Lee Jae Wook Shares His Current Playlist And Talks About His Acting Career, Pre-Interview Rituals & The Philippines At The Manila Press Conference

Lee Jae Wook just capped the Manila leg of his 2023 Asia Tour Fan Meeting <FIRST> last March 11 at the New Frontier Theater, making his Filipino fans’ hearts flutter even more with his charisma and fan service.

But just a day before the show, the South Korean actor from popular Kdramas Alchemy of Souls, Extraordinary You, and Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol held a press conference where he gleefully answered several questions from Philippine media. 

Here are some of the new things we learned from this 24-year-old celebrity:

He has a pre-interview ritual, and a fun Kpop interesting playlist

Lee Jae Wook said that one fun fact about him that not everybody knows about is that he wants to sweat a lot before going for interviews. So before facing the press, he usually visits the spa, sauna, or goes for a run to warm up. 

If you’re wondering what’s on his current music playlist, he responded with three Kpop artists including NewJeans, BLACKPINK, and of course his Alchemy of Souls co-star Hwang Min-hyun.

He wants to have a vacation in Boracay

He might be here for work now, but Lee Jae Wook had always wanted to go to the Philippines for a while now. He knows about this tropical country’s many vacation spots and beautiful beaches because of Korean travel shows, and since he loves to swim, he also wanted to go to Boracay aside from Manila.

He gets tired of doing the same thing all the time

When asked what inspired him to do acting, Lee Jae Wook said that although he loved working before, he also got tired of his job quickly. At one point he asked himself what other work he can do? Now he realized that he is doing different things all the time because of being an actor. So he went to school for acting to hone his skills.

Speaking of acting, he said that the hardest role he ever portrayed was Baek Kyung from Extraordinary You who was always very upset. “It was the first time where I felt that the characters I played can actually affect me in real life.” In the future, he wants to play stronger and more complex characters that will challenge him, just like his character Jang Uk from Alchemy of Souls.

He is more Jang Uk from Season 1 (than Season 2)

When asked which Jang Uk character he can relate most to, Lee Jae Wook said he is more of Jang Uk from Season 1. He likes to be around people, plus he is silly, naughty, and playful. Because of all the trials he had to go through, Jang Uk’s character in Season 2 became darker and more serious. 

The actor also said that it was hard to transition from the two characters because he didn’t have enough time to prepare between the shoots. He was only given about a week before Season 2 was filmed, but is very grateful that he had a lot of help from people on the set.

Speaking of the set, it is what he misses the most from shooting Alchemy of Souls

“I missed the warmth on the set,” he said. “The warmth and passion in the set is what I miss the most.” His castmates really became family because they were working together for over a year. And even after the drama, breadcrumbs of their genuine friendship are still evident on their official Instagram pages.

Final message before his fan meeting

Lee Jae Wook ended his presscon by expressing how happy he is right now. As a relatively new actor, he did not expect this support and love from Filipino fans. “This scenario is something that I (only) imagined before. I am thankful to fans for making this a reality. The fact that I have a fan meeting is something new to me. The fact that I can be away from Korea to be with my fans is such a huge change.”

“I’m excited to meet you, and nervous, but still looking forward to making good memories with you,” the actor added. 

Lee Jae Wook’s <FIRST> fan meeting in Manila was presented by Wilbros Live.