Byeon Woo-seok wins fans with charm and tears at fan meet
After years of supporting roles in high-profile K-dramas such as Record Of Youth (2020), Byeon Woo-seok has finally broken out with the romance-fantasy Lovely Runner.
The South Korean actor’s earnest portrayal of K-idol Sun-jae has fuelled his rise to international stardom. Since the drama’s premiere on streaming platform Viu in April, he has gained more than three million Instagram followers within two months. He now has more than 10.1 million followers.
On his maiden visit to Singapore, the 32-year-old did not need to do much to keep his supporters, affectionately called Tong Tongs, cheering for him. His Summer Letter fan meet at Singapore Expo on June 30 was the fifth stop after Taipei, Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta.
Many of the predominantly female fans here sported a “Let’s kidnap Sun-jae and run” headband. It is what South Korean actress Kim Hye-yoon wore in the hit series, in which she goes back in time to save the troubled singer from an untimely death.
Most of the fans The Straits Times spoke to at the fan meet took notice of the actor only because of Lovely Runner – and Byeon is thankful for the drama’s success.
Throughout the fan meet, the 1.9m-tall actor thanked the Tong Tongs, whom he called his “precious and wonderful gifts”.
He offered to take wefies with several lucky fans who either had the opportunity to re-enact Lovely Runner scenes with him or receive gifts from the actor.
Byeon broke down in tears when he was presented with a surprise gift from his Singapore Tong Tongs: a video of them thanking the actor – in Korean – for his hard work and encouraging him to persevere as they wait for more shows from him.
He got even more teary-eyed when the crowd shouted “Don’t cry” in Korean.
At the press conference held earlier on June 30 at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, he handed out yellow roses to every journalist and thanked each one.
“I came to Singapore with one goal, which is to have lots of fun and to make great memories with my Singapore fans,” the actor said via an interpreter.
“I understand very well that my fans are spending their time, money and resources to come and see me, so I don’t want to waste a minute of their time.”
The former fashion model said his life has changed dramatically since Lovely Runner. “I can now hold fan meetings in different countries and meet with different media.”
He has also received more scripts of different genres, although he prefers romance comedies.
“I did various genres such as action and fantasy before I starred in Lovely Runner. Playing Sun-jae changed my perspective a lot, as it was the first time that I got to be deeply and emotionally immersed into a character,” he said.
Byeon played up the romance-lead angle at the fan meet, regaling the crowd with songs, games and banter. When he sang the show’s theme song Sudden Shower, his fans joined in, and he was visibly touched by their spontaneity.
The actor’s debut fan meet here was clearly a success, despite the poor choice of event host and an unexplained 50-minute delay.
Content producer Chee Mee, 24, said the host rushed through the event, instead of letting the actor interact with the crowd more.
Fellow fan Ng Say Ling agreed. “If the host were someone more in tune with fangirling and fan service, it would have been more fun.”
The 53-year-old housewife, who attended the event with her 56-year-old sister, Ms May Ong, added that the sound system could have been better, as Byeon’s singing sounded muffled.
Still, they were won over by his wholesome charm and earnestness in wanting to please his fans.
- Lovely Runner is available on Viu
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