Baek Sung-hyun’s Quiet Enlistment in the Military
Baek Sung-hyun personally announced his enlistment in the military on his Instagram in November 2017 and confirmed that he will be joining the military on January 2nd by a source from his agency Sidus HQ, “Baek Sung-hyun is enlisting on January 2nd, 2018. He applied and was accepted to the Korea Coast Guard.” Baek Sung-hyun chose to apply as coast guard because he really likes the sea. He really wanted to serve his military duty around an ocean area if possible, so he applied for a coast guard. He will be serving his time as a member of the Korea Coast Guard for 23 months. When Baek Sung-hyun was asked if he’s worried or not about his career because he has to leave his work for 23 months he replied, “After I enlist, my movie Bittersweet Brew will be released, and the drama Mojito will be revealed soon as well. I hope these works reduce my career break.” The actor said a few words before entering the military world, “Before enlisting, I experienced stage acting, and I really came to love the theater. It meant a lot to me that someone would come to see a play trusting me as an actor. After being discharged from the military, I’d like to become an actor whom you can trust and watch. I will be more mature when I come back.” Also, one day before his enlistment day, Baek Sung-hyun gathered with his friends, family, and colleagues, on January 1st, 2018. They held a farewell party for him in his agency. On January 2nd, the day of his enlistment, his agency shared a clip of Baek Sung-hyun waving before entering the military and a selfie of himself. In the caption, Sidus HQ wrote, “Baek Sung-hyun who enlisted in the Coast Guard because he likes the sea! [We hope] you return a better man and even cooler than before.” With hashtags, they added, “The ocean breeze is cold. Our noses and tears were running at [his] final salute.” https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdb9WhnnNvi/?utm_source=ig_embed
Baek Sung-hyun’s Latest Project Before His Enlistment
Baek Sung-hyun’s latest project, as he said before, is a drama, Mojito, and a movie, Bittersweet Brew. About his latest news before enlistment, he posted a photo on Instagram on December 26th, 2017. This photo was taken in Jeju island.
A post shared by 백성현 (@sunghyun0130) on Dec 25, 2017 at 9:47pm PST
Mojito
Mojito (모히또) is a Korean drama of the genre comedy, romance, and drama. This drama tells the story of Chi Ji-woo (Sung Joon) who is from a wealthy Chaebol family. He feels uncomfortable at night so he decides to open a cocktail bar and have it serve customers only during the daytime. Meanwhile, So Joong-hee (Lim Ji-yeon) comes from a bad background, she used to be broke. She works as a kitchen assistant in a nightclub, but hopes to become a French food chef. Chi Ji-woo and So Joong-hee meet each other and the story about how they heal each other’s wounds and how the two fall in love begins to unravel. Baek Sung-hyun plays as Kim Young Kwang, the heroine’s childhood friend. This drama is scheduled to be aired on KBS. Sadly, even though the filming already began in June 2017 but the release date is still on hold. Let’s wait for its release date!
Bittersweet Brew (2018)
Bittersweet Brew (스타박’스 다방) is a 104-minute long movie where Baek Sung-hyun played the main role, Park Seong-doo. This movie was released seven days after his enlistment day, on January 9th, 2018. The genre of the movie is a comedy with drama. Park Seong-doo has graduated from the prestigious Seoul National University majoring in law. His mother wants him to pass the bar exam and become a lawyer. Seong Doo’s dream is to open a coffee shop so he pretends that he is preparing for the exam but instead he is working part-time at a coffee shop. A teenage girl named Yeon Seo, who has a crush on him, visits the coffee shop every day to see him. One day, Seong Doo is caught red-handed at the coffee shop by his mother and disappoints her. As Seong Doo feels sorry for his mother, he leaves Seoul and goes to a small village in Samcheok, where his aunt is running a dying-out coffee shop. He persuades his aunt to renovates the old coffee shop and re-open it as a new coffee shop named “Star Park’s Coffee Shop.” Yeon Seo visits this village looking for Seong Doo. Seong Doo’s aunt greets her. Seong Doo, his aunt and Yeon Seo start a new life at “Star Park’s Coffee Shop.” Check out the trailer below!
Baek Sung-hyun’s Scandal – Drunk Driving
While he was in the military service there was a scandal that spread about him on October 10th, 2018. His agency responded to this report. They confirmed that Baek Sung-hyun had met with his friends while out overnight and was involved in a drunk driving incident. The agency stated, “Baek Sung-hyun was out [of the army base] overnight. After a meeting with acquaintances, he got into a car where the driver was inebriated, and an accident occurred. It was wrong to get in the car, and he acknowledges his error. As a member of the military, he is deeply reflecting on the fact that he has brought about criticism during his service.” Baek Sung-hyun, based on the police report, was the one who was sitting in the passenger seat and the driver was a woman who was drunk. The police conducted a test on Ms. K’s blood and found that she had a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) of 0.08 percent. That is high enough for a driver’s license suspension. The incident is quite bad. This happened at 1:40 AM on October 10th. The car that he was riding in was headed in the direction of Munsan, it slipped, and after spinning around twice, hit the central strip dividing the road. After the investigation, on May 30th, 2019, the police stated that Baek Sung-hyun is not guilty in this drunk driving incident because he was in the passenger seat and not the one who was driving. However, as it happened during his military service, so according to the rules of the military, and the Coast Guard, he received special moral education and was forbidden from going out or sleeping out overnight for two months.
