Not too way back, Daniel Dae Kim had an uncommon encounter with a salmon. It had nothing to do with dinner.
The actor, director and producer lay down in a physician’s workplace in Seoul and underwent microinjections into his face of DNA from salmon sperm. The hope was to cut back irritation and enhance elasticity.
“I look like a got a little sunburn and a little redder than usual, but it’s not bad,” he says to a digital camera crew after the process. “OK, I’m camera ready.”
Kim was placing his face on the road as a part of the brand new CNN collection “K-Everything: The Global Rise of Korean Culture,” his love letter to Okay-beauty, Okay-pop, Okay-food and Okay-film. It debuts Saturday on CNN International and can be out there on CNN and HBO Max.
“It’s an examination of how Korea has risen in the course of three short generations from a war-torn third world country to one of the most modern places in the world,” Kim says in an interview. “We’ll take a look at how that’s happened through food, through cinema, through beauty products and through music.”
At a vibrant kimchi competition in Pyeongchang, Kim explores how Okay-food is reshaping fantastic eating throughout the globe. In different episodes, he meets actor Lee Byung-hun, “Gangnam Style” singer-songwriter Psy, BigBang’s Taeyang and the songwriters behind the Oscar-winning music “Golden.”
“For those who’ve never been to Korea, this is a nice introduction in a way that is not something taught in a classroom or in a textbook,” Kim says.
In the sweetness episode, Kim chats with make-up artist and influencer LeoJ and mannequin Irene Kim on how magnificence requirements have modified. He tries varied serums and face masks and even visits a manufacturing unit the place snail slime is collected for use in varied merchandise.
“I got to meet people from different walks of life, from different cities, from different economic classes, and it just broadened my understanding of the culture,” he says.
Kim was born in South Korea however moved to the United States when he was 1, returning ceaselessly. That makes “K-Everything” a private journey, which additionally consists of his mother and father.
Seoul has undergone such an financial and cultural increase that each one the landmarks his mother and father knew from after they had been youngsters had been gone they usually relied on him to navigate. “It was almost a foreign country to them,” he says.
Kim joins a crowded subject of celeb journey hosts, which incorporates Tony Shalhoub, Rainn Wilson, Eugene Levy, Stanley Tucci,Orlando Bloom, Zac Efron, José Andrés, Chris Hemsworth, Will Smith, Eva Longoria and Ewan McGregor.
Kim, the “Lost” star who lately earned a Tony Award nomination, is a fan of the late chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain, who helped create the position of recent TV journey host.
“I wouldn’t say that this show is as irreverent as Anthony Bourdain’s show was, but I loved it because I felt like he was showing me his take on each country and he was a trusted guide,” he says. “If I can be that for some people then that’s the spirit that I’d like to bring into this show.”
Amy Entelis, govt vice chairman for expertise, CNN Originals and inventive growth, says Kim brings a novel and deeply private perspective to the collection.
“From the first time I met him, it was clear he was incredibly well equipped to tackle this — deeply passionate about the subject and highly knowledgeable. He was also very focused on making sure the way we look at Korean culture translates to a broad global audience, really putting a spotlight on it,” she says.
Kim has by no means performed TV host, however he is an avid traveler and he isn’t a fish out of water in Korea. He says regardless of stretching himself, he felt snug.
“I get to introduce the world to a culture that I love and have gotten to know and has informed who I am as a performer and as a human being. So to me, it was strangely comfortable and it didn’t feel at all like I was stepping outside of my comfort zone.”
Kim hopes the collection will help non-Koreans higher perceive a tradition that has influenced a lot of the globe of late and handle anti-Asian racism, which surged throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If we can start to understand one another a little bit better through culture, then I think it is one step toward bringing together a global community. And I think the world could use a little more understanding in general.”
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