Many may remember Hwang In Youp dancing to Okey Dokey in his iconic scene in True Beauty. However, we could also be sure that Hwang In Youp will likewise remember Singapore with the Okey Dokey dance after a fun-filled night at the actor’s first fan meeting in Singapore on the 30th of July, 2022.
Making his first overseas stop, the fan meeting saw Hwang In Youp singing, dancing and playing games with several lucky fans, while not forgetting to sit down and share more about his thoughts on his journey as an actor thus far. The fan meeting gave fans a chance to get to know more about the real Hwang In Youp that is behind the many diverse characters he has played – from the "cool Seo Jun" in True Beauty to "cute Il Deung" in The Sound of Magic, as described by the man himself.
The actor’s choice to kick off the fan meeting to a beautiful cover of It Starts Today from True Beauty got many HIYILY excited and almost raring to their feet.
In the "Hwang Quiz" segment, we got to know that Hwang In Youp likes chocolate more than gum or candy. We could also be sure he went back to Korea with an authentic taste of Singapore despite the tight schedule, as he chomped on and finished a slice of kaya toast before flushing it down with big gulps of teh tarik (Pulled Milk Tea) all on stage!
The actor’s choice to kick off the fan meeting to a beautiful cover of It Starts Today from True Beauty got many HIYILY excited and almost raring to their feet.
In the "Hwang Quiz" segment, we got to know that Hwang In Youp likes chocolate more than gum or candy. We could also be sure he went back to Korea with an authentic taste of Singapore despite the tight schedule, as he chomped on and finished a slice of kaya toast before flushing it down with big gulps of teh tarik (Pulled Milk Tea) all on stage!
Answering questions that were collected from fans while donning a cute pair of Necomimi Cat Ears that reads brainwaves and reacts depending on how the actor was feeling, one could be sure he was definitely being honest when he answered "Yes" to the question "Do you think you are sexy?" as the ears barely moved.
Hwang In Youp shared that his favourite scene from Why Her was the kiss scene, and curiously asked Singapore HIYILY which was their favourite scene of his till date. A resounding “Okey Dokey!” was heard from all corners of the hall, and this was when he got to know just how much his fans enjoyed True Beauty and his performance of Seo Jun in the show. It was perhaps for the best, because he advised that “dancing to Okey Dokey will make your troubles go away” when you are having a tough time, and we think we could get behind him on that.
Diving deeper into his filmography in the "In Youp’s Filmogram" segment, it was easy to spot the sincerity he puts into shaping all of his characters. Starting with his television debut in The Tale of Nokdu as Park Dan Ho, he shared that he had lost weight to look sharper in the character, who was cold-hearted serial killer. Goo Ja Sung in 18 Again, on the other hand, was a challenging character for Hwang In Youp as the character had a warm heart despite being extremely rebellious. He thinks he is "usually not that feisty", but instead while he can be calm and cool most of the time, he said, "I can be really energetic when I am with my friends, just like when I am with everyone now!".
On the immensely popular True Beauty, there was considerable pressure for Hwang In Youp when he played the character of Seo Jun, given that both the original webtoon and the character itself was already popular prior to the drama. He found Seo Jun’s efforts towards Joo Kyung admirable despite being an unrequited love, and he is thankful for the immense love that he has received.
Fulfiling a promise and the wishes of many at Capitol Theatre that night, he got around to finally performing the Okey Dokey dance and even got fans to join in to dance along for a second time!
The night ended with Hwang In Youp’s cover of I Mean It from one of his more recent dramas, The Sound of Magic, where he played a cute and simple Il Deung. He promises to be back in Singapore again when the opportunity arises, and hopefully by then, with an even wider repertoire of dramas that allows him to show everyone different sides of him as a more polished and successful actor.
Big thank you to IMC Live Global for having us!