the criminal that his time was up but instead of him dying from a heart attack, JoongGil made it so that the bus caught on fire and burnt the criminal alive. That scene was so amazing! The way SooHyuk (as JoongGil) spoke the words of condemnation on the guy and fire that shone on his face, the explosion and how he walked away was just absolutely perfect and beautiful. What was your favorite answer given by your favorite actor in an interview? There was an interview with YG Stage where he had to show fans the content of his phone and most of what he said in that interview are my favourite things. He said he takes screenshots of stuff he likes and never goes back to them. I remember watching and screaming “ME TOO”. Lol. He said he cringes from taking good selfies and he posts selfies that show himself as he is, because as an actor and model, he already gets really good pictures taken. He showed us how many selfies he takes just to pick the least pretty or most shaky and post. That’s so much effort and I appreciate it. What is your favorite actor’s influence on your daily life or yourself? One thing that I have noticed about SooHyuk is he always does whatever he has to do excellently. One thing is common - even if he isn’t always the lead role or always on camera or even if he is playing the villain, he always does it SO WELL! So even if he is on a scene for just a minute or two, there is just so much energy and power coming from him, you just can’t take your eyes away from him, in just those minutes he captivates you. That is excellence! So, I personally try my best in life to do, even if it is the littlest things, excellently well. He is my motivation! What genre do you want your favorite actor to appear in? What’s the reason? I really want SooHyuk to appear in a romance comedy or romance fantasy or romance thriller as the MAIN LEAD. Basically, there has to be romance… a lot of it. LOL. Before now, he always acts as the second lead or the villain in action, thriller, mystery or fantasy and when there is romance, we hardly get to see it bloom, which is really painful and annoying. I think it would be really helpful in his career and also to us fans because we really NEED IT. Which actors would you like your favorite actor to act with? What’s the reason? If we are going for a romance-related drama then, I would love to see SooHyuk act with Seo YeaJi. This is because her energy is FIRE. I first watched her in “Eve” and then in “It’s Ok Not To Be Ok” and I LOVE her. Her energy from “Eve” and SooHyuk’s energy from “Tomorrow” merged together in a kind of romance thriller or romance fantasy. It will be OUT OF THIS WORLD 🔥 LOL. But if we are going for action and thriller only, then it would definitely be Song JoongKi, our “Vincenzo”. SooHyuk’s villainous and evil energy from “Pipeline” and “Scholar Who Walks The Night” merged with JoongKi’s mafia vibe from “Vincenzo”. I can’t even imagine how amazing it will be Which character played by your favourite actor do you think deserved better? In all seriousness, I know Prosecutor Kim SooHyuk from “Born Again” deserved SO MUCH better! That drama is the third best drama (of his) for me, and my worst, at the same time. The ending was just so painful for me and other fans have said so too! I have watched the drama more than five times and after the first time I just pretend it all ends in the episode where Prosecutor Kim rescued SaBin and I assume they live happily ever after. Name a role from one of their dramas (other than theirs) that you think they would’ve played well. Like I said before, I am a sucker for Seo YeaJi and I really want to see Soo Hyuk and her together in a drama. So, I think it will be Lee SooHyuk as Seo EunPyung in “Eve”, instead of Lee SangYeob. I believe SooHyuk would’ve played the role excellently well. If you could spend the day with them, what would you want to do together? Well, SooHyuk said he loves building Legos. So, I guess I would love to build lots of Legos with him while snacking on something and talking about random things in life. LOL. How do you support them the most? I, first of all, want to say that since I began my K-Drama journey, I have never taken any actor I like as seriously as I take SooHyuk. The highest I would normally go is a quick Google search and follow on Instagram. But for SooHyuk, I put in the extra effort, it may not be much because I know so many people who do way more than me but here are my own little ways of showing support: I try to always drop a good review on all his movies on IMDB because I know good reviews make movies popular and also try and rate them five stars. I always vote! It doesn’t matter which site or blog or category, I would always vote for SooHyuk and I would vote more than once and where I can only vote once, I would login to other email accounts just to vote again. I have watched nearly every single content on YouTube with Lee SooHyuk’s name on it, even the ones without subtitles. I like and drop a good comment and/or correct anything that I don’t like that was said about him. Also, this may not be part of support but, I just want to say it either way, I watched his entire filmography in a month from “Tomorrow” down to “Boy from Ipanema”. LOL. What is your favourite