Tracking Kim Soo-hyun

The first time I saw Kim Soo-hyun, the Korean superstar widely known and loved by fans for his role as Do Min-joon in My Love From The Star, was last year at the Incheon Airport in Seoul. He was smiling at me from a trolley as image for a casino that he’s endorsing.

I saw Kim again yesterday at the launch of the Samsung QLEDTV at the sprawling Okada Hotel. He was still smiling, not just at me but at the overflowing crowd at the Golden Ballroom which showcased various models of the QLEDTV. (His local counterparts as endorser are Paul Soriano and Tessa Prieto-Valdes.)

Seeing Kim in the flesh was a dream come true for his avid Filipino fans including Lolit Solis who virtually stalked the actor since he arrived last Wednesday from Seoul. Lolit staked out with two friend writers at the Okada hoping against hope even just to be near Kim whom she followed for years through such Koreanovelas Dream High (2011), Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), The Producers (2015) and, but of course, My Love From The Star (as an alien) which is being remade (same title) by GMA, airing starting on Monday, May 29, with newcomer Gil Cuerva as Matteo Do and Jennylyn Mercado reprising the character played by Jun Ji-hyun in the original.

At the end of the very, very brief Q&A conducted onstage by a Korean interpreter, Lolit shouted, “I love you, Kim!” while flashing the Korean love sign (thumb over index finger). Lolit almost melted on her second-row seat when Kim threw her a shy smile.

Protected by a cordon sanitaire composed of burly Korean men (who failed to stop airport photographers from taking pictures), Kim famously made himself “unreachable,” almost incognito even when he was spotted in an all-black ensemble strolling (window shopping?) at the nearby Mall Of Asia (MOA). Did he really take a quick trip to the exclusive Balesin Island resort? No proof surfaced on the Internet.

In person, Kim was soft-spoken, his body language betraying his painful shyness. Born on Feb. 16, 1988, in Seoul (his father is singer Chung Hoon and was the leader of the band Seven Dolphins), Kim was described as having an “introverted personality,” prompting his mother to push him into taking acting classes during his high school years. In 2009, Kim enrolled at Chung-Ang University’s Film and Theater Department.

Kim had his TV debut in the 2007 family sitcom Kimchi Cheese Smile and, the next year, bagged a lead role in the Peabody awardee youth drama Jungle Fish which tackled issues such as cheating, campus competition and interactive blogging that resonated with young audiences. He starred in more TV shows (Father’s House, Seven Years of Love, Will It Snow for Christmas?, Giant and Dream High) and even starred in some movies, The Thieves (2012), said to have been inspired by the Hollywood movie Oceans Eleven, and Secretly, Greatly (2013).

More honors: He was named Gallup Korea’s Actor of the Year (2014), included in Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list (2013, ranked No. 4; No. 2 in 2015; and then No. 5 in 2015). The business magazine’s Asia edition included him in its “30 Under 30” successful celebrities in 2016.

When he won the New Star Award early in his career, Kim was quoted as saying, “Please take care of me by giving me more attention. In 10 years, I will become a real actor.” It became known as his “10-year promise.” Of course, it took Kim much less than 10 years to fulfill that promise.

Now, did you know that My Love From The Star generated more than three billion hits in China and spawned trends in fashion, make-up and restaurants? Will the Gil-Jennylyn version be as big a hit?

Besides Samsung QLEDTV, Kim is also an endorser of several Korean products that range from apparel to electronic devices.

At the Samsung event hosted by Sam Oh (a Korean raised in the Philippines), Kim revealed that he has visited the Philippines years ago and thanked his Filipino fans for their unwavering support.

And, don’t forget, he reminded (in Korean) the audience, “I have a movie called Real that is coming soon.”

Like the alien that he played in My Love From The Star, Kim appeared at the Okada Golden Ballroom in a flash and, after barely 10 minutes, disappeared just as fast. As you read this, he should be on a flight back to Seoul.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)