Interview: Ahn Hyo-seop on playing everyone and no one
Ahn Hyo-seop sits at the Samcheong-dong cafe looking every inch the K-pop idol he once trained to be — even in glasses and a casual sweater, he carries that unmistakable aura. The kind that makes heads turn.
Which presents a problem, considering he's about to promote his role as Kim Dok-ja, the definitively unglamorous protagonist of the upcoming blockbuster "Omniscient Reader: The Prophet."
The film, adapted from the wildly popular web novel and later web comic, follows Kim Dok-ja, an office drone whose decade-long obsession with an obscure web novel becomes his only advantage when fiction bleeds into reality. In a departure from the source material, director Kim Byung-woo deliberately crafted the character as a below-average everyman — a human participation trophy — who at first seems barely capable of making decisions, let alone saving the world.
"But you can be good-looking and still be ordinary," Ahn insists, a line that draws laughter from everyone within earshot. "I mean, look around — handsome people, plain people, tall people, short people. Who decides what's ordinary?"
His approach to the role involved some radical self-effacement. "I stopped looking in mirrors during filming. Completely. I had no idea how I appeared on camera." The makeup team used foundation to dull his skin tone. His hair stayed deliberately unkempt. The costume department provided three identical suits in progressively smaller sizes — baggy to fitted — to show Dok-ja's gradual transformation without making him look too heroic.
"The question I asked most often was, 'Did I look too cool just now?'" He says. "Dok-ja isn't supposed to be cool. He's never held a sword, never jumped between buildings. For him, everything should feel awkward."
The technical challenges went beyond suppressing his natural charisma. Most shootings took place against blue screens, demanding feats of imagination. Take the sea dragon sequence, where Dok-ja gets swallowed whole. "The detail was insane. Is the stomach lining squishy or firm? How deep does your foot sink? They mapped out every texture, every sensation." He explains. "I was told the belly felt like quicksand — your feet just keep sinking."
Despite such attention to detail, the film faces an uphill battle. With Korean cinema struggling through its worst box office slump in years, even high-budget blockbusters aren't guaranteed success.
Even Ahn seems aware of the challenges ahead. "We had to compress this massive story into two hours. The world-building may feel rushed. I get that." He pauses, choosing words carefully. "We tried to capture the essence, but you lose so much. I just hope audiences will be generous."
What gives him confidence? The film's universally relatable themes. "It's about whether humanity deserves saving. Dok-ja keeps getting tested — should he help these people who've shown their worst sides? But he chooses hope anyway."
These days, Ahn's riding high thanks to another unexpected hit. His voice work as Jinu, the charismatic leader of the demonic boy band Saja Boys in Netflix's "K-Pop Demon Hunters," has gone viral, and the dance for the group's track "Soda Pop" has spawned countless TikToks. Even at press events for "Omniscient Reader," reporters beg Ahn to perform the moves, though Andrew Choi provided Jinu's vocals on the track.
"They say the title's the biggest turnoff," he laughs about "KPop Demon Hunters." "I only auditioned because the script was genuinely fun." Now, former JYP trainee Ahn watches actual K-pop groups cover "his" song with bemusement. "It's surreal. I don't think of it as mine — I'm just another fan."
This success caps a decade of steady work since abandoning his idol dreams for acting. "I've walked my path quietly," he reflects. "Never gave less than everything, even when I wanted to. That's just not in my DNA."
The conversation turns to Dok-ja's counterpart, the mythic hero Yoo Joong-hyuk, who gains power through endless time loops, reliving the apocalypse until he gets it right. If Ahn could reset his own timeline, would he change anything?
