The Steps That Kim SeonHo Is Possibly Taking To Maintain The Sturdiness of His Career

With the success of Kim SeonHo’s One, Two, Three, Smile Tour, Seonhohada’s surely got back-to-back luck, as Kim Seon Ho will once again grace us with his amazing visual by having another fan meet this year. Then there’s The Childe, his 2023 comeback film, and now his upcoming TV series Tyrant is on its way. Also, let’s not forget his recent magazine interviews such as Elle and Arena, as well as his guest appearance from various YouTube channels and radio stations, where he became more eloquent in answering questions and his nervous/awkward (but cute) laugh lessened which can be a sign that his confidence has grown again and this is not impossible, given that his career continues to stand strongly because first and foremost before he began his career in acting, he takes his time to know what he wants.

“I am rather a slow-paced person when it comes to the things I like or I like to do. But I can tell I am certain on it.” - SeonHo in Dazed.

Most of us may have already realized that there’s no perfect job, so it’s safe to assume that SeonHo’s first job as a theater actor also had some shortcomings, yet SeonHo was able to build a long career in it. How? First, he might already know what he was signing up for before he entered a career that highly demands physical, emotional, and social work. Again, this is possible, given what he said in his Dazed interview, and as per preview, SeonHo wanted to act already after graduating from college but didn’t know how to start, so he took a half-month break before he entered the labor force. The actor also shared to PDC that he used to wonder what kind of actor he would be and what kind of performance he would want to do.

 Lessons We Can Learn Here: While there are benefits to the typical wisdom of “Just do it! You'll eventually learn them on the spot.”  Having knowledge of the flaws to the things that we want to do will help us make proper strategies or compromises on how to deal with those flaws. In return, it can lessen our impulsive decision (due to shock) had we not known about those flaws.  

 This then highlights the importance of realistic job preview. It’s part of employee selection.  During the applicant’s interview, employers share the positive and negative aspects of the job.  This wisdom was shared by Mike Aamodt, an industrial and organizational psychologist, in his book Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Realistic Job Preview limits employee turnover and enhances their satisfaction, as informed by  Indeed. So, more or less giving and receiving RJP is both a win-win to employer and employee. 

Despite the daily challenges of being a public figure, SeonHo chooses to make his love for acting much stronger than the flaws of his job. We can’t deny that most people treated actors as stress relievers. When private figures see the actor positively, they compliment and show gratitude to them - but if not, especially when the actor makes a mistake that triggers people’s hurt, the actor will receive negative words. SeonHo was not able to escape from that flaw on his job. Yet his comeback last year showed that he truly loves his job despite its shortcomings. 

They say whenever you feel like quitting, remember to go back to your whys. Why you started? Why you’re doing what you are doing? For SeonHo, it must be to make people feel not alone in their troubles, to make them feel recognized, and to show the side of their story by portraying their life on the screen. That’s why, as reported by pep, he loves mundane scenes in dramas because it’s an opportunity to make the viewers feel related to the character his playing. To give justice to people’s experiences, the actor has a habit of observing people and studying how they react to everyday situations. He usually does this when he’s walking or riding public vehicles.

The extent to which he studies his assigned characters seem to look like he is aware of his purpose for being an actor. No wonder, he used to question himself if he was an inspiration to someone or has given support - he shared this during one of his fan meet via PDC. 

“Regardless of my talent, I love acting.” - SeonHo in PDC.

It doesn’t end there. The actor was able to imply his burning love for his job when he said (to PDC,) that acting in theater is like a relaxing break for him, and he loves being a workaholic to the point that he can’t take a break for more than two weeks. Even SeonHo’s co-actor, Im ChulSoo (Master Lee of Alchemy of Souls,) attests to SeonHo’s passion for acting when Im said (to PDC,) “He comes with strong determination and doesn’t goof around. He’s very passionate and invested in acting, and I adore him for that.” 

SeonHo’s co-actor in Tyrant, Cha SeungWon (Dokko Jin of The Greatest Love,) also noticed SeonHo’s love for his job. According to the Greatest Love actor, SeonHo has limited hobbies or friends, yet happy when he is at the filming site. This was shared by SeonHo during his part 2 interview in PDC. Our ‘Good Boy’ also quoted SeungWon’s reaction to the actor’s conservative disposition, and that is: “I think you’re similar to me. It’s like we live to act and nothing more.” Talking about purpose here! 

Typically, some of us experience difficulties when asking questions for fear that we look incompetent, but for SeonHo he is willing to sacrifice how he looks just to do his job properly. SeonHo shared to pep that it usually takes him two months to study his role, and during those times he asks numerous questions to his director. 

