Kim Bum: I find Filipinas beautiful

My 11-year-old niece Krystal Sevilla hates Ondoy with a passion. That nasty guy became furious and let loose a big flood that swept away everything at the ground floor of my niece’s family’s apartment, including her precious scrapbook of Koreanovela stars with Kim Bum, star of Boys Over Flowers (recently aired on ABS-CBN), occupying a special page.
Then came a silver lining behind the darkening clouds (generated this time by another nasty guy named Pepeng). My niece was informed by ABS-CBN that she was among the 100 lucky winners of free tickets to Studio 1 as part of the audience in the taping of an episode of Ruffa & Ai in which the special guest was — drum roll, please! — Kim Bum! She went with her good friend and classmate Angelika Castro, also 11. Eat your heart out, Ondoy!
“I like his killer smile,” my niece said when asked why she, and thousands of other swooning girls, are smitten by Kim Bum who plays Yi-Jeong in the Koreanovela. “He’s so nice; he can be my kuya.”
Kim Bum flew in last Wednesday, Sept. 30, from Seoul while Metro Manila was reeling from the fury of Ondoy purposely to shoot a commercial for RC Cola with Maja Salvador. The shoot lasted longer than scheduled, again no thanks to Ondoy. Kim Bum left yesterday morning. He very kindly agreed to squeeze the shoot for Ruffa & Ai into his air-tight schedule and made his Filipino fans, my niece included, very, very happy (even if she wasn’t able to have a souvenir photo with Kim Bum because the ABS-CBN guys guarded him as if he would be kidnapped and brought to one of the overflowing dams).
However, Funfare managed to do an exclusive one-on-one with Kim Bum, 20 (born on July 7, 1989, a Cancerian). Don’t ask me how. Kim Bum doesn’t speak English. Here are excerpts of his translated answers (in Korean, but of course!):
What does your name Kim Bum mean?
“No specific meaning.”
How come majority of Koreans are surnamed Kim?
“Well, good point! But I don’t know about specific historical background of it.”
What kind of family do you come from, conservative or liberal?
“It depends. My mother is more liberal and supportive, though.”
What can you say about your role in Boys Over Flowers?
“Yi-Jeong is apparently a playboy. I’m not like him.”
What about your role in Dream (also forthcoming on ABS-CBN)?
“Lee Kang-Seok, my character in Dream, is a pickpocket from an orphanage. When he meets this guy Nam Je-Il, he becomes a boxing champion. What they have in common is that they seem to be tough and bad but they are actually soft-hearted.”
Do you know that you have many fans in the Philippines, that Koreanovelas are popular in the Philippines?
“I heard the news about the airing of Boys Over Flowers in the Philippines, but had no idea about the fans and all. I’m just fascinated and grateful for the love and support. Thank you for all the support.”
What can you say about Maja Salvador, your partner in the RC Cola commercial?
“It’s actually my first time to work with a foreign actress. She was more than kind and considerate when it came to the shooting, my first time to do so in the Philippines. She has a good personality that soothes everything.”
How was the shoot?
“RC Cola and the production team were over the top. They were well-prepared and organized. They even prepared Korean food for lunch and dinner! Everybody, from the directors to the last junior assistant directors, was amazingly professional. Working with a great team like that ignited my passion for acting. I was told that some of the directors used to work in the USA, and that the team included half-German/half-Filipinos, Japanese and Korean. Truly an international group of people with different perspectives and experiences working together to make this RC Cola Commercial an inspiring one as the product tries to strengthen the image of RC Cola as ‘RC ng Bayan.’ Thank you so much for making me a part of this great team! I’m just overwhelmed and excited.”
What kind of girls do you like?
“I think Filipinas are beautiful. I like them.”
Do you have a girlfriend?
“No girlfriend at the moment.”
Have you always wanted to be an actor since you were a kid?
“I became an actor by accident, actually. Now I get to think that everything happens for a reason, and what made me decide to become an actor was more of the course of nature. Okay, so the story goes like this. I happened to be at a Movie Awards night in Korea, and I was moved by actors celebrating their colleagues’ works with full support and true heart. I thought that after all, the world doesn’t have to be competitive at all. I wanted to be part of it.”
Do you read and answer your fan mail? An average of how many letters/e-mail do you get per day?
“Thanks for asking this question so that I can at least share how grateful I am to all my fans out there. I don’t get to track down the average number of fan letters/mail, but I hope you all know that it inspires me so much to make me go on as an actor. While I’m on the set, I don’t even get to check my e-mail and don’t get to write back as well. However, I’m doing my best to show a better Kim Bum on TV. I hope the fans will understand me.”
What do you do in your free time; how do you enjoy or pamper yourself?
“I’m a movie buff. Most of the time, when I’m free I go to movies or watch DVD at least. I am really a boy-next-door. I play games at home and, when the urge hits me to be outdoor, I play soccer.”
After shooting a commercial here, would you like to do a TV series or a movie in the Philippines?
“Why not? It will be a great experience. However, as of the moment, I would like to take and enjoy each opportunity one at a time so I’ll be able to give my best shot.”
Katy Perry show reset for Nov. 14
Due to the unfortunate circumstances brought about by Typhoon Ondoy, the Katy Perry concert scheduled last Saturday, Oct. 3, was postponed to Nov. 14 still at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Concert Grounds. The concert is said to be the biggest fund-raiser for the typhoon victims as foreign and local artists will be supporting Perry’s cause.
The Music Management International (MMI) and All Youth Channels Inc (AYC) promise to make the concert much bigger, much better and more relevant.
According to Ronald Esguerra, AYC’s Marketing and Communications Director, “We are currently working on foreign and local artists to join the cause. We feel that through the universal language of music, we will be able to unite and move everyone to help.”
The fund-raiser’s net proceeds will be awarded to an agency that has actively and efficiently been deploying donations and aid to the typhoon victims. Name of agency is yet to be announced.
The concert will also be an avenue for people to drop off their donations for the Ondoy victims as it houses booths specifically intended for it. Donations in kind like food, water, clothes, blankets and medicines are welcome.
Reader’s reaction
Dear Ricky,
I read your article about Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada sending a rubber boat to rescue your nephew and his family who were trapped at the second floor of their apartment in San Juan City at the height of Typhoon Ondoy last Sept. 26. Let me tell you about my experience.
I am a long-time resident of San Juan and when I got married I lived in the most flood-prone area in San Juan near the river. In June 1967, Metro Manila was flooded. We thought that we were safe and sound in our apartment (two floors) until we were awakened in the middle of the night by loud knocking on the door begging us to leave the apartment. When I checked, it was our Mayor Erap Estrada who swam in the flood and knocked on every door.
This is one thing I will never forget about Erap and this story I always tell my friends that contrary to what they think, Erap has a heart for common people like me. After that incident, I met him several times, the last was when I visited him in Camp Crame with a friend of mine.
Even now that my family lives in the US, I haven’t forgotten that night Erap came to our rescue.
Thank you,