Although Im Si Wan is a successful actor who’s taken on numerous roles, he didn’t start his career on that path.
He originally debuted as a member of Star Empire Entertainment‘s boy group ZE:A in 2010, which has been on hiatus since 2017. Since Im Si Wan was active for seven years as an idol, he looked back on those days to share his struggles—especially as a member who wasn’t initially popular.
Because many groups have at least one or two members who are well-known by the public, Im Si Wan revealed ZE:A’s were Kwanghee and Dongjun. They received so many requests for appearances that Im Si Wan said, “When Kwanghee or Dongjun left home for work, I stayed at the dorm.”
Dongjun and Kwanghee were so busy that Im Si Wan felt anxious about not doing anything. He said, “At the time, I wondered, ‘Is it right for me to stay here? Or is it not?’ I thought about it while staying at the dorm.”
When Im Si Wan confirmed to the You Quiz on the Block hosts that the famous ZE:A members were able to “work a lot,” he confessed that he felt “something like jealousy” about not doing the same. However, he didn’t let that feeling take over.
Rather than being overcome with jealousy, Im Si Wan made a different choice. He continued, “Those are unnecessary feelings, so I had to learn how to focus on myself by myself to get rid of those feelings.”
Im Si Wan used the rare opportunities the group was given to audition for roles. With the support of his members, especially Kwanghee, he began his career as an actor.
Kwanghee motivated me as well. We had random chances to go to small auditions. He told me to prepare for it beforehand.
— Im Si Wan
While Im Si Wan made a successful acting debut in Moon Embracing the Sun that earned praise, sparking his popularity and leading to success, that’s not always the case. Many K-Pop idols are in the same position Im Si Wan used to be in—watching the popular members take on busy schedules while they have none at all.
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