Se7en Evolves as Actor in New TV Drama

From left, Se7en, Heo I-jae, Kang Doo and Park Sin-hye pose for the camera during a news conference at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul, Thursday. They star in new television drama "Kung S" ("Prince Hours"), a sequel to last year's hit drama "Princess Hours".
/ Korea Times Photo by Park Chul-joong

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

K-pop star Se7en, with his signature upside-number-seven dance move, has proven that he can sing and dance. He now faces a daunting question: Can he act? He has taken on the daunting task of playing the new lead role of the television drama "Kung (Palace) S" ("Prince Hours"), a sequel to the widely popular original that aired last year on MBC.

The 22-year-old is his usual cheerful and positive self, when he talks about his hopes for the new drama.

"I really enjoyed watching the `Kung' ("Princess Hours") series _ its interesting story, the beautiful scenes. But because it was such a huge success, I felt a lot of pressure in the beginning", Se7en said Thursday during a news conference at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul. "But I hope the audience will watch `Kung S' ("Prince Hours")without comparing the two as it is a totally different new work".

The only similarity between the two is that they take place in a palace, he said.

Based on a popular Korean comic series, the MBC TV drama "Kung" ("Princess Hours") is a story about fictionalized contemporary royal family in Korea.

The original revolved around an ordinary high school girl (played by Yoon Eun-hye), who learns about royal traditions when she marries a prince (Joo Ji-hoon).

In the sequel, Se7en plays a 20-year-old Kang Hu, a Chinese food deliveryman who finds out that he is one of the king's closest relations. He eventually succeeds the king.

The series is the singer's first outing as an actor. Director Hwang In-roi said that he cast the K-pop super star because he needed a new actor who could break away from the image of the lead actor in the original.

Se7en originally planned to focus on acting during weekdays and singing during weekends, but he changed his mind to keep focusing on the drama to make the best out of it.

"I didn't rule out acting or anything. I thought I would star in a drama and challenge myself if the role is just right for me. I like my funny and cheerful character in the drama", he said.

But after the drama, Se7ven plans to develop his career as a singer. He will sing a duet with American pop singer Amerie for her first single album, which will be released March next year.

Se7en, in real life, is much of the cheerful person with positive thinking, as his role in the drama. The piece of advice that the director had for the singer was "Just do as you would do in your real life", Se7en said.

The singer's skill in taekwondo helped him with action scenes. He likes riding "anything with wheels", so riding the motorcycle in the drama was not a problem.

"I shot almost 100 percent of all the action and fighting scenes myself without a stuntman as well as those involving me riding a bike. The only exceptions are when I had to shoot the scenes where I had to show off brilliant skateboard skills", Se7en said.

Although he feels nervous about his first acting role, he said that he wanted to show a new side of self.

"Through the drama, I'd like to show the better side of me. I'll work hard to make a feel-so-good drama. I hope people will see my character a little bit seriously. And now I'm just happy as I can wear the clothes that I don't normally wear", he said, smiling.

The pilot of "Kung S" ("Prince Hours") is slated for 9:55 p.m. on Jan. 10. The 20-episode series will be aired at the same time every Wednesday and Thursday.