Korean-American actor and reality TV star Ricky Kim was outshone by an unlikely rival at Waterway Point last Saturday evening – his own son.
More than 3,000 fans were at the shopping mall’s Event Square to catch a glimpse of Kim and two of his children – daughter Tae-rin, five, and son Tae-oh, three – at the trio’s first free, public meet-and-greet session in Singapore.
They were here to promote their hit parenting-themed reality series Oh! My Baby, which airs every Thursday at 11pm on ONE (StarHub TV Ch 124, 820 & 823; Singtel TV Ch 513 & 604).
While Kim, 34, with his good looks and affable nature, was a charmer, the most deafening shrieks were reserved for cute-as-a-button Tae-oh.
The mushroom-haired tyke, who clutched his teddy bear on stage as cameras snapped away, did not even have to do much.
Tae-oh’s mere utterance of simple greetings like “hello” and “thank you” in English sent the predominantly female crowd into a frenzy.
They also screamed when he put on his Iron Man mask and when he waved a Toblerone chocolate bar in the air while posing for photos.
Even before the three stars arrived at Waterway Point, the event’s emcee Danny Yeo, upon realising that Tae-oh was receiving the loudest cheers, urged everyone to give Kim some love.
“Without the father, there wouldn’t be Tae-oh, you know,” the local presenter-host said.
Student Alethea Chua, 17, was one of three fans who was picked by Yeo to go on stage to play a game of sticking Post-it notes with the Kim family.
“I’ve been following Oh! My Baby closely, so to have the chance to see them in the flesh, it’s really heartwarming,” she told The New Paper.
So did she feel Tae-oh overshadowed his handsome dad?
“Yah, a little,” she said with a laugh.
Other fans of Oh! My Baby also admitted that they “love the kids more than Ricky”.
“The dad is okay, but the kids are super cute,” gushed student Fiona Wong, 17, who was the first at the mall for the 7.30pm event – she arrived at 7am, to make sure she had a good spot in the front row of the cordoned area for fans.
Her friend, 18-year-old student Serene Teo, said: “Tae-oh looks so much like Kai from (K-pop boy band) EXO, whom we both like a lot.”
Fiona added: “Our favourite moment of Oh! My Baby is when Kai made a special appearance in one of the episodes to play with Tae-oh.”
During the 45-minute meet-and-greet session, Kim showed off his doting husband side when he brought out his wife, Korean theatre actress Ryu Seung Joo, 38, to surprise her with a bouquet of flowers.
“Two days ago was our wedding anniversary,” he said. “And it’s Mother’s Day too.”
The father of three expressed his desire to visit Singapore again in the near future with his youngest child, his eight-month-old daughter Tae-ra, who did not follow the family on this trip.
“Tae-ra will come here someday,” he said, to the delight of fans there.
One
This article was first published on May 9, 2016.
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