South Korean actor Park Seo Joon, who recently starred as Lee Young Joon in tvN's "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim," has received an award for promoting South Korea's culture across the globe on Tuesday.
Park Seo Joon was awarded the 2018 Star of Korean Tourism Award from South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) on Dec. 11. The award is given to a living individual for his/her contribution to the country's tourism. Previous recipients of the award include actors Park Bo Gum, Lee Min Ho, Jun Ji Hyun, So Ji Sub, Bae Yong Joon and figure skater Kim Yuna.
"I started my acting career with nothing but the desire to become an actor, and I am happy and grateful to now be in my eighth year as an actor and be loved by many people," Park Seo Joon said while accepting the 2018 Star of Korean Tourism Award, as quoted by Soompi. He added that he is aware that many individuals from different parts of the world would like to visit where Korean movies and dramas were filmed.
"Hearing that becomes another source of motivation for me to be a better actor," he added. "I believe I am receiving this award on behalf of all the many actors and singers who work hard to promote Korean culture, and I will continue to work hard and do my best."
Park Seo Joon made his debut in the entertainment industry by appearing in the music video of Bang Yong Guk's single "I Remember." Since then, he appeared in several television series, including the 2012 "Dream High 2," 2013's "One Warm Word" and 2014's "A Witch's Love."
He first gained widespread fame in South Korea and parts of Asia with his role as Oh Ri On in 2015's "Kill Me, Heal Me." He, then, landed his first major lead role in the 2015 romantic comedy series, "She Was Pretty," opposite Hwang Jung Eum.
It was followed by a youth historical drama "Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth" in 2016 and romance drama "Fight for My Way" in 2017. The following year, he starred in tvN's romantic comedy-drama, "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" alongside actress Park Min Young.
The said tvN drama, which aired on cable network tvN from June to July for 16 episodes, was a major hit across Asia. Many even praised Park Seo Joon's performance in the show to the point that he was dubbed as the "master of romantic comedy" by Korean Press.
