At that time, Eric spoke fluent Korean and English. But At That Time, His Korean Language Ability Was Not Even. Even harder, he has to interview IU, one of the most successful stars.
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| Eric Nam - IU |
In the latest episode of the "K-Pop Daebak" podcast, soloist Eric Nam reminisces about his first meeting with IU. The handsome singer with a sweet voice called the meeting "embarrassing" and he also expressed IU's reaction.
While Eric Nam is of Korean descent, he was actually born and raised in Georgia, United States, where he lived until he graduated from college. At the age of 23, Eric moved to South Korea to pursue a career in entertainment, and one of his earliest shows was a job interviewing international celebrities in English on MBC's "Section TV".
All went well until one day in 2014 when Eric Nam was asked to do the unthinkable: interview a Korean celebrity. At that time, Eric was fluent in Korean and English. But at that time, his Korean language skills were uneven. Even harder, he had to interview IU, one of the country's most successful stars.
"I shouldn't be interviewing Korean celebrities. I should only be interviewing international stars in English, but they sent me to meet IU in a fan meeting that he did," said Eric Nam.
Naturally, given his difficulty speaking Korean at the time, Eric called the experience "embarrassing" on the latest episode of K-Pop Daebak. but what happened? According to Eric, his Korean language is so "terrible" that he feels "really bad" for being given the role. To this day, he said he couldn't believe they chose him for the interview.
"And I felt really bad. And I still feel really bad. Because of my Korean ... It was so bad. It seemed terrible. And I couldn't believe ... To this day, I was like, 'Why ...' Like , 'Why did they send me?' "He said.
Eric Nam went on to say that, due to the language barrier, he wasn't able to have a conversation with IU that was meaningful enough to make a good interview. But luckily, apart from being one of the most popular and talented soloists, IU is also sweet and kind to everyone she meets.
That's why Eric shared that he was "very grateful" to IU during the interview. Despite the difficulties, Eric said IU was "very encouraging and kind about it". He feels bad for IU, the camera crew, and the fans for failing to do a good job, but IU tells him, "Oh it's okay. Don't worry. Let me help you."
"It's not about training. I'm practicing. I can't do it well. So he's still like, 'Oh it's okay. Don't worry. Let me help you; And he's really helpful ... He's really nice and I'm really grateful love for that. "
Naturally, Eric said it was one of the early moments of his career that he remembers well. Although sadly she hasn't had the chance to say "thank you" since then, she thanks her by encouraging all K-Pop Daebak listeners to listen to IU's new song, "Celebrity", in honor of her being "an extraordinary celebrity".
"If you (IU) are watching this. Thank you very much. And I'm very sorry because I really hope I can do a better job. If I can make it up for you ... Please let me know," said Eric Nam. (wk / dewi)
