The best of Joo Won
The South Korean actor has Thai fans falling in love with him all over again as he returns to Bangkok for the third time
POPULAR SOUTH Korean actor Joo Won once again wowed his Thai followers at last week’s fan meeting “The Best of Me”. Held at Muang Thai GMM Live on the eighth floor of CentralWorld, the event marked his third appearance in Bangkok and fans were very vocal in their screams for their idol as he walked out onto the stage.
Attired in a smart black suit and wearing dark shades, Joo Won opened the show with a cover of Park Jin-Young’s retro-dance song, “Honey” and showed that he can dance too with some neatly choreographed moves.
Greeting the crowd with “Sawasdee Khrub, phom chue Joo Won khrub. Sabai dee mai?” in accented Thai, Joo Won was rewarded by even louder screams.
That was the cue for Titiphan Suriyavith, aka DJ Que of True Music, to come out on stage along with a translator to interview the Korean actor.
“How did you feel about this third fan meeting?” Titiphan asked.
“I arrived in Thailand a couple of days ago and my excitement has been building ever since. The excitement made me feel weak but all of you here have given me strength,” the actor replied drawing more screams.
Responding to a question on his choice of opening song, Joo Won said simply that he loved “Honey”.
“And quite apart from the fact that it’s a great dance song, everybody here is my honey,” he said.
An all-rounder who doesn’t just act in the popular dramas but also sings the soundtracks, Joo Won swung into “Innocente” from “Tomorrow’s Cantabile” then segued into “My Love” from “The King of Baking, Kim Takgu”, his first TV drama and the one that shot him to fame.
Then it was time to play some games. For the first of these, “I Want to Know Everything about You”, fans were selected at random to pose their questions.
Asked what province he would most like to visit during his trip, the actor was diplomatically vague. “Last year, I went to Chiang Mai with my parents,” he said. “It was beautiful and I surprised at the cool climate. I have many good memories of our time there and when I knew I was booked to come here again, I was very excited. Where do you suggest I visit?”
He was more direct in responding to a request to give three good reasons for visiting Thailand. “Good weather, good food and, most importantly, all of you. I say that from my heart. Thai women are charming.”
Another fan asked if he fancied acting in a Thai series. “Yes,” he replied. “I would like to do it for all Thai fans.”
The actor kept smiling as he played second game, “Ten Hai Raeng Post-it Krajai” with four lucky fans, happily awarding the winner with a large cut-out complete with his signature.
After a brief intermission, Joo Won was back on stage, this time dressed in rocker style to perform Bodyslam’s hit “Saeng Sudthai”. That led neatly into the third game, “Luk Pong Taek” with seven lucky fans finding themselves hugging him as they tried to burst a balloon within 30 seconds.
After the game, Titiphan asked Joo Won how he liked to spend his leisure time.
“I go to a coffee shop or to the theatre with friends,” he replied before performing “Love Medicine” from the series “Good Doctor” and helping the four girls whose birthday it was to blow out the candles on a birthday cake.
“Don’t give up, even when you feel very tired. Things will go as you want them to and then you’ll be able to smile happily,” said Joo Won, before closing out his show with “If I Were” from “Good Doctor”, “My Way to You” and a reprise of “Honey”.