The answer comes instantly, with absolute conviction. "Nothing. Every choice led me here. There are no good or bad decisions — just experiences that become part of you." He leans forward. "All of it matters. All of it's precious."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
6 hours ago
- Korea Herald
BTS surpasses 30 million Weverse subscribers ahead of 2026 comeback
Group sets new global record on fan platform as members prepare return from military service K-pop phenomenon BTS has become the first artist to surpass 30 million subscribers on Weverse, setting a new benchmark for global fan engagement ahead of their highly anticipated comeback in spring 2026. Hybe announced Saturday that more than 30 million fans have now joined the boy band's community on Weverse, a platform designed to facilitate direct interaction between artists and their followers. Through the service, fans can watch live broadcasts, chat with BTS members in real time and purchase concert tickets and official merchandise. Weverse recorded 10 million monthly active users in the first quarter of this year. Since its launch in June 2019, no artist other than BTS has reached this scale of following. The platform hosts not only Hybe-affiliated acts but also artists from other K-pop agencies, along with actors, musical theater performers and international pop stars including Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa. To mark the milestone, BTS member Jin left a brief message on the platform, writing, 'I was told to post something brag-worthy, so here it is.' The group is currently preparing to release a new album in spring 2025, following the recent completion of mandatory military service by all members. BTS also released its first live album, 'Permission to Dance on Stage – Live,' Friday, which captures the band's 2021–2022 concert series held in Seoul, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Korea Herald
12 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Lee Min-ho's curious antihero turn
The K-drama superstar returns to cinema after a decade to play a central figure who barely shows up Lee Min-ho needs no introduction in Korea's entertainment world. Since his breakout as the imperious, poodle-permed Gu Jun-pyo in "Boys Over Flowers" at 22, he's cornered the market on romantic leads: the tortured chaebol in "The Heirs," the morally ambiguous mogul in "Pachinko," the starry-eyed astronaut in the recent flop "When the Stars Gossip." Always the hero, always front and center. But for a star who's built his career on main character energy, this latest role marks a left turn. In "Omniscient Reader: The Prophet," a genre-blending fantasy epic hitting theaters Wednesday, Lee plays Yoo Joong-hyuk — a battle-hardened warrior stuck in an endless loop, dying and restarting the apocalypse like it's just another Tuesday. He stalks the edges of the film in a leather coat, glowering at Ahn Hyo-seop's earnest everyman who's trying to save the world armed only with decency and determination. 'I'll be honest, it was lonely and desolate,' Lee says, speaking to reporters at a coffee shop in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, Thursday. 'If you think about it, this is the protagonist of protagonists. Normally when we talk about a main character, we build their emotional arc throughout the film. My biggest challenge was figuring out how to fill those gaps convincingly.' It's not just the brooding, hard-to-like character that makes this turn stand out. As the first installment in what producers hope will become a franchise based on a hit web novel of the same title, director Kim Byung-woo had to compress the sprawling plotlines for the screen. Yoo Joong-hyuk took the biggest hit. He barely shows up, speaks a handful of lines and arrives without a backstory or context. Viewers are given almost no clues as to who he is or why he matters. Even his supposed bond with protege Ji-hye, played by Blackpink's Jisoo — the kind of pairing fans would line up to see — was a mystery to Lee. 'I honestly had no idea how we were even connected,' he says with a laugh. 'I was flying blind." Still, at 38 and on his fourth feature film, Lee speaks like someone no longer worried about screen time. 'I try to go straight for the essence,' he says. 'When I first met the director, we spent 80 percent of our time talking about Dok-ja (Ahn's character). The audience has to buy into him first. Only then does Yoo Joong-hyuk's presence start to make sense.' His approach: ditch the surface-level cool and focus on what the character contributes to the story. 'Reading the script, I couldn't find a single moment where the guy felt cool. Struggling through flaws and growing — that's usually what makes someone cool, but the film skips straight to the endpoint,' he says. 'So I had to ask: How does this one character carry the weight of the whole world-building?' That question took him to unexpected places. Yoo Joong-hyuk's endless loop of death and resurrection led Lee to reflect on mortality, memory and the trap of having too much experience. 'Most people probably dream of immortality,' he says. 'But would that really make you happy? I try not to let experience become the only lens I see the world through. That's how people get stuck. And Yoo Joong-hyuk is forced into experiences he never asked for, over and over. His only way to survive is ruthless efficiency.' Even the film's wild premise of a global apocalypse turned into a game show for sentient cosmic beings started to hit close to home. 'We're becoming more isolated as people, while everything gets more systematized,' he says. 'People shine when they're part of something bigger. And this whole live-streamed survival setup? That's our world too. Everything's about being louder, more extreme, competing for attention. It's the same story — just told through fantasy.' The stakes for "Omniscient Reader" are high. With a reported budget of 30 billion won and franchise hopes riding on its box office, the film faces the tricky task of winning over hardcore fans while also hooking newcomers who might be thrown by all the interdimensional jargon. Add to that the pressure of a sluggish post-pandemic box office — no Korean film this year has passed 4 million admissions — and this one needs at least 6 million to break even. Lee, for his part, seems unfazed. This return to film was a promise he made to himself in his twenties, and the numbers, he says, though important, aren't the point. 'Back then, I went to theaters for catharsis, looking for something meaningful. I told myself I'd wait until my thirties, when I'd have more to offer,' he says. 'Now I like these intense, compact, two-hour stories.' So what does he hope audiences will say? 'That it was fun.' He doesn't miss a beat. 'Simple is best. That one word says everything.'
