One fine Monday afternoon, we were invited by our friends from ONE TV Asia to see a doctor. And not just any doctor – Dr. Hong Ji Hong aka Hong Hong Hong from hit Korean drama (K-Drama) “Doctors” (닥터스).
That’s right! Hours before dashing South Korean actor Kim Rae Won (김래원) was scheduled to meet his Malaysia fans at his “A Date With Kim Rae Won” meet and greet at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, we got to spend a little time with him at a press conference. It was a closed-door event with a couple of other selected Malaysian journalists and members of the media.
But fret not if you didn’t get to be a part of it, because we’ll fill you in on what went down! Yes, you’re welcome 🙂
During the press conference, there was a short Q&A segment whereby they opened the floor to questions from curious attendees. The charming Kim Rae Won humbly fielded queries from the audiences, stopping only to smile and laugh shyly, cute actions that incited laughter from those who were there.
Needless to say, it was truly surreal to see everyone’s favourite doctor oppa in person.
Kim Rae Won revealed that he was the only one who was cast in “Doctors” at the very last minute, while he was still working on a movie. As such, because of the short notice, he had very little time to research and prepare himself for the medical terms and what being a neurosurgeon ensued as compared to the other cast members. “So for most scenes, I just followed my gut to do it on my own and it was satisfactory. It was a good experience,” he said.
On how is the real Kim Rae Won is different from Dr. Hong Ji Hong in “Doctors”, Kim Rae Won laughed and replied, “I’m not sure where to start but I believe that Hong Ji Hong is more colourful than I am. I don’t know how to describe it. He’s a better person than I am in real life. What’s funny is that when I met the production team for the first time, the original Hong Ji Hong character was very quiet and someone who doesn’t talk much. But after much discussion with the team, I turned the character into someone who’s bright and jovial.”
Kim Rae Won also shared that working with Park Shin Hye (박신혜) in the K-Drama was a wonderful experience because her personality is amazing and bright. “She was so considerate to the actors that appeared together with us in the K-Drama. She was also a junior from my university and we actually took the same major,” he revealed.
On the subject of the most memorable comment that he has ever received for his portrayal of Dr. Hong Ji Hong in “Doctors”, Kim Rae Won said that it was when he heard that he looked like a real and authentic doctor. “But if I were to delve deeper into the subject related to compliments, some reporters once said that there were some reports released about me. So I searched for them and in one of the articles, one of the top comments was from a person who said that he was so happy to be living in this same generation where he got to see Kim Rae Won’s acting. I was really grateful for that.”
Last but not least, as he has taken on both classical romantic hero roles as well as unflinching portrayals of grittier characters in the past, he said that he would really like try a hand at acting in historical K-Dramas or movies for a change in the future. “I don’t have any specific roles that comes to my mind though. It depends on the types of scripts that I get. I’d pick the one that speaks to me the most,” he commented.
Well, regardless of what Kim Rae Won chooses to work on in the near future, we’re pretty sure that his fans will be patiently waiting for him. Thus, Kim Rae Won oppa, we say, “Fighting!” 😀
Special thanks to our friends from ONE TV Asia for having us.
Meanwhille, catch more of Kim Rae Won in “Doctors”, which will return for an encore telecast on ONE HD (Astro Ch 393) starting from 30th October, airing every Sunday at 12:45pm with 2 episodes back-to-back. Don’t say we didn’t share 😉
For more information, hit up ONE TV Asia’s website or Facebook page.
