[Edaily Starin Gim Ga Yeong Reporter] “I started acting to meet my ‘favorite person,’ and in the process, I came to love acting—I think that’s similar to Nam Da-reum (played by Kim Hye-jun) in *My Favorite Employee*.”

Kang Hoon made these remarks about the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama *My Favorite Employee*, in which he stars. In an interview held on the 9th in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Kang Hoon said, “Nam Da-reum was also someone who set out to meet her ‘favorite’ but ended up finding her own dream; after meeting her ‘favorite,’ her dream became clearer and grew.” He added, “I’m in a similar situation. Since I met my ‘favorite’ and achieved my dream, I thought I should work even harder to find another dream.”
He added, “Right now, my dream is to continue doing the acting I love for a long time,” and said, “I also want to become someone’s ‘favorite’ so that person can experience meeting me.”
“My Favorite’s Employee” is an office growth romance about Nam Da-reum, a new employee who ends up becoming “my favorite’s employee” while trying to meet “my favorite.” Kang Hoon starred as Kang Ha-gi, the CEO of Apello, who is perfect in both intellect and physique.
Kang Hoon shared his thoughts, saying, “This was my first time doing a romantic comedy,” and added, “Since it was my first drama as the lead, I was both nervous and excited, but I’m happy that it wrapped up well.”
He continued, “We all gathered together to watch the first and final episodes, and on my way home, I was overcome with emotion as I recalled all the hardships we’d faced so far,” explaining, “I’ve been with our production company for a long time, so I reached out to everyone I’ve worked with to express my gratitude. While I’ve achieved some things on my own, I believe we succeeded because everyone around me worked so hard—that realization made me feel a fresh wave of emotion and brought tears to my eyes.”
Having taken on his first lead role and spearheaded the romantic comedy genre, he confided, “When I played supporting roles, I thought the other character’s emotions were more important than my own, but this time, I had my own emotions to navigate, and I acted while thinking about how to best support the character ‘Nam Da-eum.’” He continued, “I studied how to convey a sense of excitement. I wanted to play the lead, and since I made that dream come true, I tried my best to make the role fun.”
Kang Hoon, who played the CEO of a fashion platform in this drama, said, “I had to convey the aura of a CEO, but since he runs a fashion platform, I also thought carefully about what kind of clothes he should wear.” He continued, “I wanted him to be cool-headed at work and maintain a clear ‘on-off’ switch, so I tried to portray that aspect as well.”
Regarding his chemistry with Kim Hye-jun, he said, “Since this is a drama told from Da-eum’s perspective, actress Kim Hye-jun was crucial. There were some difficult moments, but she didn’t let it get to her; instead, she became a source of strength for me. She was a very mature person.” When asked what advice he gave Kim Hye-jun as a senior actor, he replied, “Rather than giving advice, we adjusted things as we talked on set. I believed the female lead needed to look beautiful, so I offered suggestions on camera angles and such,” adding, “They say you look beautiful when you’re in love, so I paid attention to those aspects as well.”
Kang Hoon has garnered attention not only for his acting but also for his appearances on variety shows. “I’m someone who loves variety shows,” he said. “I grew up watching ‘Infinite Challenge,’ ‘1 Night 2 Days,’ and ‘Running Man’ since I was young, and I’ve always dreamed of appearing on those kinds of programs.”
He continued, “If I’m given the time, I’m open to appearing on variety shows,” adding, “However, since I’m an actor, I feel I shouldn’t cause any trouble for the drama team, so I keep an open mind about it during my breaks.”
He also formed a love line with actress Ji Ye-eun on *Running Man*. Ji Ye-eun recently announced her marriage to dancer Bata. Kang Hoon said, “If I’m invited, I’ll go to congratulate them,” adding, “It was good news. I read about it in the news, and I’m congratulating them from the bottom of my heart. Since I wasn’t invited, I can’t just show up, but if I’m invited, I’ll go to offer my congratulations.”
His next project, *The Secret Chronicles of Suseong Palace*, is a historical drama. Kang Hoon will play the Crown Prince in this series. He remarked, “My character has risen in rank to become the Crown Prince,” adding, “I’m giving a lot of thought to what kind of persona the Crown Prince should have. I think it will be a new side of me.”
Kang Hoon, who appeared in the hit MBC drama *The Red Sleeve*, said, “I used Lee Jun-ho’s acting in *The Red Sleeve* as a reference. When I rewatched the drama, I realized Jun-ho did such a great job,” adding, “He embodied the Crown Prince exactly as I envisioned him, so I’m drawing a lot of inspiration from him.”
Regarding his future goals, he said, “I’m someone who enjoys acting. I think my best performance comes out when I’m having fun, so as long as I’m offered roles, I plan to keep acting.” He added, “I’m the type of person who’ll take on any project as long as it’s interesting, so I’ll give my all regardless of the genre.”