Flexing his acting chops, Seo In-guk plays two brothers in High School King Of Savvy, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli
POPULAR South Korean star Seo In-guk is enjoying himself portraying a variety of roles in his recent Korean drama series.
In his latest work, High School King Of Savvy, the singer-actor plays two characters — Lee Min-seok and his older brother Hyung-seok — who have completely different personalities. It also stars Lee Soo-hyuk and Lee Yeol-eum.
“I find the script very amusing. The characters are charming and the stories are funny. I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance to work on this project,” says Seo, 26, in an email interview.
Min-seok is a high school student and varsity ice hockey player. He and the no-nonsense Hyung-seok look very much alike, despite a nine-year age gap.
Min-seok gets a phone call from Hyung-seok who asks him to impersonate the latter but he doesn’t explain why. So Min-seok pretends to be a high-ranking executive at an IT conglomerate.
Living a double life but unaware of the rules within the Korean workplace, Min-seok learns to navigate the world of adults with the help of Jung Soo-young (Lee Ha Na), a temp with an odd personality.
“My personality is similar to Min-seok’s. Like him, I am energetic and highly competitive,” says Seo.
“Playing these roles is a real challenge. They also allow me to grow as an actor.”
Playing both brothers proved to be exhausting for Seo, especially when Min-seok has to juggle between being a promising ice hockey player and a smartly-dressed executive.
Another challenge was learning to play ice hockey. “At first, I fell down many times but I grew to love the game as my skills improved. I’m planning to pursue hockey as a hobby,” says Seo who made his debut in the Korean entertainment industry in reality singing competition Superstar K.
He won in the first season in 2009. He later had a small role in the drama Love Rain, before getting his break in the hit drama series Reply 1997.
Since then, Seo starred in four drama series and a film before clinching the dual roles in High School King Of Savvy earlier this year.
Although his acting career is blooming, Seo’s passion is still in singing. After winning Superstar K, he released four EPs, one Japanese album and 12 digital singles.
In May this year, he released his latest digital single Bomtanaba.
“Response has been exciting. Unfortunately I have not been able to promote the song because of High School King Of Savvy,” he says.
When asked about Malaysia, he says: “I haven’t had the chance to visit yet, but I would like to. I want to hear what Malaysian fans think of High School King Of Savvy.”