Lee Yi-kyung kneels in Vietnam to show gratitude, but film fails to meet box office expectations

Actor Lee Yi-kyung engaged in unprecedented promotional activities, including kneeling before Vietnamese audiences to express his gratitude, but the Korea-Vietnam co-production film has recorded box office results that fall short of expectations. While the actor's sincere actions and acting transformation received praise, local evaluations suggest that the lack of completeness in the work itself hindered its commercial success.

The Korea-Vietnam co-production 'Mẹ Ơi, Về Nhà' (English title: Here I Am), starring Lee Yi-kyung, was released in Vietnam on the 10th of last month. The title carries a meaning similar to 'Mom, please come home' in Korean.

Directed by Yoon Byung-ki, the film features Lee Yi-kyung alongside Vietnamese actress Hoang Yen Chi Bi, actor Choi Daniel, and Min Ha. The running time is 98 minutes.

Lee Yi-kyung plays the role of Huy Hoang, who was abandoned in Korea during his childhood and subsequently adopted by a Vietnamese foster mother, Diem Hai.

After his foster mother passes away, Huy Hoang heads to Vietnam carrying her ashes. In his journey to find his hometown to fulfill his mother's final wish, he meets Diem Mi, a Vietnamese singer active in Korea, unfolding a new story.

Hoang Yen Chi Bi plays Diem Mi, while Choi Daniel plays Park Ha, a friend who constantly causes trouble, serving as another pillar of the drama.

In this work, Lee Yi-kyung boldly cast aside the cheerful, comedic image he had previously displayed.

Having been loved for his uniquely sly and humorous acting in the film '6/45', he challenged himself with serious acting this time, expressing a character filled with a sense of loss and loneliness through restrained emotional lines.

Local media also noted this transformation. They cited his convincing portrayal of Huy Hoang, who carries inner wounds while shedding his existing image as a comedy actor, as a strength of the film, offering relatively positive reviews of Lee Yi-kyung's acting.

His promotional efforts were more active than anyone else's.

On the 6th of last month, ahead of the release, Lee Yi-kyung attended a film screening event held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to meet local fans directly.

He went down to the audience seats to shake hands, hug fans, and pose for photos. At the moment the event concluded, he drew attention from the local media by kneeling toward the audience to express his gratitude.

At the time, the audience filling the venue responded with long applause and cheers, providing the actor with enthusiastic support.

However, the heat of the event did not translate into theatrical success.

On the 15th of last month, the fifth day since its release, local media reported that the film was recording lower-than-expected results at the Vietnamese box office.

While foreign blockbusters dominated the theaters at the time, 'Mẹ Ơi, Về Nhà' failed to build a significant presence, remaining within the top 10 of the daily box office.

The prevailing assessment was that this was not due to a lack of recognition for the actor.

Lee Yi-kyung is an actor who has secured considerable recognition in Vietnam through the film '6/45' and the drama 'Marry My Husband.' Nevertheless, his star power did not lead to high audience numbers.

In the local market, analyses continued to seek the cause of the box office slump in the work itself rather than the actor.

As criticisms arose that the development of the story and the narrative structure failed to meet audience expectations, the dominant evaluation was that the film lacked overall strength, regardless of the actors' performances.

Lee Yi-kyung has also been at the center of several issues outside of his recent acting activities.

Last year, a controversy erupted when a woman raised allegations regarding his private life, but his agency defined the contents as false information and malicious rumors, initiating legal action against the writer and distributor.

Furthermore, in May, it was revealed that he underwent an irregular tax audit by the National Tax Service and received a notice of tax collection during the process of operating a one-person corporation. In response, his agency stated that the matter arose from differences in the interpretation of tax laws regarding expense processing standards and that there was no intentional omission of income or tax evasion.

Lee Yi-kyung succeeded in his acting transformation, but the result of box office success did not follow. Attention is focused on what significance this Korea-Vietnam co-production—where the individual praise for the actor and the film's performance diverged—will hold in his future filmography.