The world is your oyster with so many places to visit, but South Korea might just be your next big catch with Im Si-wan's travel advice.

On Saturday (May 17), the actor-singer made a special appearance at Korea Travel Fair 2025 held at Plaza Singapura and spent some time with his fans playing drawing games and talking about travelling in his home country.

Another special guest present at the event was South Korean singer Punch, who performed her iconic soundtrack songs such as Stay With Me, Every Time and Say Yes. It was the 32-year-old's second time in Singapore.

Speaking to emcee and translator April Kim, Si-wan shared that when it comes to travelling, he prefers places that are more tranquil.

"I like both nature and city scenes but if I had to choose one, because of my busy city life, I'd go somewhere more chill with nature where I can lie back and relax a bit."

If he were given some free time, the 36-year-old would choose Jeju Island as his destination for a trip in South Korea, after a visit while filming the drama series Boyhood (2023). He said: "I'm a person who loves the blue ocean and when I see it, I feel like my mind gets cleaned out."

Si-wan recommended that tourists visit Hamdeok Beach and Udo Island in Jeju: "You can see Hamdeok Beach on the streets (of Jeju) and it's following the coastline. If you go even further, there's this island - Udo Island - which has a really beautiful beach, that is something I love."

He also shared must-go places in his hometown Busan, like Cheongsapo, where you could grill fresh seafood on the street. "When you're there, the flavour of the seafood becomes five times better!" he raved.

As for Busan food recommendations for first-time goers, he said: "It's really hard to choose the best must-try dish because just like Singapore, there's so much delicious food in one city.

"So instead of talking about just Busan, I want to choose the best dishes in South Korea. I feel like there're so many dishes made of chicken, like Korean fried chicken, samgyetang (Korean chicken soup), jjimdak (Korean braised chicken) and dak-galbi (spicy stir-fried chicken).

"There's so much delicious food in Korea made with chicken. So if you just spend your time eating food with chicken, I think it's more than enough. But if you have to choose, I'd say Korean fried chicken is a must-try."

While recommending so many dishes, Si-wan finds himself without much time to cook due to his packed schedule. "I barely cook at home because of my busy schedule but if I do have a chance, then I like to make something simple like kimchi fried rice or maybe pork belly with the chilli pepper paste."

After the interview, he played drawing games with three Singapore fans where he would draw Korean dishes and the fans had to guess what it was.

He prefaced the game with a handwritten apology, penning on screen: "Sorry for bad drawing first but try to (do) my best TT.TT", which earned endearing coos and laughter from the audience.

With some artistic struggles and a few mistakes from the participants, his drawing prompts included Korean fried chicken, corn dogs, odeng (fishcake skewers) and gejang (soy marinated crab).

Si-wan, a member of boy band Ze:A, also announced an upcoming album in his parting words. His earliest appearance on-screen this year will be in the Netflix thriller series Squid Game 3, which will be released in June.

kristy.chua@asiaone.com

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