Actor Song Joong Ki opened up about his journey and the sense of responsibility he feels as an actor and as a person.

Song Joong Ki made waves with his performance in the Netflix original movie 'My Name Is Loh Kiwan', which came out last March. He played 'My Name Is Loh Kiwan', a defector who embarks on a journey to Belgium, clinging onto the last hope of life.

Despite the buzz around 'My Name Is Loh Kiwan', Song Joong Ki dismisses any talk of a career shift post the movie. He says, "If you leave out 'Descendants of the Sun', none of the works I've been in are emotionally intense. They all have a subtle emotional tone. I believe I've been consistent in choosing my projects."

A well-known story among fans is how Song Joong Ki secretly enrolled in a cram school using his parents' credit card.

When asked about his biggest life challenge, he says, "It was even more challenging than becoming an actor. I was a short track athlete for a long time. My dream was to represent the country in sports. The hardest challenge was when I had to give up the sport I loved so much."

Song Joong Ki also shared his filming ritual - group dinners. He believes that a good rapport among the team greatly enhances the quality of the work. But he's mindful that not everyone might enjoy these dinners, so he goes the extra mile to make them enjoyable.

He said, "I don't stick to the same menu. It's always nice to have a variety of tasty dishes. I love planning the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounds of group dinners. I've even developed a habit of counting the number of tables whenever I visit a new restaurant, just to see how many people it can accommodate."

When asked how he'd like to be remembered, Song Joong Ki said, "As an actor who adds value. People watch movies with the hope that the two hours they spend will be worthwhile. Whether it's a movie theater or an airplane, an actor's job is to fill those two hours with happiness. I want to be remembered as someone who's really good at making those two hours worthwhile."

In other news, you can catch a glimpse of Song Joong Ki's sincere side in a photoshoot and interview, where he's seen donning the Louis Vuitton 2024 Fall-Winter formalwear collection, in the May issue of 'Arena Homme Plus'.

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BTS’s V is proving once again why he’s a global music powerhouse! His song “Winter Ahead (with Park Hyo Shin)” has officially surpassed 210 million streams on Spotify, showing its long-lasting popularity.

On February 26, Winter Ahead crossed the 210 million stream mark on the world’s biggest music platform, Spotify. Since its release, the song has been charting for 91 consecutive days on both the Global Spotify Chart and Europe’s Apple Music Daily Song Chart, proving its strong presence.

Originally released on November 29, 2023, Winter Ahead made a huge impact on year-end charts for 2024. It debuted at No. 99 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, topped Billboard’s Holiday Digital Song Sales chart at No.1, and ranked No. 62 on Billboard’s Holiday Top 100.

Over in the UK, the song entered the Official Singles Chart at No. 86, while securing No.1 on the Official Singles Downloads Chart and No.2 on the Singles Sales Chart, proving its incredible digital sales power.

The music video for Winter Ahead also became a hot topic! V transformed into a sculptor, delivering a deep and emotional performance with his expressive acting, pulling fans into the song’s atmosphere.

Despite being 6 minutes and 22 seconds long, the video went viral, ranking No.1 on the "Music Video Trending Worldwide" chart.

On TIDAL, a global high-quality streaming platform, Winter Ahead made history as the longest-running K-pop song at No.1 on the Global Top Video chart.

It also topped Top Video charts in several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Spain, Australia, and Singapore.

Even Billboard couldn’t resist the charm of Winter Ahead! The song was featured in "The 27 Best Winter Songs for the Season," with Billboard praising it as "evoking the feeling of the first day of winter, with harmonies as fresh as a snowflake."

They also noted that "its impact will last far beyond December 25."

Additionally, Winter Ahead was voted No.1 on Billboard’s ‘2024 Fan-Favorite Songs’ list, proving that fans can’t get enough of V’s music.

With this, V has now charted three songs on Billboard’s Holiday Hot 100, following Christmas Tree (2021) and his cover of White Christmas. He is officially the only K-pop artist to achieve this!

Even more impressively, he holds the record as the only K-pop artist to have three songs reach No.1 on Billboard’s Holiday Digital Song Sales chart, solidifying his dominance in the holiday music scene.

With Winter Ahead continuing to shine worldwide, V once again proves why he’s the ultimate ‘Winter King’ of K-pop.

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