way of communicating with your favourite actor? SooHyuk says he reads comments and articles about himself, so I guess taking this interview with Kpopmap is my biggest and most favourite way of communicating with him, if he reads it. If you could place your favourite actor in a K-Pop group, which group would it be and why? Without thinking twice, it would definitely be BIGBANG. LOL. This is because SooHyuk’s best friend, G-Dragon is there and their bromance is just top notch! Besides, they are always together anyway, so why not? LOL. Plus, I know that BIGBANG is like the kings of K-Pop because they helped spread the Korean wave worldwide. I really love their music. Have you ever made a new friend because of K-Dramas? I have made so many amazing and talented friends because of K-Dramas from around the world. Both on Twitter and Instagram, and I have made more friends because of SooHyuk on Twitter. Most of them are talented video editors who never fail to make me happy with their edits on SooHyuk. Would you like to see your favorite actor in variety shows? What type of variety show would you like them to do? I don’t know if this is weird but I would love to see SooHyuk in a variety show with or about children/babies. In his former variety show, “Bistro Shigor”, there were episodes where he played with little children and it was just so cute and beautiful. I kept smiling all through 😊 LOL. And he also said in one of his interviews with YG Stage that he had been watching some programs on children, so I guess it won’t really be a problem. Do you feel there are any misunderstandings, things that are not well known, or any prejudices about your favorite actor? Well, the only thing that comes to mind is the fact that because of the strong and evil roles he takes some people perceive him in a not so nice way, which I find ridiculous because they are just roles and the fact that you dislike him after watching means he is a really good actor who knows how to bring a character to life. He shows his real self in these variety shows; “Birds Of A Feather”, “Bistro Shigor”. There you will see that SooHyuk is the cutest ball of sunshine, happiness and kindness. Lol. For Kpopmap readers who are not familiar with Korean dramas/movies yet, please tell us what makes Korean actors and Korean dramas/movies attractive to you. Well, I kind of consider myself a recent K-Drama fan. I only started watching in 2020. I think what really pulled me into the K-Drama world were the stories told and the way they were told. I love the fact that every romance story makes you completely swoony, every thriller leaves you at the edge of your seat and every sci-fi takes your breath away. I love the lessons you learn during and after every drama, I remember the first K-Drama I ever watched, “Start Up”. It was recommended by a friend who thought it would motivate because I was a little sad for having nothing to do while the entire world was indoors during the pandemic. I learnt so much from that drama, that I even started an online business at that time because of it. I love the fact that K-Drama opens your eyes to another culture and helps you learn so much about it. I remember learning my first Korean words and using chopsticks for the first time. LOL. Lastly, I love the actors (especially Lee SooHyuk) and actresses. They are all so talented and beautiful (especially Lee SooHyuk). Emmanuella’s message for Lee SooHyuk: My Dearest Soo Hyuk, I just want to say these past months of knowing you have been one of the most amazing periods of my life. Not only am I entertained whenever I watch any of your content but I am left in awe and admiration whenever I get a chance to get to know you better. I love watching you smile and laugh. And though I am millions of miles away, my heart flutters whenever you drop those selfies of yours on Instagram. I respect and admire the kind of person you are. I am motivated by your growth and hard work. I pray you continue to grow in fame, beauty and finance. I pray all your work becomes blockbuster hits. I pray that you will always enjoy the peace, joy and love that your hard work deserves. I hope you never forget that myself, and the hundreds of friends I have made through you LOVE you so much and are standing strongly behind you to support everything that you do. Much love. From one of your biggest fans, Emmanuella Thank you for answering our questions, Emmanuella. If you are interested in joining Kpopmap Fan Interview Project, please get in touch with us at [email protected] Everyone is welcome to participate.
Kpopmap Fan Interview: A MONBEBE/WENEE Talks About Her Favorite Group, MONSTA X, & WonHo by FANS|Sep 4, 2022 Kpopmap Fan Interview: An Hungarian Talks About Her Favorite Actor Lee SooHyuk & Why She Loves Him by FANS|Sep 4, 2022 Kpopmap Fan Interview: A MAXIMUM From The US Talks About Their Favorite Group MEGAMAX And Their Bias Iden by FANS|Sep 3, 2022 Kpopmap Fan Interview: A Filipino THX Talks About Her Favorite Group TNX & Her Bias Hwi by FANS|Sep 3, 2022 Kpopmap Fan Interview: A Brazilian EXO-L Talks About Her Favorite Group EXO by FANS|Aug 31, 2022 Emmanuella really said it all! Thank you so much for this. I really hope leesoohyuk sees this, i bet he will be really happy.
