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Ong Seong Wu was “a little scared” of going solo at first

The former Wanna One member tells us about his upcoming drama, thoughts on being alone, and how fans make him happy on Instagram

Ong Seong Wu was “a little scared” of going solo at first

Photos: Tammi Tan, Instagram/Ong Seong Wu

“I’m not so good at drawing…” sighed Ong Seong Wu modestly, his black marker hovering over a blank mini whiteboard that was to be transformed into an adorable piece of art (and could soon belong to you - more details to come at the end of this article).

We were with the former Wanna One member in a hotel boardroom on Saturday (Apr 6) morning, hours before he was to take the stage at his first solo fan meeting here in Singapore. Prior to his little sketching session, we had discussed a number of topics, including his thoughts on becoming a one-man act since the massively popular boy group disbanded earlier this year.

The 23-year-old singer-actor, who has also completed his Eternity tour in Malaysia and Thailand, admitted that he was “a little scared and nervous” (not to mention feeling the pressure) about being the sole star on stage, away from his ex-bandmates. Thankfully, the unwavering support from his devotees keeps him going, as well as his own ambition to continuously move forward as an artist.

“I always want to do my best in everything, and I hope that people will feel that I’m able to fill up a stage by myself, so I’m working towards that,” he said.

When we asked how he thinks he has grown since his last visit to the Lion City about half a year ago (for HallyuPopFest 2018), he very thoughtfully mused, “If an entertainer has grown, there needs to be a feeling of progress, which is what I’m searching for. So rather than thinking that I have grown or advanced, I choose to think that I still have a lot more to learn.” Now that’s the sort of humble and hardworking attitude that will get you everywhere.

His dedication to doing a good job is apparent in how he’s preparing for his upcoming drama debut Moments of 18, a coming-of-age JTBC production that revolves around the lives of 18-year-olds (hence the title).

“The character I play is called Choi Jun Woo,” shared Seong Wu. “He’s a very solitary person, so I’ve been trying to imagine how it is like to be lonely by staying calm and thinking about solitude.”

This, according to Seong Wu, is the total opposite of his real-life personality. “I’m someone who tries to avoid loneliness as much as possible, so whenever I have any lonely moments, I try my best to be happy in order to avoid feeling lonely,” he explained. “However, with this opportunity to play a solitary character, I have learnt to accept those feelings.”

Watch our video interview with Ong Seong Wu:

In reality, we don’t think Seong Wu has any reason to feel lonely, especially on social media. Although he only launched his official Instagram account in January this year, he has already amassed a staggering amount of followers: 1.78 million (and counting), to be exact.

And by the way, he told us that yes, he does read the comments. “Some comments I’ve seen include ‘Ah, you look handsome’ or ‘The clothes really suit you’. Whenever I read comments like that, I feel proud and happy. I really enjoy reading them,” he beamed. (You heard that, now quickly go spam his page with compliments!)

He even divulged his thought process behind posting a picture on the platform. “It depends and changes from time to time: sometimes, I would share photos of beautiful scenery from a certain trip that I’ve been hoping to go on to express the fact that I have visited such a lovely place.”

“In other cases,” he continued. “On a day when I think I look good and my hair and makeup have turned out well, I will take a photo and feel that I look cool. Right when I get those feelings, I’ll upload the photo.”

In that case, we’re honestly surprised that there aren’t a thousand times more selfies on his feed. We mean, have you seen this guy?

Related:
Ong Seong Wu is sugar, spice, and everything nice
Wanna One: the perfect Friday night Pick-Me-up
Wanna One makes first Singapore visit

(Continued on next page: Find out how you can win a special drawing by Ong Seong Wu!)

Ong Seong Wu has a special gift for his Singapore fans!

After our interview, we got Seong Wu to decorate three mini whiteboards, which he did by drawing an utterly adorable self-portrait of himself at that very moment (he even included the pattern on his jacket), and signing it.

For your chance to win one of these priceless boards, simply show us your drawing of Ong Seong Wu, and we will pick 3 of our favourite entries to win!

All types of art media are accepted (including digital), but be sure to only submit entries that are original and belong to you.

Email an attachment of your art (no larger than 1MB in size) together with your full name as per your NRIC, residential address and email address to editor [at] mediacorp.com.sg with the subject ‘Toggle Ong Seong Wu drawings’.

Contest ends April 28 and winners will be notified via email and announced on our Twitter page.

* Terms and Conditions
- By participating in this contest, you agree to our contest terms and conditions.
- This contest is open only to Singapore residents.
- Entries submitted after the deadline will not be entertained.
- Toggle reserves the right to pick final winners. No correspondence will be entertained.
- Entry submission forms that are incomplete will be disqualified.
- Previous week’s winners are not qualified to win.
- Each family is entitled to win only one contest every seven days. Persons who share the same registered address will be considered as part of the same family.
- Any proof-of-entry printouts cannot be used as proof that Toggle has received your submission.
- Toggle reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the contest without prior notice.
- Winners will be informed via email/phone call from which details of prize collection will be stated.
- Prizes not collected by the given date will be considered null and void.
- Prizes are non-transferable and non-exchangeable for cash.
- By entering the contest, you agree to be informed of any future promotion related to Toggle.

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