Japanese media turns eyes to Kim Soo-hyun

Japanese journalists have started to turn their attention to Korea's Kim Soo-hyun, signaling that the young actor may be headed toward gaining recognition in the country.

Kim's agency BOF Korea said Thursday that the actor was featured in the April issue of "Broccoli", a Hallyu magazine in Japan, while also named one of the up and coming stars to watch for this year in the spring issue of another Hallyu publication named "Hallyupia."

Kim, 22, had appeared in two musicals, "Grease" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 2003 before making his television acting debut in 2008 through MBC sitcom "Kimchi Cheese Smile".

He was most recently seen in SBS TV series "Will It Snow For Christmas?"(SBS, 2009), playing the younger version of main character Kang-jin, played by Ko Soo. His two-episode appearance garnered him increased recognition in Korea and Japan as well, where "Christmas?" started airing last weekend on three channels -- KNTV, JCOM and JCN.

With the increasing popularity of "Christmas?", Kim is reportedly receiving interview requests from local media outlets and offers from Japanese entertainment management companies.

Kim is currently in shooting for upcoming SBS drama "Giant", scheduled to air in May.

Reporter : Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr