When we were told that dashing Hallyu star Song Seung Heon (of “Autumn in My Heart” fame) was heading to Singapore as part of his “Saimdang: Soulmates Across Time” (사임당) promotional tour and that we were going to be a part of it, we reeled with excitement. Having met the actor back in 2015 in Gangwon, South Korea during the press conference for the highly anticipated K-Drama, we couldn’t wait to speak with him again now that the production for “Saimdang: Soulmates Across Time” has wrapped.
We arrived in the sunny Lion City on a Saturday (7th January 2017) morning and were quickly zipped over to Carlton Hotel for the press conference. Unlike the other closed-door press conferences that we’ve attended in the past, this one had lucky fans in attendance aka winners from organising partner Singtel‘s contest.
It was a refreshing change from the usual media-exclusive events!
During the press conference, Song Seung Heon (송승헌) formally introduced the upcoming historical (sageuk) K-Drama which also stars Lee Young Ae (이영애), one of South Korea’s finest. In speaking about working with Lee Young Ae, he said, “It has been over 10 years since Lee Young Ae appeared in a TV show. I saw that she was actually putting in a lot of effort during the production of ‘Saimdang’. For me, too, it has been quite some time since I appeared in a TV show. I put in a lot of effort too but I think she was very nervous about her comeback. I would’ve never imagined that I would be acting alongside Lee Young Ae because she’s my ‘sunbae’ (senior) and an actress who’s loved globally. I’m honoured and happy to have been given a chance to share the screen with her.”
“I was initially very worried about ‘Saimdang’ but a lot of people have been telling me that they’re looking forward to show so to that effect, it has been very encouraging and now, I’m looking forward to it as well,” he added.
Song Seung Heon’s sentiment rang loud and true during the fanmeeting held at The Cathay in Singapore that same evening because hordes of adoring fans turned up to see the suave actor in person. Although the event was scheduled to begin at 7pm, people began queueing up hours before to secure the “best seat in the house”. While waiting, the emcee invited some fans up on stage to play a preliminary round of games for prizes which would be revealed a little later.
And as one would expect, as soon as it was time for Song Seung Heon to take the stage, the decibel levels were through the roof! After greeting his fans, a crowd-pleaser through and through, the actor wasted no time in expressing his desire to eat local Singaporean food i.e. Chilli Crab.
Known to be a fan of spicy food, he also said that his favourite Korean dishes are tteokbokki (떡볶이; rice cake) and ramyeon (라면; instant noodles). But enough about food!
After giving a brief introduction to “Saimdang: Soulmates Across Time”, the fan meeting then quickly progressed into the games segment. Contest winners were invited on stage to get up close and personal with Song Seung Heon – and we mean real up close and personal. During the “10 seconds” game session, the winners were given the opportunity to individually share 10-second moments with the actor e.g. staring into his eyes, walking around the stage hand-in-hand, or getting a backhug.
Needless to say, it was intense, dotted with excited squeals and giggles.
There was also a Q&A (true or false) game item on the schedule where fans had to accurately guess the answers to questions such as, “Song Seung Heon can sing”, “Song Seung Heon thinks he’s handsome”, “Song Seung Heon is a dog lover“, so on and so forth. The game brought on a surprising reveal at the end: when asked about his favourite physical feature, Song Seung Heon said that he likes his eyes the most.
Note: We expected him to say his physique/built, to be honest, but that’s alright. We like his eyes too 🙂
The games wrapped up, signalling the end of the fan meeting. But not before the meet and greet! Selected fans went up on stage to get their autographed poster as well as a “hi-touch” (a quick high five) from the South Korean heartthrob. The emcee said that the posters were personally signed by Song Seung Heon when he arrived in Singapore the night before. It’s safe to assume that the actor worked late into the night on the autographs despite being tired from travelling and his busy schedule the following day. What a champ 🙂
An epitome of an actor who prioritises great fan service, Song Seung Heon refused to leave his fans even after saying his goodbyes at the end of the fan meeting. In a swift and unexpected move, he left to stage to get closer to the fans on the event floor, reaching out to the crowd to shake their hands and autograph some items. Fans who were waiting for him backstage were in for a bigger treat when Song Seung Heon took their smartphones (upon request, of course) to snap selfies and wefies. Aww.
It goes without saying that many of those who were present at the event went home with only the best memories of Song Seung Heon that night. As did we 😉
Special thanks to our friends from Oh!K TV Asia for extending the invite. For more pictures from Song Seung Heon’s press conference and fan meeting in Singapore, go here.
“Saimdang: Soulmates Across Time” premieres with double episodes exclusively on Oh!K (Astro Ch 394) on 26th January 2017 (Thursday) at 9pm, same time as Korea. New episodes air every Wednesday and Thursday at 9pm.
For more information on Oh!K TV Asia, hit up their website or their Facebook page.
