December 22, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — For Jung Hae-in, taking on roles across diverse genres would always be a challenging yet rewarding feeling as an actor striving for versatility in his career.
This year, the K-drama heartthrob worked on two entirely different projects — the action crime film “Veteran 2” and the romantic comedy K-drama series “Love Next Door” — which gained immense support from his fans called Haeiness (short for Haein and happiness).
“Each project, each genre is a challenge for me. I just keep pushing myself,” he said through an interpreter during a press conference presented by CDM Entertainment on Friday, a day before his “Our Time” fan meeting at the New Frontier Theater.
“Whenever I’m choosing a character that I would portray, it’s very important for me to draw it out in my head if I can do it. But even with characters that I cannot imagine doing, I still challenge myself because I know that it would be rewarding later on,” he added.
That’s why in “Love Next Door,” Hae-in proved that he could conquer his fear of the waters when he accepted the role of Choi Seung-hyo, a competitive swimmer in his high school years before becoming a successful architect.
“I specially trained for it so that I could learn how to swim. I’m not afraid of the water anymore,” he proudly shared, adding that he continued to swim to maintain his fit physique in the drama co-starring him with Jung So-min.
The series, which aired on Netflix from August to October this year, became a rom-com pick for K-drama viewers, an achievement Hae-in did not anticipate.
“We did our very best without any expectations when we were filming the drama,” he said, noting that Seung-hyo was the most favorite character he played.
Asked about his most challenging moment in acting projects this year, the 36-year-old actor admitted that he struggled in filming “Veteran 2,” wherein he played rookie detective Park Sun-woo, who joins the violent crimes investigation team to pursue a serial killer.
Nonetheless, his hard work paid off, as he received the Best Supporting Actor and Popularity Award at the 2024 Blue Dragon Film Awards. The film also paved the way for his debut appearance at the Cannes Film Festival.
With such milestones this year, Hae-in teased fans with projects in store for him in 2025.
“I’m already looking at scripts for my dramas, my movies for next year. Each one of them is a challenge for me,” he expressed.
Hae-in, who has been in the industry for 11 years, earned popularity and recognition through dramas such as “D.P.,” “Snowdrop,” “Something in the Rain,” “Prison Playbook” and “While You Were Sleeping.”
“I’ve done so many genres and portrayed so many roles but I think I’m most loved when I do romantic comedies. so I hope that you will always support me in my other genres and my other projects aside from rom-coms,” Hae-in added.
Before capping 2024, fans were curious about how he would spend the holidays, to which he simply answered, “For Christmas, I would be spending it at home with my family and I made a promise to my fans that I’ll go live. I’m thinking about it.”
Filipino Haeiness, in turn, shouted their hearts out to greet Haein with a “Merry Christmas!” cheer during the press conference, making their idol flash a charming smile.
“Whenever I come here, it’s really nice. I missed you all. Thank you for the very warm welcome,” Hae-in said.
Though this was his fourth time visiting the country, he had yet to explore Manila. If given the chance to spend an entire day in the city, Hae-in said he would want to go to Manila Bay and “eat some delicious foods.”
The press con, which was opened to the public, became a brief but delightful prelude to his fan meeting. “Just being here like this with you, with all my Filipino fans, it’s like a dream come true,” he remarked.
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