‘Who Is Alfred in Singapore?’ After Seeing Elaine Wong in Netflix’s Physical: 100, Ex-K-Pop Hopeful Alfred Sun Deliberates His Career

“I honestly think it takes a lot of bravery,” Alfred said, “I feel we’re quite similar because for Elaine, after the whole K-pop thing didn’t work out, she stayed overseas to pursue acting in China, South Korea — but she had no visibility in Singapore.

“This is something I’ve also struggled with quite a bit. For the past, say, five years, I’ve taken part in opportunities overseas, in Taiwan, China and Malaysia.

“But then I started to question, ‘Who is Alfred in Singapore?'”

‘This is home, right?’

As someone who is proud to be a Singaporean, this was a difficult question to consider, Alfred admitted.

He shared: “This is home, right? Our families are based here, even for Elaine. 

“So it is quite sad sometimes, because you don’t feel like there’s anyone in Singapore who will celebrate whatever you’ve achieved overseas, perhaps it’s because what we’ve accomplished isn’t huge enough.

“For Elaine to continue doing that (working overseas), for the number of years that she has been doing, I think it’s really quite admirable and brave.”

And although Elaine has Alfred’s respect, he has no intentions on returning to South Korea just yet — conversely, he wants to continue making headway in local showbiz.

He’s only been based in Singapore for the past year-and-a-half, he said, and he feels like he wants to do more here.

Alfred explained that the support he received from Singaporeans while he acted overseas felt “a bit disappointing”, while acting in Singapore gives him a “sense of community” that he found refreshing. 

“Seeing more people willing to consume local entertainment has been an even greater motivation for me to want to do more things here.

“I don’t think it (Elaine’s success) has inspired me to want to go and do anything in particular, because I feel that I’ve travelled enough to different countries and experienced different showbiz cultures — and Singapore’s one of my favourites.”

Singapore’s showbiz compared with the world’s

Describing the differences between the entertainment scenes in Singapore and abroad, Alfred told AsiaOne that “there are more opportunities overseas”.

“The landscapes of the industries are very different because Singapore’s is so small, so it feels tightly-knit and like a big family.

“Overseas industries, I think, are more fast-paced and — based on my own experience — artistes are more like a product.”

In contrast, Singapore’s showbiz allows for more creative input from the stars themselves, Alfred said, which is something he respects and treasures more.

He said: “Especially because I’ve been overseas for a while, I really do want to cement my position in Singapore a bit more and expand my social circle and work with more diverse people locally.

“Of course, if I have the opportunity to go overseas [for work], I’d still be glad to take it on.”

Silent Walls is Alfred’s first local drama wherein he plays the introverted son of a well-to-do family in 1988, Jin Kaide, who hopes to pursue dance. 

However, he becomes embroiled in a dispute over inheritance after the death of his grandfather when Kaide’s sister, Jin Kaiting (Meixin) becomes the sole heir of the family’s business.

Silent Walls also stars Darren Lim, Mindee Ong, Desmond Shen, Chen Shucheng, Andie Chen and Charlie Goh. 

It is available for free on meWATCH and premieres tonight (March 15) at 9pm on Channel 8.