Siwan Shows A Surprising Skill and Shared His Rookie Struggles in “MMTG”

Siwan (also known as Im Siwan) recently appeared in the variety show MMTG and amazed the show’s MC Jaejae and his co-star in the movie Emergency Declaration Kim Nam Gil with his speed in solving puzzles.

One of the activities they did in the show was a cube battle; to finish the puzzle in what is similar to the famous Rubik’s Cube. Nam Gil struggled with his cube and gave up midway, watching in amazement how fast Siwon moved the cube around to solve the puzzle.

Siwon solved the puzzle in just one minute and ten seconds. Nam Gil gave his cube to Siwon, which was also solved in record time, but with a higher difficulty level. He solved the puzzle cube, with each side having a different square color in the middle. Siwon claimed he did this because they complimented him and wanted to do better.

They discussed his breakthrough role in “Misaeng: Incomplete Life,” where he played the role of Jang Geu Rae, a contract employee who starts in the corporate world with no formal skills or training. He was highly praised for portraying a rookie undergoing many difficulties in his first job and even won awards for this role.

Siwan shared that he was familiar with the hardships of being a newbie in a job and an office, where sometimes, even things you are familiar with become difficult because of the new environment. He recalled when he was still a rookie K-Pop idol; he doubted if it was ok for him to be in the entertainment industry, especially after seeing many talented people who he felt were way better than he was.

It reached a point where he even considered quitting, but an acting engagement was offered to him. He accepted and stayed on as an actor, receiving more projects until he got the role in Misaeng. His character Geu Rae reminded him of his struggles as a K-Pop idol at 23 when he was part of the boy group ZE:A while simultaneously being a university student. The parallelisms between his personal experiences and the hardships Geu Rae went through gave him ideas on how best to attack his role, thus earning him awards and a lot of praise.

Siwan plays Jinseok in Emergency Declaration, his first movie role as a villain. The movie was first screened at the Cannes Film Festival on July 16, 2021, and premiered in theatres last August 3.

For more of Siwan and Emergency Declaration, watch the full MMTG episode here: