For Korean actor Lee Jae-wook, he would not have been able to meet his fans in Asia including in the Philippines if not for the success of his drama “Alchemy of Souls.”
“Alchemy of Souls,” a fantasy series which is streaming globally on Netflix and in South Korea on TVING, has achieved popularity.
Part 1 premiered in June last year and part 2, titled “Alchemy of Souls; Light and Shadow,” started last December.
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook at his press conference in Manila on March 10 (Jonathan Hicap)
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook at his press conference in Manila on March 10 (Jonathan Hicap)
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook takes a photo at his fan meeting in Manila on March 11 (Photo from Lee Jae-wook's Instagram account)
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook playing a game at his fan meeting in Manila on March 11 (Photo from Lee Jae-wook's Instagram account)
A cake for Lee Jae-wook (Photo from Lee Jae-wook's Instagram account)
We are really happy that Lee Jae Wook posted the cake that we gave him. 😭
— #LeeJaeWookFIRSTinMNL (@leejaewook_ph) March 12, 2023
Thank you to @WilbrosLive who made this possible. 🫶🏼
We love you too, our Jaewookie! 💜#LeeJaeWook #이재욱 #FIRST #아시아투어 #팬미팅 #LeeJaeWookFIRSTinMNL pic.twitter.com/NXqxgPXfGx
On March 11, Lee Jae-wook (이재욱) finally met his Filipino fans through his “First: Asia Tour Fan Meeting” in Manila held at the New Frontier Theater. He launched his first ever fan meeting since debut in Seoul in January followed by Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Manila. Taipei is next on March 26.
This was his first time visiting the Philippines and he said at the fan meeting, “I really had fun today.”
“This is a country I would love to come back to. I’m very thankful and I love you all,” he said.
At the fan meeting, the 24-year-old star sang Paul Kim’s “Every Day, Every Moment” and Hyukoh’s “Tomboy,” took photos and played games with fans, and answered questions about his career and personal life.
A day before his fan meeting, Lee Jae-wook held a press conference on March 10 at the Novotel Manila Araneta City where he talked about “Alchemy of Souls,” his fan meeting and revealed a secret for the first time.
“Alchemy of Souls”
“Alchemy of Souls” part 1 placed in the top 10 most watched non-English TV shows for 19 weeks on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart. Part 2, released last December, stayed in the top 10 non-English TV shows for eight weeks to date.
According to Netflix, “Alchemy of Souls” part 1, which premiered in June last year, placed in the top 10 in 44 countries including 24 weeks in the Philippines.
Lee Jae-wook said he is thankful for the success of “Alchemy of Souls.”
“It is something that I’m very grateful for. It is the result of the hard work of the production team and all the other actors as well. And I would actually really like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the results that this drama has brought out,” he said.
Through the success of the drama, he said he was able to have his Asia fan meeting and that his character Jang Uk is the most memorable for him.
“I think the reason why I’m here is because of the role of Jang Uk in ‘Alchemy of Souls.’ It was really what enabled me to have a tour in Asia this time. It’s a role that I had to play for a long time. The shoots were quite long and it’s a character that has become very close to my heart,” he explained.
Comparing “Alchemy of Souls” parts 1 and 2, Lee Jae-wook said Jang Uk in part 1 was closer to his personality.
“I am more like Jang Uk in part 1. I like people around me, have a good time. He is naughty, playful. That’s my real personality and that’s closer to Jang Uk in part 1. Jang Uk in part 2 is a lot more serious. Honestly we didn’t have a lot of time moving from part 1 to 2. We actually started shooting part 2 in less than a week after. So there was not a lot of time for me to kind of digest that. I would be lying if I said that transition was easy but I had a lot of help on the set,” he said.
"Alchemy of Souls" (tvN)
"Alchemy of Souls" (tvN)
Visit to the Philippines
Lee Jae-wook said the Philippines is a country he really wanted to go to.
“It's a country that I would want to visit for a while. It's regrettable that I'm here for work but I plan to maximize my time and enjoy my visit here. The Philippines is a country where I’m receiving a lot of love from the fans so I'm very, very grateful for that,” he said.
While on his Asia fan meeting tour, he said his playlist includes songs by NewJeans, Hwang Min-hyun (his co-star in “Alchemy of Souls”) and BLACKPINK.
If given the chance, he would like to visit Boracay.
“I love vacation spots and the Philippines is rich in all of these vacation spots. Even in Korea, in those programs where they feature beautiful places around the world, Boracay is really a place that is included in those programs. I would love to go to that place,” he said.
“Alchemy of Souls” achieved popularity in the Philippines and according to Lee Jae-wook, “I can really feel the strong fandom here in the Philippines. I can feel that the fans are very passionate but at the same time well-mannered fans.”
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook at his press conference in Manila on March 10 (Jonathan Hicap)
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook at his press conference in Manila on March 10 (Jonathan Hicap)
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook at his press conference in Manila on March 10 (Jonathan Hicap)
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook at his press conference in Manila on March 10 (Jonathan Hicap)
He said he didn’t expect that “Alchemy of Souls” would be successful because of its fantasy genre and he is happy that he is enjoying popularity.
“It was something I didn’t expect at all. And because this fantasy drama is not the most common,” he said.
About getting love and support from Filipino fans, he added, “I am so happy. I am a relatively new actor in the scene right now. This scenario is something that I imagined for myself, one day, hopefully, I would be in this kind of situation and I find myself there. So I am thankful to the fans who are making this a reality.”
“Just the fact that I have a fan meeting is a significant change in my life. Because of this platform called Netflix, K-content is now readily available to people everywhere in the world. The fact that I can be away from Korea in a different country where I can meet and communicate with fans is a huge change that was brought about by the show [‘Alchemy of Souls’],” he said.
On roles he would like to portray, Lee Jae-wook said, “I really want to play stronger characters. I find myself having that kind of tendency right now. Stronger and more complex characters.”
He revealed a secret habit for the first time.
“I have this habit. It’s something that I had to do before interviews. I have never really talked about this anywhere else. Before I do an interview, I need to sweat. I will take a spa or I will go to a sauna. I will go for a run. I need to sweat it out before I do an interview,” he said.
Career
Lee Jae-wook made his acting debut in the 2018 drama “Memories of the Alhambra,” which starred Hyun Bin and Park Shin-hye.
On how he got into acting, he said, “I love working but I would get tired of a job quickly and easily. At some point I asked myself, ‘What is it that I can do?’ I thought of the job of being an actor because I’m playing different roles all the time, which is like doing different things all the time. So I decided to give that a shot and I went to school for it.
Lee Jae-wook will be appearing in the Netflix movie “Kill Boksoon,” which will premiere on March 31. In the movie, he will play the role of the young Cha Min-kyu, played by actor Son Kyung-gu.
As he ventures into other projects, Lee Jae-wook said that he missed the most shooting “Alchemy of Souls” was “the warmth on the set.”
“My castmates and the people I worked with on the show. We became like family because we were together for like a year. They felt like brothers to me, they felt like family members. The warmth and the passion on the set are what I miss the most,” he said.
Lee Jae-wook’s “First: Asia Tour Fan Meeting” in Manila was presented by Wilbros Live.
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook at his press conference in Manila on March 10 (Jonathan Hicap)
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook at his press conference in Manila on March 10 (Jonathan Hicap)
Korean actor Lee Jae-wook at his press conference in Manila on March 10 (Jonathan Hicap)
