At the beginning of the year, a list of the Korean actors voted most popular in Japan did not even mention Kim Soo Hyun. But within a matter of months, the young actor quickly sailed past perennial list toppers as Lee Min Ho, Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Bum and Rain.
The actor's sudden boost in popularity has much to do with Japanese audiences seeing him in the drama, "The Moon Embracing The Sun." The drama, in which he played the young King Lee Hwon, achieved 42 percent in viewer ratings when it was shown on television there. In a Japanese poll taken after the show aired, he was chosen as the most popular Hallyu actor of his generation.
That was quite an accomplishment for an actor who then only had two dramas and one notable film role to his name.
While promoting "The Moon Embracing the Sun," the actor also generated more interest through interviews that he gave to newspapers and magazines such as Kyodo News, Haruhana and Weekly Women. He also did a fashion spread for the June issue of Vogue Japan.
When the film, "The Thieves," in which he plays a thief named Jampano, was shown in Japan, it attracted an audience of more than 10 million people. Maybe part of his appeal in Japan-and Korea-is how well he plays romantic characters.
"My character Zampano is the youngest member among the thieves, and he's the most romantic character," said Kim. "If you think about it, all the roles I played dating back from 'Dream High's' Sam Dong, 'The Moon That Embraces The Sun's' Hwon, and in 'Thieves', I play characters that love only one woman, romantic fools you might say."
And his new film, the anticipated "Secretly and Greatly" in which he plays an undercover North Korean spy, will premiere in Japan in June.
As a result of this growing interest, Kim Soo Hyun will have an official Japanese fan meeting in a few weeks. The fan meeting will celebrate the first anniversary of the founding of his official Japanese fan club.
Not only does Kim Soo Hyun's fame in Japan come as a surprise to him, the fact that he became an actor was surprising to those that knew him. Friends and family described him as a shy reserved kid. He did not become interested in acting until high school.
"Normally, I'm a very shy guy," he said.
In that way he resembled Song Sam Dong, the character he played in "Dream High," a kid no one expected to perform well on stage. Being the only non-idol in that cast, he studied singing and dancing for three months to prepare for the role. And he held his own.
Last year, he won the Baeksang "Most Popular Actor Award." This year, honors in Japan, and the rest of the world, may await him.
