Firth proclaims love for Korean food in first-ever visit to Korea

Colin Firth, Taron Egerton and Mark Strong spoke to Korean fans via a live stream on Kakao TV, Wednesday afternoon.

The three actors are in Korea on a promotional tour for their upcoming film “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” the sequel to 2014’s “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” which was a huge box office hit here.

It is the first time for English actor Firth, long popular in Korea for roles in the “Bridget Jones” series and “The King’s Speech,” to visit Korea on a media-covered tour.

“The city blew me away. What I saw outside of my hotel window, I’m beginning to fall in love with it,” Firth said on his first impression of Seoul.

“I love Korean food. The soup -- guk -- everything, kimchi. ... My favorite restaurant in London was called Busan. I used to see quite famous people in this tiny restaurant from all over London. My favorite was beef tartare in sesame sauce, one of the best things I’ve ever had. ... I had Korean breakfast this morning with mackerel and spicy sauce. I love it,” Firth said.

“People have been very kind and courteous. The hospitality is amazing,” said Strong.

The segment was moderated by comedian Kim Young-chul, who spoke with the actors in English.

Kim had previously met with Egerton last year when the Welsh actor was in Korea promoting sports comedy-drama “Eddie the Eagle.”

“I know ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ has devoted fans here. We’re very grateful and we’ve worked very hard to make ‘Golden Circle’ as good a movie, if not better. We hope you’ll lend us the same support. Thanks for making us feel so welcome,” Egerton said.


“We feel ‘Kingsman’ has a special relationship with Korea now given its success here. Promoting a film isn’t always our favorite part of the job, but coming here was very important,” Firth said.

“A promise was made to come here, and a promise must be kept. I have to say it’s my first time and so far I’m absolutely loving it,” Strong added.


The three actors are set to carry out a whirlwind schedule during their visit here. A Naver V live stream takes place Wednesday at 5 p.m. A red carpet event takes follows the same day at 7 p.m. at Lotte World Tower in southeastern Seoul. The next day, a press conference is set for 11 a.m. on Thursday at CGV Yongsan.

“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” opens in local theaters on Sept. 27.

(doo@heraldcorp.com)