Park Hyung Sik returns to PH
In May 2014, Korean actor Park Hyung Sik and eight cast members of the Korean military training TV show “Real Men” went to Leyte to help rebuild communities devastated by typhoon Yolanda.
More than three years after the visit, Park Hyung Sik returned to the country for his first fan meeting titled “First Love In Manila.” Organized by Pulp Live World Production, it was held at Kia Theatre.
At the fan meeting, he performed songs, interacted with fans and had photos taken with them. He tried wearing a barong Tagalog and tasted Filipino food like sago and gulaman, kamias and sisig.
Early this year, he starred in the Korean drama “Strong Woman Do Bong-soon” together with Park Boyoung in the title role and Ji Soo.
Park Hyung Sik remembered his 2014 visit to Leyte, saying, “When I came here for ‘Real Men,’ I really had a good impression of the Philippines. I’m really glad that I came back here as
There may be a rock band stereotype but Agsunta band doesn’t fit that mold. They told Bulletin Entertainment that for one, they’d choose food over beer anytime during gigs.
“Food is life!” vocalist Jireh Singson said, laughing.
Turning serious, Jireh said that for them, music is not about the “extra stuff” at all.
“Passion namin ’yung music so ’yun ang focus namin.”
Agsunta wants to be known as guys who aren’t just cool but with “pusong Pinoy.”
“At masayahin. Dahil ang mga Pinoy, masayahin ’yan eh,” Mikel Arevalo, the lead guitarist said.
Looking at them, you can tell Agsunta talaga, an actor and I’m very thankful.”
In “Strong Woman Do Bong-soon,” he played the role of Ahn Min-hyuk, a gaming company CEO who hires Do Bong-soon as his bodyguard.
He said his character in the drama is similar to his real personality “but I needed to be a bit more ‘high’ to be able to act like Min-hyuk. I had to sustain that highness to be able to act like one.”
Park Hyung Sik said they were worried that viewers would not like Do Bong-soon, who has supernatural strength.
“Because of the role of the girl, we were kind of worried because some audience may not like her because of her personality. But I see right now, that is booming in the Philippines just like in Korea. They are much satisfied. Usually the boys are more powerful than girls but in this drama, the theme is that the girl is more powerful which I found to be good,” he explained.
He has been acting in dramas since 2010 and among the roles he has played, the one as chaebol in “High Society” is isn’t just a band but a brotherhood. There are real-life brothers in the group, Mikel and Stephen (drummer) and the other band members are so close they’re practically family.
“’Pag may isang nawala sa amin o kahit may idagdag, hindi na kami Agsunta,” was how they put it.
Like other bands, they have their ups and downs. They usually argue over song arrangement.
“Bilang apat kami sa grupo, ang daming opinion so nagkakagulo-gulo kami du’n,” Jireh explained. So how do they handle it? “Nag-uusap naman kami tapos nagsa-swak na lang sa ideas. After all, para naman sa ikagaganda nu’ng closest to his heart
“Everything comes within me. In the drama ‘High Society,’ the role that I played is the closest to my real personality,” he added.
Because of his busy schedule, Park Hyung Sik describes his perfect day as one when he will not do anything.
“Play, eat, sleep. That’s the best ever routine. A day which I can completely just not think about anything. I play games sometimes, go to karaoke, drink with friends. The normal days which we live everyday is the best thing for me,” he said.
To relieve stress, he said, “I usually kanta namin ’yung diskusyon.”
The band was named after their teacher in De La Salle College of Saint Benilde: Agnes Agsunta.
“Sipsip po kami eh!” laughing.
The band members all took up Music Production. Asked how they started, they said “nagkataon lang.”
“Same school kasi kami. So jamming jamming lahat. Tapos nu’ng una, babae ang vocalist namin pero kinailangan niyang umalis eh,” Jireh shared.
Then they saw Josh Planas at a café. they said, play computer games at home. I’m also fond of playing bowling and scuba diving, too. I really want to try it (scuba diving in the Philippines) but because of my busy schedule (I can’t). I’m gonna come back for that.”
“Nalaman ko na nagbe-bass (guitar) pala siya. So sabi ko saluhin ko na ’yung pagkanta. Tinary namin once na mag-jam, ayun nag-swak kaya tinuloy-tuloy na namin,” he added.
Agsunta reached a point when they just wanted to stop pursuing their dream of becoming professional musicians. They stopped seeing each other for a month but their love for music prevailed.
“Si Josh and ’yung father niya, Pastor. So pinag-pray nila kami, kasi parang nawalan kami ng gana lahat. Pero after nu’ng prayers, bumalik ’yung gana namin sa music,” the vocalist shared.
The band started making a name for themselves in the local music scene through YouTube using the hashtag #AgsuntaSongRequests, doing covers netizens have come to enjoy.
At the time of interview, the band’s cover of “#Magbalik” by Callalily has gained 1.2 million hits.
“Naninibago pa din kami, na ayun, kilala na pala kami. Siyempre nu’ng nag-upload kami ng videos, ang goal talaga is mapansin ng mga networks. So thankfully, napansin naman kami,” Jireh shared.
Early this year, Agsunta joined PPL Entertainment’s roster of artists. They also signed a contract with Star Music.
Though busy with several projects, the band intends to continue their song covers on social media.
“Medyo mahirap lang din sa schedule, dati kasi weekly namin ginagawa pero ngayon medyo sinisingit na lang namin,” Jireh said. “Pero tuloy pa rin, kasi ’yun ’yung stepping stone namin kung nasaan man kami ngayon.”
Despite their popularity in doing covers, Agsunta also wants to be known for their original tracks. They aim to write more songs next year.
What’s the “real” Agsunta sound? A touch of ’90s highly influenced by bands as Kamikazee, Parokya ni Edgar and Eraserheads.
“Actually matagal na kaming may mga original songs kaya lang hindi naman siya agad nailabas pa. Kasi ginamit naming pampa-ingay ’yung mga cover songs na ginawa namin,” Mikel explained.
Agsunta aims to release an album by next month.
“Sana tangkilikin ng mga tao ’yung album kasi pinaghirapan din naman talaga namin siya,” Jireh said. “Sana ma-achieve namin ’yung katulad ng na-achieve na success ng mga idol namin. Tignan na lang natin, basta kami, nag-e-enjoy kami kasi mahal talaga namin ang music.”