Kang Ha Neul: The boy-next-door prince of “Scarlet Heart”
For someone who plays the stoic and serious eighth prince Wang Uk in the period drama “Scarlet Heart”, South Korean actor Kang Ha Neul says that he is extremely different from the character that he portrays.
The affable 26-year-old actor was in Singapore on 26 and 27 Aug to promote the drama, a Korean adaptation of the popular 2011 Chinese hit serial of the same name.
Describing Wang Uk, Kang said, “He has this ‘elite, princely image’ and doesn’t smile very much, whereas I’m just a very ordinary person, like the boy-next-door. I think you might get shocked at the differences if you really get to know me.”
“The image that you see on the drama is very different from how I am like in real life. I wasn’t really that good in my studies like he is,” he added with a laugh.
When asked which of his castmates was the most like a prince in real life, Kang immediately pointed out the drama’s main lead, Lee Joon Ki.
“Other than his good looks, he is already a big star with the most experience amongst all of us. Even on set, the cast and crew were very well taken care of by his fans, who prepared food and drinks for us. So naturally, all of us refer to him as the prince,” he explained.
Kang’s approachable and cheerful nature was especially evident during the fan meet-and-greet session at Punggol’s Waterway Point on 27 August, where he freely dished out ‘fan-service’ by giving finger hearts, winks, hugs, and serenades and posed for cameras with his mega-watt grin.
At the end of the meet-and-greet session, Kang thanked the more than 3,000 fans in attendance, saying, “This is my second visit to Singapore and I am so grateful that everyone turned up to spend time with me. I am already anticipating the next time I return to see all of you in Singapore again.”
‘Scarlet Heart’ airs on Singtel TV Ch 513 & 604 and StarHub TV Ch 124, 820 & 823 every Monday and Tuesday at 9pm, first and exclusively on ONE.
