In an interview, the South Korean actor and Bench ambassador talks about his personal style and why he keeps coming back to the country
The low-key actor Kim Soo-hyun entered the room in an all-black ensemble—a denim jacket and a plain tee paired with jeans and sneakers. His outfit somehow reminded me of his character in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (the only Asian nominee for Best TV Movie or Miniseries at the International Emmy Awards in 2021), where he played the lead role that earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Baeksang Arts Awards in the same year. His angelic face instantly captured the audience enough to forget for a second that the man on stage is one of the most in-demand and highest-earning celebrities in South Korea following the phenomenal success of his projects such as My Love from the Star, Moon Embracing the Sun, Dream High, and One Ordinary Day, which all remain popular globally to this day. Kim was in Manila for a grand meet-and-greet hosted by the Philippines’ largest homegrown clothing retailer, Bench, of which he is an ambassador.
When not dressing up for a character in a show, the 34-year-old debonair personally prefers “casual and comfortable clothes in black or dark colours”, a style philosophy that is very much aligned with the Filipino fashion label he endorses. "I know that Bench, [being the biggest clothing and lifestyle brand in the Philippines] has all the [kinds of] clothes in the world,” Kim utters in his sexiest Korean accent. “I wore a Bench shirt coming here. It’s very comfortable and durable,” he continues, talking about the simple white shirt with a subtle BCH (short for “Bench”) logo he donned at the airport, which is part of the special Bench X Kim Soo-hyun collection.
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