FABIEN
“I became an ‘adult’ in Korea, thanks to the ‘community culture’.” — FABIEN
FABIEN (39 years old) has lived in Korea for 19 years, he is an emblematic representative of the “Daehan-oegugin”. Born in France, he was a taekwondo athlete during his childhood when he was seduced by “K-culture”, which led him to set foot on Korean soil for the first time in 2007 on the occasion of a trip.
Finally, he appeared the following year in the drama “East of eden”, which led to his debut in the entertainment world and his trip to Korea became his “life”. Subsequently, FABIEN built his notoriety with the public thanks to the MBC entertainment show “I live alone” in 2014. That year, he experienced such popularity that he won the award for the new star of the year as well as a special award in the category best teamwork at the “2014 MBC Entertainment Awards”.
However, FABIAN followed a different path from that of other foreign celebrities having debuted in the country, building a unique position for himself. He does not limit his activities to the entertainment world alone and writes an impressive history by mastering “K” culture as a whole. FABIEN is a 5th dan black belt in taekwondo, obtained level 1 in the Korean history proficiency exam, has been a foreign guest guide at the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREAN CONTEMPORARY HISTORY for 8 years, has experience as a guide at the CHANGDEOKGUNG PALACE, and has been officiating since last year as a promotional ambassador for the NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE. In 2022, he also obtained a permanent residence permit guaranteeing his life in Korea for the next 10 years.
In addition, during a period of absence of about a year, FABIEN set himself the challenge of passing the difficult exam for “Korean tourist guide-interpreter” and obtained it with a “perfect score in national history”, leaving everyone stunned by this unwavering love for Korea.
The media STAR NEWS met FABIEN, more sincere than anyone toward Korea, on the afternoon of April 9 in the offices of the media in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. Even that day, under a driving rain, he began the interview with a small discussion on his current news, mentioning that he would go without fail to the museum for his activities as a guide. Receiving the business card held out by the journalist, he remarked: “It’s a name in pure Korean”, showing an attitude of an accomplished Korean.
First of all, concerning his recent period of absence, FABIEN stated:
“I stopped my activities for about a year, and I spent that time doing the things I had postponed and studying for the tourist guide-interpreter exam. Everyone needs rest at some point. I said to myself ‘let’s rest a bit’ but I didn’t know myself how long that would last. If I rested longer than planned, it’s because I wanted to build more solid knowledge this time. Studying was also fun”.
Why the certificate of “tourist guide-interpreter”? FABIEN confided: “At first, I didn’t know much. I heard by chance about the existence of this certificate and I went to the bookstore to look for books relating to it. At that moment, as I already knew a little national history, I foolishly thought ‘that looks fun’. But the exam only takes place once a year, the first written and the second interview are composed of four elements and the level of difficulty was high. There were really many more things to memorize than I thought. It was difficult, but it piqued my curiosity. I thought I had traveled everywhere and had tried everything since my arrival in Korea, but although I have lived here for nearly 20 years, I realized that there was still much to learn and I wanted to approach that in a professional manner”, revealing a posture of endless learning.
FABIEN, who studied so intensely that he developed a turtle neck syndrome, finally obtained a “perfect score” in the subject of national history. He humbly confided:
“I knew Korean history up to a certain point, but this opportunity allowed me to deepen it. By learning a lot, I came to understand Korean culture. During the process of obtaining the certificate, I actually felt a lot of shame. I had the impression that my knowledge was too superficial before. By realizing that it was only a flyover, I felt embarrassment and I studied even harder”.
What is therefore the charm of the “Korean culture” that so captivated FABIEN? He explained: “Korean society is not easy. Myself, there are often moments when I do not understand. It is a culture that one can only understand by going very far into things. At first, the point concerning the ‘community culture’ seemed fascinating to me. Because in France, it is difficult to find a community culture. Usually, that does not seem to be the case, but in difficult moments, seeing people unite solidly to succeed seemed incredible to me. By looking at history, Korea has suffered numerous sufferings due to countless invasions, and yet it held firm and reached this far thanks to its strength of unity. Moreover, this community culture is influenced by the agricultural life of mutual aid and, if one goes back further, the spirit of the Hongik Ingan consisting in ‘profiting widely the human world’ has been transmitted until today and is engraved in the hearts of modern people. Each time I learned a thing thus, by understanding that ‘it’s for that that it was like that’, I felt an immense interest for the Korean culture”.
