Korean actor Seol Kyung Kyu is now singing a different tune regarding his movie co-star, AOA member Seolhyun.
The 49-year-old actor drew flak last month during the press conference for the movie "Memoir of a Murderer" when he belittled Seolhyun by calling her a "baekchi" beauty or "dumb blonde."
"She has a 'baekchi' beauty. It's good for actresses to be 'baekchi'. I think it will be memorable. I hope she does not lose her 'baekchi' beauty even when she's in her 30s and 40s," he said.
He apologized after Korean netizens severely criticized him for his crude comment.
Seol Kyung Kyu is now all praises for Seolhyun, saying he is not opposed to an idol singer like her acting in a film.
"I have none. I first met Kim Seol-hyun with director Won. She came in late at night after her girl group, AOA, finished their Southeast Asia performance tour. Despite her tired face, she didn't show any sign of exhaustion and smiled often. I instinctively thought, 'This girl must be the one to play Eun-hee,'" he told Ilgan Sports and Korea JoongAng Daily.
Asked about her opinion of Seolhyun, he said, " It was nice to see her trying to give her best to the end, even when the director said it was fine."
"She must have worried about her performance more than others did. I could see how tense she was during the preview. She was wondering if her parts needed a do-over. After the press preview was over, a reporter said 'Seol-hyun outdid herself in a new light.' It made me feel happy," he added.
"Memoir of a Murderer" tells the story of former serial killer Byeong-soo (played by Seol Kyung Kyu), who raised Eun-hee (Seolhyun), a kid of one of his victims. He is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease and fights to protect Eun-hee from being killed.
In his portrayal of the role, Seol Kyung Kyu said he "became interested in the face of the man I would play."
"After receiving the script, the things I thought most about were, 'What type of expression would I make here?' It was a mutual process, and I debated with the director which styles and facial expressions to use," he said.
The film debuted at No. 1 of the Korean box office on September 6 and has sold 848,914 tickets in four days, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).
