Chapter 19

"Because the company's plan for you is to start in China, then move to Korea, and eventually cover all of Asia and even the world. The company will give you a year to focus on learning acting and Chinese. Of course, this doesn't mean you won't need to practice your vocal training, dance, and etiquette."

At this point, Li Haoyan couldn't help but pause. After all, it's a daunting task to learn so much in just one year and achieve a high level of proficiency. This would be challenging even for an adult, let alone a teenager. At the very least, it would be a significant strain on time and energy.

However, when he saw Jin Yufan's calm and composed reaction, Li Haoyan's confidence soared: "I, Li Haoyan, have never thought I was inferior to Lee Soo-man, nor have I ever thought that our DSP would be inferior to S.M. This was true in the past, it is true now, and it will be true in the future. Now, I don't think you, Jin Yufan, will be inferior to BOA. What do you think, Yufan?"

"BOA!" Upon hearing Li Haoyan's words, Jin Yufan subconsciously thought about BOA's situation in his memory.

It must be acknowledged that BOA is a genius, and a hardworking, even relentless one at that. In the entire world of music, it's hard to find anyone who could debut so quickly and achieve such great success in a foreign entertainment industry far more competitive than their own.

This is an extremely difficult feat. Setting aside age and the complexities of the foreign entertainment industry, just the challenge of standing out and succeeding in a more competitive and challenging environment is incredibly tough.

It's like a Chinese person debuting in the United States and achieving great success and public recognition, then returning to China with that popularity and influence to become a superstar. This is almost impossible, something beyond the imagination of most people. Yet, BOA managed to do just that. Even the proud Jin Yufan couldn't help but admire BOA for this.

At this moment, Jin Yufan was eager to meet BOA, to see what kind of person she was. After all, his appearance was entirely due to BOA's emergence at S.M. Entertainment, and his role at DSP Entertainment was solely to compete with BOA. Therefore, Jin Yufan was naturally very interested in BOA, whom he had never met.

Of course, Jin Yufan didn't know that not only was he interested in BOA, but BOA had also learned about him from Lee Soo-man and was very interested in him as well.

To admire is one thing, but Jin Yufan never considered BOA his greatest rival. Whether it was his personality, ambition, or the specific information he remembered about the global entertainment industry, Jin Yufan was never going to limit his vision to Asia.

BOA, at best, is a top-tier Asian diva. While she aims to break into the U.S. entertainment industry, the high standards and inherent xenophobia of the U.S. market make it very difficult for her to succeed there.

But Jin Yufan is different. With his talent and intelligence, Jin Yufan never doubted his ability to succeed in the U.S. Even if it didn't work out, Jin Yufan could spend some time writing a few Grammy-winning songs and Oscar-winning movie scripts to serve as his entry ticket into the U.S. entertainment industry.

Thinking about this, a faint smile appeared on Jin Yufan's lips. He spoke with a calm but resolute tone: "President, rest assured, I, Jin Yufan, will never be inferior to anyone."

Hearing Jin Yufan's confident response, Li Haoyan nodded in satisfaction. Li Haoyan liked the confidence Jin Yufan displayed, that youthful, fearless spirit, which reminded him of himself.

Back in the day, Li Haoyan never backed down when facing Lee Soo-man and the S.M. Group. So, seeing the confident Jin Yufan, Li Haoyan's impression of him improved even more.

A few minutes later, Jin Yufan left Li Haoyan's office and headed directly to the place Li Haoyan had mentioned.

According to Li Haoyan's instructions, Jin Yufan now had to meet his acting teacher. If possible, he wanted to start his lessons immediately.

Although he didn't need to worry about learning Chinese, Jin Yufan had never been exposed to acting, vocal training, or dance. Not to mention, he also needed to learn etiquette and stage performance. One year was really too short, and Jin Yufan couldn't afford to wait.

As he hurried to his destination, Jin Yufan subconsciously thought about the reminder from Park Ji-ju, especially about his acting teacher for the next year.

Kim Ji-deok, a former professor of the Department of Performance at Seoul Central University, was the only professor in the performance department. Seoul Central University has many departments, such as performance, drama, film, film performance, and drama performance...

The "performance department" here doesn't refer to the performance department at Seoul Central University but rather all aspects of performance, making Kim Ji-deok a versatile teacher, capable of teaching a wide range of subjects, much like a teacher who can teach Chinese, math, English, physics, and chemistry.

Kim Ji-deok taught at Seoul Central University for over thirty years, and many of his students have achieved great success and honor in the entertainment industry. He has truly nurtured a vast number of talented individuals. He has since retired due to his age but still holds a high social status in Korea.

In theory, DSP Entertainment had neither the qualifications nor the resources to invite Kim Ji-deok to be their chief acting teacher. Even if they begged, he wouldn't have considered it.

But DSP Entertainment was lucky. The company's vice president, Lee Hyun-kyung, is a relative of Kim Ji-deok. With this connection, Lee Hyun-kyung acted as a mediator, and DSP's enthusiastic invitation, combined with Kim Ji-deok's unwillingness to retire, led him to accept the position as the chief acting teacher at DSP Entertainment.

The fact that Kim Ji-deok became the chief acting teacher at DSP Entertainment is something even the proud and arrogant Lee Soo-man would envy and resent.

After all, a teacher of Kim Ji-deok's caliber is not someone you can easily invite, even if you have the money. People of his status consider more than just money; they also think about their reputation.

More importantly, having taught at Seoul Central University for decades, Kim Ji-deok has a vast network of students. If you gain his recognition, you become part of his network. His former students, who are now established in the industry, will naturally feel a kinship with you, a junior from the same teacher. This can help new talents integrate into the industry more quickly, gain more opportunities, and receive more support and promotion, avoiding many obstacles and difficulties.

To put it simply, over the past thirty years, almost every actor who graduated from Seoul Central University can be considered a student of Kim Ji-deok. Even now, he occasionally returns to the university to teach, a habit he has maintained for many years. This means that he has a near-monopoly on the actors who graduated from Seoul Central University, though the relationships vary in closeness, they are all, in a sense, his students.

Actors like Kim Hee-sun, Ko So-young, Lee Jung-hyun, Kim Jung-hoon, and Lee Young-ae, among many other stars in the Korean entertainment industry, are all considered students of Kim Ji-deok.

If Jin Yufan can gain Kim Ji-deok's recognition and become his student, it will undoubtedly bring him countless benefits in entering the Korean entertainment industry.

Just the support from a large number of senior students will ensure that Jin Yufan thrives in the Korean entertainment industry. As long as Jin Yufan doesn't have any issues, no one will be able to force him out.

The reason Kim Ji-deok is so envied by Lee Soo-man is undoubtedly his influence in the Korean entertainment industry, which is immense.

Thinking about this, Jin Yufan's curiosity grew, and he quickened his pace, eager to meet Kim Ji-deok and see what kind of person he is.