Date: 16 February 2019

K-pop sweetheart Xander was in Singapore recently as part of the crew for tvN’s ‘Wok The World’ series, and GOkpop managed to snag an exclusive interview with the busy star before the shoot for the Singapore leg of the tour began!

Q: Hi Xander, before we begin the interview, could you please give a greeting to the GOKPOP readers? 

A: Hello GOKPOP Singapore! This is Alexander, nice seeing you.

Q: How do you feel to be back in Singapore after so long and considering that this is your first trip here for 2019? 

A: Ah yes, happy new year! I’m always glad to come back here because I love everything about Singapore; clean, nice food, nice people. Always glad to be back!

Q: You’ve travelled around with celebrity chefs Alvin Leung and Eric Chong, did you manage to pick up any cooking skills and how would you rate your skills? 

A: Honestly, they’re too advanced level for me to learn! But when I look at them, instead of learning skills about cooking, I’d say Chef Alvin does a lot of TV shows, so I learned a lot of terms that they use on shows. For example, instead of saying that the sauce is very tasteless/bland, he corrected me by saying that the term to be used should be ‘subtle’.

Q: You were recently in Manila and Semarang for tvN’s ‘Wok The World’ shooting, are they any interesting stories you would like to share? 

A: Interesting…I would say in Semarang, because we didn’t know that there was so much historical stuff over there, so it was fun riding a bicycle but it was really tough! It was interesting and fun. Also, the Manila Chinatown was a very interesting place for us, because it is the oldest Chinatown in the world so it was very special.

Q: Could you give some advice to the contestants and/or any aspiring chefs? 

A: To everyone outside, one thing I’ve really learned from Chef Alvin is to always think outside of the box. It is not just about the taste, cooking is also an art so do try to use your own creativity and make your own version of a dish.

Q: Singapore is a country you always visit; are there any secret locations or good food that you would like to recommend?

A: There is one location that I was talking about recently; it was a street that was filled with desserts – Liang Seah Street! That was a place I explored actually, I really like desserts and different foods so that was one of the places. So far I’m still exploring, I found Haji Lane very interesting and it’s good at night. I’m still exploring!

Q: Now let’s talk about your solo activities; are there any upcoming projects that you’re looking forward to? 

A: Of course nothing is confirmed yet, it’s going to be focused more on acting but of course I’ll still be doing TV shows. I might come out with music; I never know what I’m going to do because it’s always so random.

Q: What are the inspirations for your music styles? 

A: Music style...it is so random, I don’t really have a music style because I think in the world nowadays everybody is just ‘sometimes I want this, sometimes I want that’ so I’m just going to follow the flow. I don’t really know but no heavy metal for sure, no no!

Q: So you’ll be having your meet-and-greet tomorrow, any plans for a meet-and-greet anywhere else? 

A: Definitely, actually the meet-and-greet tomorrow is just a small-scale event because I didn’t expect to do a meet-and-greet, but there are definitely plans for meet-and-greet sessions in other countries for a later timing.

Q: Lastly, could you please give a message to your fans here in Singapore? 

A: Hi everyone in Singapore, thank you for supporting me up till now! Happy new year, and I definitely wish you all the best this year, the year of the Pig, and also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to stay updated!

That’s not all, midway through the shoot for ‘Wok The World’, Xander sat down with the media guests and gave an impromptu group interview!

When asked what his favourite local cuisine is, we found out that Xander was not able to pick between the classics – pepper crab, salted egg crab, laksa and chicken rice. Quoting the star, ‘I personally prefer pepper crab over chilli crab, and salted egg crab too!’. He admitted that he is definitely not loyal when it comes to food because there is no way he could decide on one food to eat for the rest of his life. He also revealed that he likes mala more than the usual kind of spiciness that Korean food has because it numbs his tongue, so he gets to enjoy and escape that pain that comes with spicy food!

We dived into some personal or lifestyle habits that Xander has, and the star revealed that because he lives alone, he would prefer to eat out instead of ending up with enough food to eat the same dish for 3 days if he attempts to cook. This definitely resonated with the crowd because most of them were seen nodding in agreement or laughing along!

