K-drama star Park Hyung-sik charms Manila
FOUR years after his last visit in the Philippines, South Korean actor Park Hyung-sik returned to spend time with his Filipino fans as part of the “SIKcret Time” Asia Tour Fan Meet in Manila.
During the event — which happened on Saturday, February 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum — Hyung-sik brought the kilig singing songs such as “Our Blooming Youth’s” OST “Bud,” Justin Bieber’s “Off My Face,” “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon’s” OST “Because of You,” and “My Love From the Star’s” OST “Every Moment of You.”
Also known for his roles in “The Heirs” (2013), “High Society” (2015), “Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth” (2016), “Suits” (2018) and “Happiness” (2021), among others, the 32-year-old Oppa brought his A-Game winning secret agent-themed challenges like physical coordination test where he played sipa, emoji memory test, poker face game, and the code breaking ability test.
The crowd also went wild whenever host Janeena Chan help the 32-year-old star learn some Tagalog words including phrases “keri,” “type kita,” “chika tayo,” “Naloloka ako sa’yo,” “ang galing ninyo,” “mahal kita” and “maraming salamat po.”
During the two-hour event, Hyung-sik also answered questions including some from his fans called “SIKret.”
He was asked about the experience playing the lead role opposite Park Shin-hye on JTBC’s romantic-comedy TV series “Doctor Slump” which is also currently streaming on Netflix.
Playing Yeo Jeong-woo, a star plastic surgeon who falls into the worst slump of his life, he shared, “Right now in Korea, it’s very common to talk about being burned out and experiencing moments of slumps in various phases of life. So when I first received the script, it immediately caught my attention because the storyline is something I could completely relate to. Not only that, of course, I also wanted to provide healing and comfort to all of you, which is why I truly enjoyed reading the script. It’s something I’m really looking forward to working on.”
Talking about Shin-hye, he mentioned, “I never got to meet Shinhye when we were in ‘The Heirs.’ But of course, to see her in this new drama, we have many scenes together, and I really love how people react when we’re together in a good project. I’m also having so much fun with her.”
As a sought-after K-actor, Hyungsik admitted he is not immune to sadness despite being a jolly person.
Asked about how he overcome it, he said, “I do feel moments of loneliness and sadness but when that happens, I do spend time with my friends. Lately, I’ve been interested in playing golf. While I’m doing that, all my concentration is there, and I don’t think about the problems. That’s how I overcome those thoughts so it’s important to focus on something else.”
He soon hopes to come back again in the Philippines to try out scuba diving.
“I know the Philippines have a lot of beautiful spots for scuba diving. I’ve been very busy and not able to do it previously so I’m looking forward to that. You have beautiful nature, beautiful beach but most of all, the fans here are the most beautiful,” he said.
The “SIKcret Time” Asia Tour Fan Meet in Manila was organized by MQLive in partnership with P&STUDIO and TONZ Entertainment. Part of the ticket sales will be donated to Future Vision Home and Filipino children with disabilities in partnership with Save The Children Philippines.