Show Review: For K-actor Park Bo-gum, it’s the journey that truly counts

“You’ve changed my life,” a fan told Park Bo-gum. Well, it’s definitely not every day that you’d hear a fan telling a celebrity such a statement.

Together with her 7½-year-old daughter, the mother-daughter duo flew into Singapore all the way from New York to catch a glimpse of Park.

To show his appreciation, Park fulfilled their wish to sing a live rendition of Glen Hansard’s Falling Slowly (2006), a song he previously sang in the reality programme My Name Is Gabriel (2024).

Rather than a fan, Park prefers calling them friends, and lifelong friends, as I’ve learnt at his Singapore fan meeting held at The Star Theatre yesterday (14 Aug).

Marking 14 years since his acting debut, he hopes that his supporters can stay with him throughout this entire journey. And that’s all that mattered.

Mapping out the entire session like a train ride, he took the crowd through various “stations” — each of which is a segment for everyone to get to know him better.

For a start, Park said he runs along the Han River often in the morning. Though chances are that you may already have seen posts with his running pals, like K-hiphop veteran Sean and Danielle of NewJeans, floating around on social media.

 

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Even when he’s abroad, he makes it a point to keep to his healthy habits. “I ran along Marina Bay before the show today,” he said.

His discipline does not apply only to exercising. It shows through his craft, too, like his recent work Good Boy (2025), where he played boxer Dong-ju.

“Playing Dong-ju was a challenge because I never attempted action dramas,” he said. “There was some pressure, because I want an athlete to be impressed as well, even when watching the series”.

 

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Such is the grit and determination Park has behind his charming appeal and humble demeanour.

Other than his drama series being the biggest gift to his friends, he also dished out physical gifts. These include autographed CDs, signed Polaroids, a Celine shower cologne, merchandise themed after his dramas, and a pack of Park’s favourite Jjajang noodles.

Yes, he loves it so much that he didn’t want to reveal its brand to those present. It does seem like Park, too, has mastered the art of gatekeeping.

The greatest gift of the evening?

It had to be Park covering homegrown singer JJ Lin’s iconic classic, Practice Love (2013), as he paired it with a live piano accompaniment.