Despite being a foodie, Xander loves to make simple dishes and finger food when guests come over because he wants to avoid having to wash up so many dishes after. When asked if he would rather keep the best for last or eat the best first, he replied, ‘Definitely the best first because if you keep it, it might disappear even before you can eat it!’

To wrap up the interview, Xander revealed that he has been wanting to try either horror or psychopathic killer genres if possible – ‘I can just be myself!’. He also surprised us by revealing that he has actually fallen for the convenience that Singlish brings because it’s one of the languages that allow a long line to be shortened into just 2 words without losing the meaning along the way.

We’re definitely looking forward to the next time this bubbly star sets foot on our sunny island again, and until then we’ll be busy checking out the places he recommended during the interview!

We would like to thank Alexander Lee for taking the time to do this interview and tvN Asia for the opportunity to be an official media for the show.

Today is the final episode of the much-anticipated drama "Encounter", which mean it's the end to see the romance journey between Soo Hyun (starring Song Hye Kyo) and Kim Jin Hyuk (starring Park Bo Gum). While the attention pours on the story-line of the final episode, AC Music Entertainment has a good news for you! 

Park Bo Gum will be returning to Malaysia on 30 March for his Asia Tour "Good Day: May Your Everyday Be A Good Day" Fan Meet. Tickets will be on sale on 2nd February 2019, 11AM onwards and all attendees will receive a Hi-Touch from Park Bo Gum.

2019 Park Bo Gum Asia Tour in Malaysia "Good Day: May Your Everyday Be A Good Day" Details:

Online Purchase: TicketCharge | Hotline: +603 - 9222 8811

(Tickets will go on sale from 2nd February, 11AM)

Fans Benefits: Hi-Touch for all attendees

Although after today, "Encounter" will mark its full-stop but fret not, as you still able to catch Park Bo Gum at his Asia Tour which will kick start in Seoul on 26 January. Following Seoul stop, Park Bo Gum will be visiting Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan.

For more information about the event, check out AC Music Entertainment - Malaysia Facebook Page. 

I Can See Your Voice 6's Host: (from left) Yoon Se Yoon, Kim Joong Kook & Lee Teuk

The highly anticipated reasoning music show, I Can See Your Voice 6, will premiere on tvN in Asia on 30 January (Wednesday) at 11pm (GMT+8)!

Panel of judges: (top-left) J Black, DinDin, Cheetah, Kim Min Kyu (bottom-left) Kim Sang Hyuk, Lee Sang Min, Park Joon Hyung, Jang Do Yeon

Following the format of previous seasons, hosts Kim Jong-kook, Lee Teuk and Yoo Se-yoon along with the guests in I Can See Your Voice 6 are required to judge whether a mystery singer is tone- deaf or a skilled vocalist solely by appearance. With its more compact rules, such as the additional 360° camera and lipsync with both skilled vocalist and tone-deaf’s audio, as well as new configuration in this season, the show will deliver unexpected twists and heart-warming moments to audience at home. Confirmed guests this season include, Hwang Chi-yeol, Lee Sun-bin, K.Will, Soyou etc.

Episode 1 gathers a hundred former contestants for an opening song, which makes everyone reminisce their time on show. Among all the former contestants, Lee Sun-bin and Hwang Chi-yeol return to the show but to the other side of the stage as panel of judges.

Former contestants, Hwang Chi Yeul and Lee Sun Bin returns as the judge for I Can See Your Voice 6

Surprisingly, Lee Sun-bin remarked that it was actually more nervous for her to come in as a judge than a mystery singer, while appearing on the show stirred up a lot of memories for Hwang Chi-yeol. Can they leverage their experience as mystery singers to identify the skilled vocalist? Stay tuned to find out more!

Do you recall the sweet scene in “Encounter” where Song Hye Kyo gifted Park Bo Gum with an owl plushie, which she miraculously won on her first try at the claw machine? Thanks to Viu Singapore, 5 lucky Viu-ers can now walk away with their a pair of owl plushies and autographed posters signed by the romantic leads. 

Contest ends: 6 February 2019, 11.59PM

Prizes: A pair of Owl Plushies (in white and grey); An Encounter autographed poster signed by Song Hye Kyo & Park Bo Gum x5

Also, in case you would like to relive their romance before the finale episode lands on Viu this Friday (25 Jan), 4h after Korea, you may binge-watch Episodes 1 through 14 here.