It was reported by a fan that not long ago in the quiet vicinity of Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales, none other than Baek Sunghyun; the actor who some of you may have seen in the popular K-Drama ‘Big’ as Kil Choongshik and ‘IRIS II: New Generation’ as Kang Byungjin had been spotted with what seems to be a filming crew.
The fan reported that when asking the obvious question we all at this moment would like to know –“What are a Korean camera crew doing all the way out in the apparent smallest village in the UK located in Wales district?” They in turn, informed her they were in fact filming for an apparent new Variety Show, subsequently explaining the rather peculiar Roman Costume most were sporting on the day, particularly by the actor himself.
She also met Jun Hyunmoo, the familiar MC from Star Golden Bell as well as many other cast member, all preparing for filming of the pilot of this new mystery Variety Show. It was apparent that the reason they had chosen Wales as their ideal filming spot in the UK was due to the infamous ‘Wales Open Stone Skimming Championships’ as well as the Chariot Racing, seeing as they had to dress the part the roman attire, of course, proved its worth.
It’s a possibility whether we will eventually be able to see what was filmed here broadcasted in the near future.
Until then, read her fan account of the day below!
“There were a good 60 people around the lake including people from Germany and Australia and many other countries but the only non-Caucasian people there, were me, my sister and the Korean crew. At first when I saw Baek Sung Hyun, I thought I recognised him but was not entirely sure if it was him (he was wearing sunglasses and I was only admiring him from a distance). I started walking around the crew, pacing back and forth between the cameras (so I made sure I’d be on TV if this was ever to air), pretending to take pictures of the scenery on my camera and at the same time taking pictures of the oblivious Korean stars.
While pretending to be busy taking pictures of in the distance my sister had the guts to go and talk to Baek Sung Hyun. When I saw them talking my sister called me over. I didn’t walk over calmly, oh no! I ran and did a leap in the air. I kid you not.
When I reached them, being the idiot I am and not being able to contain my excitement, the first thing I blurted out was-
“WHAT’S YOUR NAME?!”
Now, I have to clarify something, I only watched him in ‘Big’ and only knew his character’s name but not his real name.
“It’s Sunghyun Baek” he replied after a good few seconds. Come to think about it he looked pretty surprised. Because who in their right mind would say “what’s your name?” when your sister just declared you’re a big fan of them…
We started talking and I can say he was pretty good in English. Then a lady, supposedly his manager, came over and started asking him something in Korean along the lines of “Are they your fans”? And of course, he said yes. Then she started to talk to us in English. Now, she was pretty fluent. She asked us “How do you know him?” and we responded in saying “We watched him in a drama called ‘Big’”. Sunghyun knew what we were talking about because he nodded but the woman, unaware said “Oh yes, he is pretty big in Korea but he’s very modest about it”. Now here I am thinking …that’s not what I meant about Big- but okay. I’ll go along with it.
So we talked and in the end she asked my sister and I, “Do you want a picture with him?” and who of course would decline such a question when you’ve just met someone famous. We took two pictures: one of him with sunglasses and one without. In between those photos I managed to have direct eye contact with him, when we were in arm to arm proximity. I looked up and smiled and at the same time he looked down and flashed a smile.
I can safely say… his teeth are very white.
After the photos were taken we decided to leave because there was nothing else for us to do.
We walked up the tracks and decided to wait by the chariot racing course. After waiting for half an hour the Korean crew came up and started prepping for the chariot race. We didn’t get to stay for the race though but we did manage to watch them attempt to work the chariots.
And that my friend is my fan account of meeting Baek Sunghyun! I still can’t believe no one even knew he was in Britain!”
Fan account & Credit to Hannah Chow
