AKMU’s Chanhyuk fulfills his wish with new album

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) — Lee Chanhyuk of K-pop duo Akdong Musician finally fulfilled his longtime wish to star in his own music video with the band’s second and latest full-length album, the singer said on Wednesday.

“I wanted to play the lead actor of my own music video some day, rather than craving acting opportunities,” Chanhyuk said at a press conference held in a movie theater in southeastern Seoul to promote the duo’s new album “Spring: Volume 2.”

The media event came immediately after the premiere of the music video.

The 20-year-old elder brother of the sibling played his first-ever lead part in the album’s music video. The 20-minute medley, which resembles a “musical short film,” is in fact his first-ever acting experience as well.

In this photo provided by YG Entertainment, Lee Chanhyuk (L) and Lee Suhyun of K-pop duo Akdong Musician pose for photos at the press conference and premier for “Spring: Volume 2″ in southeastern Seoul on Dec. 28, 2016.

In the video, the AKMU siblings have a petty argument and end up separately setting out on a journey to find new partners for their next work. Each singer manages to find good-looking replacements for each other, but after being struck by remorse and missing their familial bond, they eventually get back together as a sibling duo.

Donald Yong, who directed the new music video and many of AKMU’s previous video works, seconded Chanhyuk’s happiness. He said, “There hasn’t been once that Chanhyuk was let to star in his own music video. He looked like a side role of Suhyun in previous works.”

When asked to give a candid rating of Chanhyuk’s debut acting, the director said the singer started out at 30 percent and finished off at 70 percent, to the watchers’ amusement. Chanhyuk initially protested that he was underrated, but calmed down as soon as the director said South Korea’s top actor Song Kang-ho is the standard.

Unlike Chanhyuk, his younger sister and bandmate Lee Suhyun had multiple music video acting experiences under her belt. The 17-year-old singer boasted of her acting skills as she played the heroine in AKMU’s music videos of “200%” and “Give Love.” She also played a major role in the music video of “I’m Different,” a duet with female solo singer LEE HI. All three music videos were directed by Yong, which made her feel at ease about “Spring: Volume 2.”

Suhyun said she was “so nervous about her brother’s first acting experience that she spared less time to think about her own role in the new music video.”

This undated file photo, provided by YG Entertainment, shows Lee Chanhyuk (L) and Lee Suhyun of K-pop duo Akdong Musician.

Making a film-type music video meant a lot to AKMU members. About the new attempt, Chanhyuk said, “It was an incredible experience. We have talked about this idea of stuffing all the songs in one music video since our debut album, but we weren’t sure at that time. After getting to know how much we’re loved, we thought to ourselves that we could try.”

The new music video distributes excerpts of all eight enlisted songs woven into one short film with an independent synopsis. Watching the film, viewers can explore the gist of AKMU’s new songs, including “Live,” “Last Goodbye,” “Play Ugly” and “Chocolady.” The LP’s lead single still remains undecided.

The album is a sequel to EP “Spring: Volume 1,” released in May. The new album explores the “spring within winter,” or the emotional ripple of adolescence towards maturity. By genre, the LP runs a wide musical spectrum of ballad, jazz and folk pop, with all songs composed and written by Chanhyuk.

In addition, the music video partly shows real childhood video footage of the AKMU siblings.

The music video of “Spring: Volume 2″ will be released online on next Tuesday.