K-drama star Kim Min-jae rules out a switch to K-pop idol: ‘I don’t have much interest in debuting as a singer’
Fresh from wrapping JTBC’s Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency, Dr Romantic star Kim Min-jae may be looking for another project – but it won’t be on stage as a K-pop idol, the deep-voiced heartthrob promises
Known for his deep voice, actor Kim Min-jae has been consistently adding to his filmography every year since he debuted in Mnet drama Persevere, Goo Hae-ra in 2015.
After making a remarkable impression with a brief appearance as the ancient king in 2016's mega-hit drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Kim was finally given a lead role in the period drama Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency, which wrapped earlier this month.
Referring to the role as a “gift”, Kim shared what it was like to work on his first period drama. “This piece brought me so much joy and experience. I was able to learn a lot from working on it,” the actor told The Korea Times, at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Monday.
I don't have much interest in debuting as a singer since I think it takes a lot of time and practice to be on stage
Kim played the lead role of Ma-hoon in the series, which is about a matchmaking image consulting agency set in the Joseon Kingdom, run by three handsome men. The story has the trio – played by Kim, Park Ji-hoon and Byun Woo-seok – taking on a job to match a lower-class girl Gae-Ddong (Gong Seung-yeon) with Joseon's King Lee Soo (Seo Ji-hoon).
As a leader and the best matchmaker, Kim played a sharp-tongued man who is the mastermind behind arranging marriages requested by the clients. Though Kim has taken lead roles before, this was harder than his previous jobs, he said.
“I felt more pressure. Now I think of it, I didn't have to take that much responsibility all by myself, but that's how much I wanted to do well. So I poured in so much energy and time to better express my character,” he said.
In the TV series, he is sceptical about romance but as he falls in love with Gae-Ddong, he realises what love means. To deliver such delicate emotions he put in tremendous effort into every detail, even into the changes made by slight changes in expression.
“I studied what faces cold and sensitive people would make and tried to show how Ma-hoon changed after meeting Gae-Ddong, through distinguishing the looks and faces he would make.”
Despite the effort and hard work he put into the series, he said he does not feel fully satisfied. “I barely tell myself that I did a good job because I'm pretty harsh on myself.”