Song Joong Ki, Who Went To All-Boys Schools, Jokes That He Was Happy To Meet Girls When He Entered University

No photo from this story can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.

You can tell a star is well-loved when his fans show up bright and early in the morning — 6.30am, to be exact — when he is only scheduled to be at his press conference later in the afternoon. 

We should also mention that the exact location of said press conference was never released to the public.

But there we were, face to face with some 200 very resourceful fans of Korean heartthrob Song Joong Ki, who somehow managed to find out that their idol would be speaking to the media about his new drama Reborn Rich at The Coliseum at Hard Rock Hotel.

Joong Ki, 37, showed up at Sentosa this afternoon, flanked by his team and a bevy of bodyguards, and was immediately greeted by his screaming horde of fans who had gathered outside the venue.

Dressed in a beige button-up shirt and grey pants, the baby-faced actor, who barely looked a day over 30, sipped on a cup of iced coffee while acknowledging the love everyone was showing him.

When one super enthu fan screamed “Oppa Saranghae”, which means 'I love you' in Korean, at the top of her lungs, he broke into a grin that elicited another wave of rapturous cheers. 

The outdoor event space at The Coliseum made for a very, very hot press conference

The actor was excited to be in Singapore — the last time he was here was to promote his movie The Battleship Island in 2017.

“I’m feeling so good and I really love Singapore. I think this is my seventh [or] eighth time here and it’s been such a long time since I’ve come here because of the pandemic,” said Joong Ki, who impressed everyone doing his whole interview in English.

Besides clocking in the hours at the gym this morning, Joong Ki also revealed that he had played golf, and managed to eat the black pepper crab that he was craving the night before.

He made sure to thank the press and all his fans for being there this afternoon

In Viu original drama Reborn Rich, Joong Ki plays Yoon Hyun Woo, a loyal employee of family-owned conglomerate, Soonyang Group. However, he is betrayed and wrongfully murdered by someone in the family.

He is then transported to the past and well, reborn into the body of the youngest grandson of Soonyang Group, Jin Do Joon. He then goes on a mission to find out the truth behind his murder and exact revenge on the family.

The 16-episode drama, which is now halfway through its run, has been extremely well-received by audiences worldwide.

The drama debuted on the top of Viu’s charts, and is currently the most viewed show on their platform — another testament to Joong Ki’s popularity.

When asked if he  expected such a positive reaction from viewers, the actor said he never saw it coming. “[It's] because this is not a romantic comedy drama, and I heard that many Asian audiences love watching [that genre], and [Reborn Rich] is not,” said Joong Ki to model-host Hanli Hoefer, who emceed the press conference.

He went on to reveal that the time taken to shoot this series was the “longest" in his career, and it was challenging to play two characters.

“I was confused as I had two roles, [similar to] when I shot my previous series Arthdal Chronicles. I felt it was difficult and I was a bit confused. But [I started seeing them] as one role, not two separate roles, because [Hyun Woo] went back to the past. So I finally found a new solution and it made it easier to work,” he said.

Joong Ki chuckled as he apologised for his “not very good” English. But if anyone is asking, we understood him perfectly fine.

As hard as he was on himself, Joong Ki didn’t forget to praise members of the press for their accurate pronunciation of “Annyeonghaseyo” (hello in Korean) each time someone greeted him when they asked him a question. 

We finger heart you too, SJK

When asked what he would do with the money if he were, well, reborn into a rich family, Joong Ki pondered over the question for a moment before saying: “Frankly, I don’t want to be reborn into a rich family."

“After shooting this drama, I’ve seen how large sums of money can result in family conflicts. I hate that. Money is not the number one thing. Of course, human beings like money, [and that’s] okay, but that is not number one, so I don’t want to be reborn in a rich family. I like myself,” he continued.

Cue cheers from his fans 'cos clearly they like him just the way he is too.

Even hotter than Song Joong Ki was the Singapore weather

Joong Ki’s character, Do Joon, is extremely popular in school, but does he find any similarities between his own campus school life and that of Do Joon’s?

Turns out, Joong Ki went to an all-boys middle school and high school, and all he saw was “only men”.

“I could only meet girls in university, and I was happy then,” he chuckled cheekily.

He then gave the question another thought, as if he got transported back to his school days, and said: “Wow, it's just all men. So I didn’t know about my reputation. I was just ordinary, one of them, a normal, silent type of student I think."

Joong Ki and host Hanli Hoefer

When Hanli signalled for the Q&A to come to a close, Joong Ki suddenly interrupted her. He then asked his team if there was time for another question.

After being given the go-ahead, the star was asked if he preferred playing Hyun Woo or Do Joon more.

“Sadly I only got to act as Hyun Woo for two episodes, but he is my original character and I think I was only acting as him [throughout]. I think I have an obsession with this character as I see his emotion, and his life. So I would choose him,” he explained.

At the end of event, Joong Ki, ever the gentleman, asked the audience to clap for Hanli before walking up to his fans to shake their hands and sign the posters they had with them.

As he turned around, we could see that the back of his shirt was soaked in perspiration, a sign that even someone as cool and chill as SJK was no match for our blistering afternoon heat.

Then it was time for Joong Ki to make his exit, his iced coffee back in his hand.

The fans craned their necks to catch their final glimpse of him in person. We caught a few of them sobbing tears of joy, and you know, we totally understand why.

Some lucky fans managed to get up close and personal with the Korean heartthrob

No photo from this story can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.

Photos: Mediacorp Photo Unit/ Kelvin Chia

You can catch Reborn Rich on Viu, where new episodes are released every Fri, Sat and Sun.