It's been three months since the hit K-drama "Crash Landing on You" (CLOY) concluded, wherein the superstar Hyun Bin portrayed Captain Ri Jeong-hyeok. Up until this very moment, we can still feel the impact it has on us fans.
In a deep and manly voice, Hyun Bin shared in a recent interview about the "warmth and innocence" of Captain Ri. The Korean actor stated that each of the characters he portrays always has a different meaning to him.
However, Captain Ri Jeong-hyeok had more warmth and innocence than the characters he had previously given life to. He added that he considers this character a bit more special in terms of expressing the role.
As proof of his skyrocketing popularity in the Philippines, he has closed a huge endorsement deal with the top telecommunications and mobile services company, SMART Communications.
On the evening of May 27th, the said telecommunications company releases a TVC teaser. It was a brief teaser just nine seconds, showing a man walking towards a sports car, with one side of his face shown as he approaches his ride. The caption read, "The Captain is coming. Watch out for the big RiVeal."
Netizens couldn't contain their excitement upon seeing the TVC, and eagle-eyed fans immediately confirmed that it was Hyun Bin, a.k.a. Captain Ri Jeong-hyeok!
What's more was that Manny V. Pangilinan himself, chairman of SMART Communications, also confirmed it through his Twitter account. Upon confirmation, Filipino fans expressed their joy about the news and proved that Hyun Bin truly has a special place in Filipino fans' hearts.
Two days after the teaser was released, the SMART communications bewildered everyone by "RiVeal-ing" its brand new commercial, which features Hyun Bin, highlighting the latest "game-changing" promotions. The video ended with a short Filipino statement conveyed with his swoon-worthy smile when a voice-over asked him, "How do you know about this Giga Life? the superstar responded, "Simple, Smart ako. (It's simple, I'm using SMART)."
On June 1st, SMART Communications also had an array of other surprises with regards to this Korean actor. The telecommunications company held a media conference wherein they discussed how the partnership with Hyun Bin happened and how the said commercial was shot amid the pandemic.
In the event, the company's executives responded to what everyone has been curious about: will they bring Hyun Bin to Manila? Their response was, "Of course, definitely!"
However, the schedule is not sure as of the moment considering the pandemic.
But when the perfect time comes, we're pretty sure that Hyun Bin won't waste a second to book a trip to the Philippines, because he himself can't wait to meet and greet his Filipino fans.
CHECK OUT THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO OF HYUN BIN'S SMART TVC:
