Bom stars as a Korean robot teacher.
Technology is improving all the time. Robots are being developed that can replace humans in many different jobs. So could robots eventually take the place of important, difficult jobs like teachers? Channel 7’s latest romantic comedy, Waan Jai Nai Hoon Yon (My Robot), explores this issue.
In the show, the Thai government hires a Korean company, DAI, to develop a robot to teach students in rural Thailand. But when the robot is accidentally damaged, the president of DAI, Park Ji-soon, decides to pose as the robot himself. He travels to Thailand to work at a school there.
S Weekly met with Pongsakorn Tosuwanwattana (Bom), the actor who plays Ji-soon, to talk about the show and his robotic character.
Have you seen the original version of the show?
Bom: Yes, I watched it on YouTube. It was fun. The actors are all really good. But our new version is different. There are more jokes and the actors have interpreted their roles differently.
Are you interested in robots?
Bom: Yes. I like to play with robot models and watch films about robots and the future. But I don’t collect them. I’m not good at keeping things.
What do you think about replacing human workers with robots?
Bom: It’s a great idea. If I were president of DAI, I’d develop robots for building infrastructure, so we can have better facilities in a short space of time.
Do you think that teachers can be replaced by robots?
Bom: I’m not sure. It’s possible. But I doubt that a robot would be a better teacher than a human.
What was it like to wear the robot suit?
Bom: It wasn’t heavy, but it was extremely hot. There was no ventilation at all. When we filmed outdoors, I often had to take breaks because I was sweating a lot.
Did you find the role challenging?
Bom: Yes. I was basically playing three characters — the robot ME1, Ji-soon and Ji-soon pretending to be a robot. Playing ME1 was the easiest because I didn’t have to express any emotions. The hardest was being Ji-soon as ME1. I had to act like a robot, but with human-like facial expressions and eye contact.
What was it like to work with Mameaw Pornchada?
Bom: It was fun. She’s adorable. She liked to tease me on set.
You sing on the soundtrack. Was that difficult?
Bom: Not really. I took singing lessons for a couple of months. So I kind of know how to sing. But I can still improve.
You like to post images of food that you’ve prepared on Instagram. When did you become interested in cooking?
Bom: When I was at university, I’d often grill meat. My friends really liked it. I make a special sauce as a marinade for the meat before I cook it. My best dish is kor moo yang [grilled pork neck].
