THE K-FACTOR

Daniel Dae Kim takes the reins as he leads a new television series exploring the global phenomenon that is K-culture.

- Zabrina Lo

Daniel Dae Kim is famed for his commanding presence: his bestknown roles include the taciturn Jin-soo Kwon in Lost, the honourable Chin Ho Kelly in Hawaii Five-0, the semi-supernatural Ben Daimio in the 2019 Hellboy reboot; and his Tony Award-nominated turn as the lead in Yellow Face on Broadway. Visiting a cosmetics manufacturing plant in Seoul and letting a snail trail its slime over his hand doesn't really fit that image. But that is one of the many unusual things he has done for a recent, and deeply personal project.

Produced by CNN and released on May 9, the fourpart documentary series K-Everything follows Kim as he travels through South Korea, investigating the country's seismic cultural shifts in beauty, fashion, music, film and food that have transformed his ancestral land into a global powerhouse.

For Kim, the project is less a travelogue and more a necessary homecoming. "I'm really proud of my Korean heritage," he says. "I wanted the world to know about it." Kim has seen how the world's view of Korea has transformed over the years. He has lived in the US since he was an infant, and recalls a time when being Korean was far from cool. "When I was a kid, when my friends would walk into the house and my mom was making kimchi, the response would be 'What is that smell?' as they held their noses," he tells Tatler. Today, that same dish is globally touted for its probiotic qualities and health benefits. "That was just one small example of how things that are Korean have changed in [people's] perception over time." The actor had long wanted to work on a project promoting South Korean culture; when CNN approached him about K-Everything, it was the perfect opportunity to realise that ambition.