Daniel Dae Kim explores Korean culture in ‘K-Everything’

Not too long ago, Daniel Dae Kim had an unusual encounter with a salmon. It had nothing to do with dinner. The actor, director and producer lay down in a doctor’s office in Seoul and underwent microinjections into his face of DNA from salmon sperm. The hope was to reduce inflammation and improve elasticity.

“I look like a got a little sunburn and a little redder than usual, but it’s not bad,” he says to a camera crew after the procedure. “OK, I’m camera ready.” Kim was putting his face on the line as part of the new CNN series “K-Everything: The Global Rise of Korean Culture,” his love letter to K-beauty, K-pop, K-food and K-film. It debuts Saturday on CNN International and is also available on CNN and HBO Max.

“It’s an examination of how Korea has risen in the course of three short generations from a war-torn third world country to one of the most modern places in the world,” Kim says in an interview. “We’ll take a look at how that’s happened through food, through cinema, through beauty products and through music.”

At a vibrant kimchi festival in Pyeongchang, Kim explores how K-food is reshaping fine dining across the globe. In other episodes, he meets actor Lee Byung-hun, “Gangnam Style” singer-songwriter Psy, BigBang’s Taeyang and the songwriters behind the Oscar-winning song “Golden.”

“For those who’ve never been to Korea, this is a nice introduction in a way that is not something taught in a classroom or in a textbook,” Kim says. In the beauty episode, Kim chats with makeup artist and influencer LeoJ and model Irene Kim on how beauty standards have changed. He tries various serums and face masks and even visits a factory where snail slime is collected to be used in various products.

“I got to meet people from different walks of life, from different cities, from different economic classes, and it just broadened my understanding of the culture,” he says. Kim was born in South Korea but moved to the United States when he was 1, returning frequently. That makes “K-Everything” a personal journey, which also includes his parents. Seoul has undergone such an economic and cultural boom that all the landmarks his parents knew from when they were teenagers were gone and they relied on him to navigate. “It was almost a foreign country to them,” he says.

Kim joins a crowded field of celeb travel hosts, which includes Tony Shalhoub, Rainn Wilson, Eugene Levy, Stanley Tucci, Orlando Bloom, Zac Efron, José Andrés, Chris Hemsworth, Will Smith, Eva Longoria and Ewan McGregor. Kim, the “Lost” star who recently earned a Tony Award nomination, is a fan of the late chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain, who helped create the role of modern TV travel host.

“I wouldn’t say that this show is as irreverent as Anthony Bourdain’s show was, but I loved it because I felt like he was showing me his take on each country and he was a trusted guide,” he says. “If I can be that for some people then that’s the spirit that I’d like to bring into this show.” Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent, CNN Originals and creative development, says Kim brings a unique and deeply personal perspective to the series.

“From the first time I met him, it was clear he was incredibly well equipped to tackle this — deeply passionate about the subject and highly knowledgeable. He was also very focused on making sure the way we look at Korean culture translates to a broad global audience, really putting a spotlight on it,” she says. Kim has never played TV host, but he’s an avid traveler and he’s not a fish out of water in Korea. He says despite stretching himself, he felt comfortable.

“I get to introduce the world to a culture that I love and have gotten to know and has informed who I am as a performer and as a human being. So to me, it was strangely comfortable and it didn’t feel at all like I was stepping outside of my comfort zone.”

Associated Press