HK Star Karen Mok Loves Enthusiasm of Korean Fans

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

If there's one thing that Hong Kong star Karen Mok loves about performing in Korea, it's experiencing the enthusiasm of the fans.

Mok was back in Seoul to participate in the 5th Asia Song Festival over the weekend. Two years ago, she impressed the Korean audience with her performance as Mimi for the Asian tour of the Broadway musical "Rent".

"I had a great time performing here (in 2006)). The Korean audience is definitely the best we had (during the Asian tour of Rent). They were really into the whole thing. They're really part of it", she told The Korea Times, backstage after she performed at the Asia Song Festival concert Saturday.

Still wearing the slinky printed mini-dress she wore on stage, Mok did not look the least bit tired after giving an energetic performance before a crowd of 35,000 at Seoul World Cup Stadium. She performed two songs from her album "Live Is… Karen Mok", which won Best Mandarin Album at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards last July.

Mok was all smiles, and had nothing but praise for the Korean audience. "They're great. It's the first time I'm kind of performing the songs from my album in Korea. The songs may be new to the audience but they were still very receptive", she said.

Mok has been in the entertainment industry for 15 years, having success in both the music and movies. She has released 14 albums and appeared in over 40 movies including "Around the World in 80 Days", "So Close" and "Fallen Angels".

Mok starred in the film "So Close" with Korean actor Song Seung-heon in 2002, but they never appeared on screen together. "I should be very angry with my director because I never had any scenes with him", she laughed.

During the interview, Mok suddenly stopped in the middle of a sentence when she heard the strains of Korean singer Shin Seung-hun singing "I Believe". "Oh, that's such a amazing song. Everyone knows that song", she said, excitedly.

She hopes to work with Korean director Park Chan-wook in the future. "I would love to work with the director of `Old Boy'. He's amazing. `Old Boy' was definitely one of my favorite movies. It's very stunning", she said.

Mok recently appeared in a horror film "The Coffin", and is now preparing to produce and star in another movie. "It's a project I really want to do. It's a sports movie. Basically, it's about a long distance runner. I used to do a bit of long distance running myself. So I have special affinity to long distance running", she said.

Next week, Mok will be launching her own brand of perfume, said to be the first Asian celebrity fragrance. The perfume has been described as "capturing the essence of Karen Mok in a bottle ― sexy, edgy and utterly feminine".

"I'm really excited about this because I've had this idea in mind for a long time. I believe Asia should have its own celebrity fragrance. It is suitable for most women, especially Asian women", she said

Despite her hectic work schedule, the 38 year old still looks as radiant and youthful as ever.

When asked about her beauty secret, Mok said: "You try to live a healthy lifestyle. The state of mind is also important to stay happy. And you really have to like what you do. It gives you energy and makes you more youthful".

And judging from Mok's smile, she really likes what's she's doing.