On a scorching hot Wednesday afternoon, regional and local media, along with anxious fans, waited eagerly to catch a glimpse of the heartthrob Song Joong-ki at the open-air Hard Rock Hotel Coliseum. Dressed in an off-white shirt with his long sleeves rolled up and khaki slacks, Song was all smiles as he waved to his fans while approaching the stage for the press conference.

Here to promote his latest offering, Reborn Rich, available on Viu, the actor captured full attention from the crowd, especially when he fielded all questions on his own, speaking fluently in English, even though there was a translator seated just behind him.

"I really love Singapore, I mean it! This is my 8th time in Singapore." Due to the pandemic, Song was not able to come as frequently, so he felt blessed to visit the sunny island again. Having indulged on black pepper and chilli crab the night before, and with a round of golf in Sentosa just before the interview, the thespian was satisfied with his accomplishments.

With the romantic genre being the most popular among Korean dramas, Song was surprised at the good response from viewers for Reborn Rich as the series lean more towards a revenge plot. The biggest challenge from this drama was the shooting period, the longest throughout Song's acting career. Initially he found it difficult and confusing to take on 2 roles, Yoon Hyun-woo and Jin Do-joon, but after he analysed that both lived in the same world, albeit a slight shift in time period, it became easier for him to develop the characters.

"The scriptwriter is someone I trust deeply" referring to Kim Tae-hee whose first writing project was Sungkyunkwan Scandal, which also starred a rookie Song, in 2010. The fact that this was her script became the main reason for the actor to agree on this project. A closed second was the chance to work with co-star Lee Sung-min, who played his grandfather and head of the Sunyang group, Jin Yang-chul. To make up for the missed opportunity more than a decade ago, Song wasted no time this round, for a chance to work with the veteran actor in this 16-episode series. In addition to Lee, Song was also excited and felt great honour to work alongside established performers such as Jo Han-chul and Kim Shin-rok, who acted as the 2nd son and only daughter of Jin Yang-chul respectively. 

With so many unpleasant ongoings within the wealthy Jin family, Song expressed that he does not want to be reborn into a rich family if he was ever given the chance. He is happy with this life as Song Joong-ki, whom he declared was once a quiet and ordinary student attending a single-gender middle and high school. The fans chuckled out loud when he mentioned that one of the top 3 social media comments the former boring student now enjoys reading is "wow, Song Joong-ki is handsome!"

Without divulging the storyline, Song could only share his 2nd favourite scene, when Yoon Hyun-woo was shot at the cliff in Istanbul, from the first episode. He loved the last facial expression of the character who knew that he was about to be killed. Although the character was short-lived, Song had a personal obsession about Hyun-woo and was happy to express his life in the first 2 episodes.

Reborn Rich started its run on 18 November 2022, rising to more than triple its viewership ratings (in Korea) for its latest episode. The series is now streaming on Viu, with new episodes every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (same day as Korea).  

Special thanks to Viu for inviting KpopStarz to cover Viu - Reborn Rich Press Conference with Song Joong-ki.

Writer: Wang | Photo Credits: En