Korean actor Seo Kang Jun appears on the latest digital cover of Vogue Singapore as Montblanc’s ambassador for Asia Pacific, wearing the brand’s autumn/winter 2026 leather collection. Soft silhouettes and deep tones suit him naturally—timeless, refined, and bringing together writing, travel and craft with understated ease. On camera, he is composed and poised. On acting, he is precise: for him, a character does not begin with a written line of dialogue, but in the unwritten spaces between the lines.
More than a decade into his career, the public impression of Seo often traces back to Cheese in the Trap, where he played a charmingly unruly role that earned him the title of the ‘nation’s younger boyfriend’. Having debuted in 2013 with the actor group 5urprise in the web series After School: Lucky or Not, he has steadily built an impressive portfolio.
Following his military service, he returned to the screen as Jung Hae-seong in Undercover High School, earning an MBC Drama Award for his performance. This year, he featured in Netflix’s Boyfriend on Demand as Jisoo’s ideal senior, before starring in the KBS weekend drama A Love Other Than Yours. Alongside Ahn Eun-jin, he plays Namgung Ho—opposite her character, Lee Mi-do—exploring a 10-year relationship on the brink of marriage. Grounded in realistic storytelling and strong performances, the series quickly became a talking point of the season.
For Seo, character building is rooted in the past—visualising the small, everyday details absent from the script, such as a character’s habits, upbringing and quiet moments alone. His approach to craft relies on discipline and physical repetition: working through scripts with a pen, refining ideas and capturing the essence of a persona on paper.
This measured approach aligns closely with Montblanc’s latest autumn/winter leather collection. Directed by artistic director Marco Tomasetta, the range revisits classic writing instruments and travel heritage. The Writing Traveler line merges these two core pillars into single, functional pieces designed for movement. The signature Extreme motif returns in smooth calfskin across the Companion pouch and Panorama backpack, alongside a lightweight Panorama belt bag crafted from water-repellent technical fabric.
Meanwhile, the Art of the Desk selection brings stationery, desk objects and writing accessories together, transforming the workspace into an elegant environment for thought. Despite having more than 10 years in the industry, Seo views his journey as being in its early stages. With a firm dedication to his craft, he remains focused on the chapters yet to be written.
Where does a character begin for you—in a line of dialogue, a gesture or something you imagine before stepping onto set?
Every character’s beginning lies in their past. Their roots are shaped by the environment they were born into, the influences they experienced, and the values and beliefs that took root from an early age.
Acting is often seen as interpretation. When do you feel you are no longer just performing, but actively creating?
A script and synopsis cannot show a character’s entire life. Using the material the writer provides, we imagine and flesh out unwritten moments from that person’s life to build a complete human being. For example, if I am playing a 35-year-old, the character becomes more fully realised depending on how many moments from those 35 years I can imagine and establish.
What does ‘craft’ mean to you as an actor? Is it discipline, instinct or the patience to keep refining something invisible?
I think of it as the work of imagining and establishing all the moments missing from the script. A script is only a short collection of dramatic highlights. It is the small, seemingly insignificant details—drinking water, meeting a friend, lying in bed or simply feeling bored—that come together to create a genuine person. Once those details exist, the character can speak, act and interact on set as a real person.
“I still have so much more to show, so I like to think the story is only just beginning.”
Montblanc is built on the idea that a single instrument can hold an entire world of ideas. What tool—a notebook, a song or a habit—helps you create?
A pen. I write everything down on paper. I write, erase, cross things out and occasionally crumple up pages. Then I take the ideas that feel convincing and transfer them into my script, which becomes my bible when I act. All my character development stems from what I create with a pen on paper.
If your career so far were a story written by hand, what chapter would this moment be and what would the next page ask of you?
I feel as though I have only just finished the prologue. Although I have been acting for over 10 years, I believe it is not the duration that matters, but what you fill that time with. I still have so much more to show, so I like to think the story is only just beginning.
Photography Park Jong Ha
Creative and fashion direction Cherry Mui
Styling Park Sun Yong
Hair Son Ahn Hong Moon
Make-up Kwak Hye Ryoung
Set design Kwon Do Hyung
Calligrapher Kanggrim
Casting director Park Seo Hyun
Executive producer Lee Kyung Kim
Production BL Creative House
Fashion assistant Audrey Kwan
Production assistants Lee Jin Kyung and Park Mi Jeong
Words Cherry Mui