Korea Herald
13 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Interview: Lee Min-ho's curious antihero turn
The K-drama superstar returns to cinema after a decade to play a central figure who barely shows up Lee Min-ho needs no introduction in Korea's entertainment world. Since his breakout as the imperious, poodle-permed Gu Jun-pyo in "Boys Over Flowers" at 22, he's cornered the market on romantic leads: the tortured chaebol in "The Heirs," the morally ambiguous mogul in "Pachinko," the starry-eyed astronaut in the recent flop "When the Stars Gossip." Always the hero, always front and center. But for a star who's built his career on main character energy, this latest role marks a left turn. In "Omniscient Reader: The Prophet," a genre-blending fantasy epic hitting theaters Wednesday, Lee plays Yoo Joong-hyuk — a battle-hardened warrior stuck in an endless loop, dying and restarting the apocalypse like it's just another Tuesday. He stalks the edges of the film in a leather coat, glowering at Ahn Hyo-seop's earnest everyman who's trying to save the world armed only with decency and determination. 'I'll be honest, it was lonely and desolate,' Lee says, speaking to reporters at a coffee shop in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, Thursday. 'If you think about it, this is the protagonist of protagonists. Normally when we talk about a main character, we build their emotional arc throughout the film. My biggest challenge was figuring out how to fill those gaps convincingly.' It's not just the brooding, hard-to-like character that makes this turn stand out. As the first installment in what producers hope will become a franchise based on a hit web novel of the same title, director Kim Byung-woo had to compress the sprawling plotlines for the screen. Yoo Joong-hyuk took the biggest hit. He barely shows up, speaks a handful of lines and arrives without a backstory or context. Viewers are given almost no clues as to who he is or why he matters. Even his supposed bond with protege Ji-hye, played by Blackpink's Jisoo — the kind of pairing fans would line up to see — was a mystery to Lee. 'I honestly had no idea how we were even connected,' he says with a laugh. 'I was flying blind." Still, at 38 and on his fourth feature film, Lee speaks like someone no longer worried about screen time. 'I try to go straight for the essence,' he says. 'When I first met the director, we spent 80 percent of our time talking about Dok-ja (Ahn's character). The audience has to buy into him first. Only then does Yoo Joong-hyuk's presence start to make sense.' His approach: ditch the surface-level cool and focus on what the character contributes to the story. 'Reading the script, I couldn't find a single moment where the guy felt cool. Struggling through flaws and growing — that's usually what makes someone cool, but the film skips straight to the endpoint,' he says. 'So I had to ask: How does this one character carry the weight of the whole world-building?' That question took him to unexpected places. Yoo Joong-hyuk's endless loop of death and resurrection led Lee to reflect on mortality, memory and the trap of having too much experience. 'Most people probably dream of immortality,' he says. 'But would that really make you happy? I try not to let experience become the only lens I see the world through. That's how people get stuck. And Yoo Joong-hyuk is forced into experiences he never asked for, over and over. His only way to survive is ruthless efficiency.' Even the film's wild premise of a global apocalypse turned into a game show for sentient cosmic beings started to hit close to home. 'We're becoming more isolated as people, while everything gets more systematized,' he says. 'People shine when they're part of something bigger. And this whole live-streamed survival setup? That's our world too. Everything's about being louder, more extreme, competing for attention. It's the same story — just told through fantasy.' The stakes for "Omniscient Reader" are high. With a reported budget of 30 billion won and franchise hopes riding on its box office, the film faces the tricky task of winning over hardcore fans while also hooking newcomers who might be thrown by all the interdimensional jargon. Add to that the pressure of a sluggish post-pandemic box office — no Korean film this year has passed 4 million admissions — and this one needs at least 6 million to break even. Lee, for his part, seems unfazed. This return to film was a promise he made to himself in his twenties, and the numbers, he says, though important, aren't the point. 'Back then, I went to theaters for catharsis, looking for something meaningful. I told myself I'd wait until my thirties, when I'd have more to offer,' he says. 'Now I like these intense, compact, two-hour stories.' So what does he hope audiences will say? 'That it was fun.' He doesn't miss a beat. 'Simple is best. That one word says everything.'
