Toted as a goofy half human half vampire, Ok Taecyeon in his new romantic comedy Heartbeat has taken the internet by storm! With hilarious stomach-grabbing scenes like getting drunk off of convenience storm ramen noodles and shrimp, it's hard not to love his easy-going character! We debunk some myths you might have about Korean vampires!
Before diving into the myths, we want to tell you about how Ok Taecyeon approached his role as Sun Woo Hyeol, a half-human half-vampire who badly wants to become completely human by staying in a coffin for 100 years, but gets disrupted when a girl, Joo In Hae (Won Ji An If You Wish Upon Me 2022), disrupts his slumber one day early!
In his most recent interview on Eric Nam's Daebak Show Season 3 Episode 9, Eric asked if Taecyeon needed any special training in order to become a vampire and Taecyeon simply replied, "I didn't have a lot of preparation to become a vampire." Haha! It seemed that Taecyeon had the freedom to create his character his own way!
"I didn't have a lot of preparation to become a vampire."
- Ok Taecyeon on his preparation for his role in Heartbeat
How accurate is Ok Taecyeon's vampire character?
Although Korea has many iconic supernatural creatures such as gumihos (nine-taiiled fox), dokkaebis (Korean goblins), and ghosts, there is surprisingly no history of vampire folklore! It has just been stories imported from the West that recently created "Korean-style" vampires that we currently see today!
Although Korea has no history of these blood-sucking creatures, many Korean script writers and directors have made them into their own - they often look very human, except when their fangs are out and their eyes glow in various colors, they can instantly heal (like in this drama), they have other supernatural powers (in this drama Ok Taecyeon's character can fly and has super speed reflexes), and is sensitive to sunlight (in this drama, he seems immune to sunlight).
So needless to say, Ok Taecyeon's vampire character is true to his own interpretation of it! What do you think of Taecyeon's character in Heartbeat? What is your favorite vampire K-drama? Comment below!