On Jan 25, Mediacorp’s artiste management arm, The Celebrity Agency (TCA), announced the signing of their first Korean artiste, 27-year-old Lee Sung-chan.
Sung-chan, who was born and raised in South Korea, is fluent in Korean, Mandarin and English. He completed his primary and secondary school education in Beijing, and went on to specialise in film and language studies during his further studies in the US.
Speaking to 8world in an interview, Sung-chan said he initially wished to build his showbiz career in China and America. However, it dawned on him during the pandemic that it “wasn’t easy to do well in China”.
It was also during that period that he had the opportunity to star in the local film Don’t Go Home Tonight.
Sung-chan met a manager from TCA during the preview of Don’t Go Home Tonight, and after some discussions, decided to sign a management contract with Mediacorp, which he felt is like “a warm, big family”.
Prior to embarking on his career as an actor, Sung-chan was a copywriter for five years in Korea. When he told his parents about his signing a contract with Mediacorp, they were supportive of his decision. However, they were initially against him joining showbusiness.
“They were very against it. Both my parents are in Korean showbiz as well. My dad has been acting for over 40 years, and they know how hard things can be. However, (they’ve seen how) I’ve been working on my career alone in China, America and Korea. I even came to Singapore to film a movie so they are now very supportive of me,” he explained.
He revealed that his parents had always wanted to expand their career beyond Korea, and he so feels “honoured” that his “first step is (already) their final goal”.
When asked about his parents, Sung-chan laughed and said: “I don’t think anyone will know of them, because they’ve never been in shows that are on streaming services. They’ve only acted in Korean shows, and only Korean aunties and uncles will know of them. The younger crowd won’t know them ‘cos they’ve also stepped away from the spotlight for quite a while now.”
When did Sung-chan first start dreaming of being an actor?
He said he used to be 120kg, and had put in a lot of effort to trim down. During that period, he watched a show starring Hollywood actor Jack Black, and it ignited his passion for acting.
“Perhaps I wasn’t aware of it, but the call to acting has always been in my blood,” he added.
Besides Jack Black, Sung-chan also named Steven Yeun and his dad as his industry role models.
“I hope (audiences) will love watching my shows, and I’ll be able to put up a performance that resonates with everyone. If I can comfort and move the audience through my roles, I would call that a success,” said Sung-chan.
Sung-chan is currently in Singapore for a month, and will appear in an upcoming Chinese New Year special on Feb 9. He will be based in Korea, and will travel to Singapore for projects.
This story was originally published in 8Days.