[News] ZE:A’s Siwan Becomes an Overnight Star!

ZE:A’s Siwan has somewhat of a problem - but don′t worry fans - it′s a good one. As MBC’s The Sun and The Moon is drawing huge popularity, his schedule has become tighter and as he′s gained more and more fans, he′s beginning to feel more pressure about his acting. In the hit drama, Siwan is playing the role of Heo Yeom, the brilliant and noble young Joseon man. On the first episode of drama, which aired on January 4, Siwan left a strong impression on viewers even though he appeared for just 20 seconds. On the following day, he seemed more comfortable with his acting, and viewers started to see him as an actual actor, rather than a member of an idol group.

Though ZE:A falls relatively behind among male idol groups, Siwan became a hot topic, with his name hitting the top of the list of the most-searched words on the Internet. Siwan, as well as his agency, were reportedly surprised at his mounting popularity. His character is distinctive, but they didn’t expect viewers’ responses would be that fervent because he was only playing the child character of Heo Yeom. A rep from the group’s agency, Star Empire, said, “We thought of the drama as a good piece, but we didn’t expect it would generate this much talk.” The rep. continued, “We just thank fans for their affection.” Moreover, Siwan has been well-received for his first attempt at acting. “All the other members of the group, as well as Siwan, usually practice acting a lot. Siwan took this good opportunity and showed off the acting skills he′d been honing all along,” the rep added. The representative said with a happy smile, “Up until now, among the members of ZE:A, Kwanghee was the most well-known, but this time Siwan contributed to promoting the group.” But one thing that they are worrying about is that Siwan can’t handle all the many interview requests that have been flooding in. The representative said, “Even though he became a star overnight, he is still a newcomer. When many people try to reach him, he has to do many interviews. He is not a star yet who can hold a roundtable talk or refuse interview offers. But there’s not enough time for him to focus on individual activities due to his filming schedule and ZE:A’s promotional activities.” Ultimately, Star Empire decided to earmark three days for him to handle interviews. The rep. said, “We think he has to meet many people and promote as much as possible when people want him. During the interviews, he is planning to promote ZE:A’s new album as well.”

Photo credit: MBCReach reporter, Oh MiJung on Twitter (@isyutar!)
Reporter: Oh, MiJung (omj0206@cj.net)