Generally, SeonHo appears to be using humble strategies to provide quality acting. In theater, his co-actor Im ChulSoo informed PDC that when they have a show in the evening, SeonHo comes in early to practice and watch the other performances.

SeonHo explained that watching other actors helps him to learn new styles when performing. Also, he tends to internalize the attitudes, habits, and beliefs of veteran actors’ when acting to see new perspectives. Instead of falling into the temptation of pride and envy, SeonHo humbles himself to learn from other actors.

You know the saying, “The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don't know.” This is the vibe that SeonHo radiates as he shared in PDC his thoughts to people who think he gets an acting opportunity right away. He explained that it is due to his hard work that he gets a role, and because he knew that his acting are not that good, he works extra hard. That’s why for him, as difficult as it can be, from time to time - he is assessing he’s strength and weaknesses in acting, so he can work on his limitations. 

SeoHo’s belief that he still has a lot to learn to become a good actor proves his innate humility. This statement is based on people’s typical description of the actor. If one could notice, most written articles about SeonHo say that the actor is modest - especially his view of his skill as an actor. He never once boasts that he is a veteran actor, even if he has more than a decade of experience in acting and has bulk of accolades in his name. In PDC he said,

“Honestly, my acting wasn’t so great. I’m nowhere perfect even now, but I was seriously not great back then.”

To keep his feet on the ground when it comes to his craft, SeonHo said to pep that he sees himself as a lazy actor, so he can be reminded to improve himself. His down-to-earth disposition is definitely one of the reasons that he was able to surpass the setbacks he experienced in his career. SeonHo reaps the kindness he sows when pep reported that the actor was supported by some of his co-stars during his past issues.

Those shiny words of SeonHo about, “wanting to improve” are not just empty words, SeonHo revealed in his PDC interview that he tends to feel shy whenever he has to do variety and award shows, as he needs to present his real self. When the interviewer learned this, she immediately reminded SeonHo that he did a great job on 2 Days and 1 Night. But SeonHo explained that he was expressive on that show because he was advise by the writer to express himself more. The actor also explained that whenever he receives constructive criticism he tends to reflect and work harder.

“In the end, it’s really important who you surround yourself with." - SeonHo in PDC.

As Jack Ma said at the World Economic Forum, “My view is that if you are 20 to 30 years old, you should follow a good boss. Join a good company to learn how to do things properly.” This resembles to what SeonHo said in his PDC interview: “In the end, it’s really important who you surround yourself with. Because I met with great people who gave me such a positive influence...” He’s lucky to meet people who helped him thrive in his career. 

One instance of help he received was objectivity given by the director of Strongest Deliverymen and Two Cops when they gave SeonHo a lead role instead of a supporting role. The latter is what SeonHo applied for - as reported by South China Morning Post. At that time, despite SeonHo’s fresh debut in TV acting, the directors did not fall by the typical unconscious bias in recruitment. Perhaps, If the directors had an unconscious bias toward SeonHo, then they have probably taken the opportunity to give SeonHo what he originally applied for or worse did not accept him at all. (This does not mean that the directors were definitely under the influence of unconscious bias if they had given SeonHo the role he originally auditioned.)

But the greatest help that SeonHo received was the immediate approval of his parents when he told them he wanted to be an actor - as shared by Kim himself in PDC. Indeed, SeonHo is the Lucky One.

Takeaways from SeonHo’s sturdy yet humble approach in his career: 

First, holistically studying your plan can save you from various hassles along the way. Second, strongly holding on to the reason why you’re doing your profession is one of the keys to achieve resilience at work. Third, giving more attention to the strategies you can do to provide quality service can preserve trust from clients and bosses. Fourth, continuous learning is a must as the Greek Philosopher Heraclitus said, “The only constant is change.” Fifth, kindness and humility can be your greatest armor against people who try to bring you down. Sixth, applying what you learn expedites your improvement. Lastly, look for people who have a positive impact on your career. It’s not easy to find them, but it’s worth it.

SeonHo’s style when dealing with his job is truly inspiring, yet we should remember that we all have different experiences and circumstances. Hence, some (or all) of those strategies might not work for our current situation, and that’s okay as we all have our own styles when dealing with the roller coaster ride of our career, and each of our styles is valid.

For now, you can watch SeonHo’s latest work in DaeSung’s Falling Slowly MV and read Kpopmap’s insightful story about it here: https://www.kpopmap.com/3-piercing-lyrics-from-bigbang-daesung-comeback-title-track-falling-slowly