FABIEN added with determination:
“Everything started with a pure curiosity rather than with a feeling of mission. These studies accumulated and, fortunately, opportunities presented themselves, but each time I felt my shortcomings and, not wanting to lose face against myself, I devoted myself to learning. To not be outdated, I always approach things with a spirit of learning. In the future also, I will continue to improve step by step”.
Now a member of the lineage of “elders” among foreign celebrities, he revealed a particular state of mind. FABIEN confided: “Should I say foreign host? Regardless, there are many friends like that these days, and I think it’s a natural change while the prestige of the Korean culture has increased. If I had to classify, the 1st generation would be the elder IDA DAUSSY, the 2nd generation those coming from “Chatting with beautiful women”, and I would be about generation 2.5. Just when I arrived for the first time in Korea, there were not many foreigners in activity. Thus, if a foreigner ate Korean cuisine with appetite, people looked at him with a fresh look of surprise, and if he spoke just a tiny bit of good Korean, the atmosphere was one of astonishment. But today, that no longer suffices. As it is no longer new, one must constantly update oneself. That is why I also try to find something new in my field. It has become my life now, but I try to look at Korea with a look of a stranger, and I strive to practice repeatedly ’emptying’ and ‘filling’. Moreover, I am aware that what I think is not always right and that I can be wrong”.
However, the deepening of traditional Korean culture by FABIEN was not simply for the purpose of possessing competitiveness as a host. He stated: “I started television thanks to a very beautiful opportunity and, fortunately, people solicited me, which naturally brought me this far. I devote myself to it with pleasure myself too, but for all that, I do not consider myself a celebrity and I do not have great ambitions in this sense. As I started television as soon as I arrived in Korea, it’s true that it’s the work I have done the longest with the most care, but I don’t think I can define myself by a single profession. I have officiated a lot as a MC, I give lectures in English, Korean and French, I do interpreting and I do very varied things. There is also a part of creator as a youtuber, and as I navigate between all that, I think I cannot say precisely what I am. Simply, going to work at the museum every day delights me and the pleasure of learning Korean history is immense”.
He did not forget to address his thanks for the immense love that the public of “I live alone” always has for him. FABIEN told: “Even today, in the metro, a gentleman recognized me by saying that he was ‘delighted to see me’ and I was grateful for it. No doubt because I showed the image of an honest and simple young man in “I live alone”, people treat me with ease like someone that one has known for a long time. I think it’s perhaps this familiar aspect, getting up in the morning and preparing a soup, that they liked. If one calls me, of course, I would like to go back”.
What feeling does he experience by looking back on his last 20 years of life in Korea? FABIEN confided with an open heart:
“I became an ‘adult’ by coming to Korea. Because I did for the first time by coming here social experiences that I had never done in France. The joys and the difficulties of life, I learned everything in Korea. Unlike France, the time spent in the Korean society where the ‘we’ takes precedence over the ‘I’ now exceeds half of my life. The life lived alone is pleasant and good, but I feel that the value of a life of sharing and integration as a community is also precious. It happened to me a few times to want to leave and there were many difficult moments, but I think that would have been the same if I had lived in France or in another country. Human relationships are anyway difficult. France is the country that made me be born, but Korea is the country that made me grow, so the center of gravity has moved a lot toward Korea. Now, I feel a feeling of serenity”.
Finally, FABIEN announced: “As a promotional ambassador for the NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE, I plan to plan more things this year. Moreover, I intend to obtain the Korean tourist guide-interpreter certificate in Spanish this year, and in Japanese next year. I plan to continue to work hard for the lectures on cultural history and the explanations at the museum that I am currently doing. To consolidate the bases of a sustainable passion, I always try to find new hobbies, and I plan to learn ‘Chaekgado’”.
He then greeted his fans:
“Thank you for having worried about me, and while you could have left because I had not posted new videos for a long time, I thank you for having welcomed me warmly as soon as I returned. Thank you for having left many long and careful comments. As I changed the name of my channel to ‘Fabiyangban’ and I restarted with an improved image, I will post many interesting contents in the future. I ask you to watch in numbers”.
Journalist: Shawn
Interview by Star News
Source: Star News
