This week on Ble AM, we meet the hottie , Bie Thassapak, who is being talked about intensely in the series Songkram Songduan, playing the role of Liam. He also reveals the life path of a Taiwanese boy who came to Thailand at the age of 14 with a dream of becoming a singer, but was rejected over and over again, to become a KPN champion and a singer in a Korean boy band, before making a comeback in the industry with the Y series. He was once hit in the face with a baseball bat by a robber. He tells the story of the beginning of the relationship between Gubgib Sumonthip and starting a family.
Family life: Where were you born and raised? How many siblings do you have?
Bie KPN: I was born and raised in Taiwan. I’m Taiwanese and I have two older brothers. Both of my brothers dreamed of becoming singers. The younger one wanted to enter the entertainment industry but was scammed out of money so he abandoned his dream. The older one sang in pubs, but in the end, no one really became a singer except me. One of them works in Taiwan and the other works abroad. They didn’t come to Thailand with me. When I moved here, I moved here alone. I moved here when I was 14 years old. My older brothers are 10 years older than me. They’re in their 20s so they decided to stay there.
When you moved to Thailand at the age of 14, could you speak Thai?
Bie KPN: I can’t speak. Even though my mother is Thai and I came to Thailand once a year when I was a child, I could only speak simple words like eating and taking a bath.
Do your parents support you becoming a singer?
Bie KPN: My parents didn’t really want me to be a singer because they wanted me to be a doctor or a captain. But I want to be a singer because I like singing and want to do what I’m good at and want to do every day.
What motivated you to become a KPN champion even though you were rejected?
Bie KPN: I didn’t even think that I would win the KPN championship. Just being in the top 20 was like winning the lottery. Because I’ve been rejected in other competitions all the time. Sometimes I wouldn’t even sing for 15 seconds before being told to leave. At that time, my image was very thin, dark, and a basketball player. But I wanted to be a singer.
What do you do with your face?
Bie KPN: I got a nose job because at that time I was robbed in Bangkok. A robber hit me in the face with a baseball bat. At that time, I was riding a motorcycle to the gym with a friend in Lat Phrao. In the end, the robber was caught. And now he’s a good person. Because when he was in prison, he sent me a message to apologize. I said… Thank you very much, little brother. Now I’m handsome.
What inspired you to join KPN?
Bie KPN: At that time, there were AF, The Star, and KPN. KPN was the fastest stage. I went because I was eating rice with curry at that time and saw the KPN poster posted. I knew it was next week, so I went. One thing that helped me convince my parents was that KPN would get the Royal Trophy if they got first place and there would be prize money, which I felt would bring honor to the family.
At that time, I was bullied a lot.
Bie KPN: I can’t sing well, but I like to dance. Among the 10 people, I think I sing the worst. But the judges that year probably wanted to give points to people with diverse abilities, so I got the position. And that day, I told myself that I was going to be criticized by others for this position.
How did you end up joining a boy band in Korea?
Bie KPN: Someone approached me, saying that they liked me because I like dancing, singing, and speaking Chinese. They wanted to make an international boy band. In the end, they came to me with the band members. The band was called Victor. I trained for a year and a half and became a boy band. We went on concert tours in many countries, such as Holland, Germany, and England. We had a lot of fans.
What was life like in a boy band back then?
Bie KPN: For me, it’s not difficult and I’m very happy. Every day, I wake up at 8 am, eat, practice dancing until evening, study Korean, English, and sing.
Why didn’t you continue as a boy band?
Bie KPN: The reason I didn’t continue as a boy band was because the company went bankrupt.
After the company went bankrupt and returned to Thailand, what was the situation like?
Bie KPN: When I came back, I was lost because there was no work in Thailand. I had been in Korea for a year and a half, so almost no one knew me. Everything was ruined. I had no savings. I felt like I should quit.
Where were you living at the time and how did you get through that difficult time?
Bie KPN: I was in Bangkok, but I had no money. I had to borrow money even for my room rent. I called my parents and told them that it was very difficult. I asked for 3 more months. If I didn’t have a job, I would go back to study or help my mother work in the South. At that time, my brother gave me a job. It was a series, and I became famous from that series.
What genre is the series that made it famous?
Bie KPN: It’s a gay series. I’m the main character.
How old were you then? Did you have a boyfriend?
Bie KPN: I don’t have a girlfriend yet. I got to know Gubgib because we acted together in this series and then we went on the show Woody Wakes Up Talk.
When you decided to date Gubgib, did you think it would affect your reputation as a series actor?
Bie KPN: For me, love and family are important things in life. Getting married early or having children early is not a bad thing because I want to be with my children while I am still healthy. If I meet the right person, I will decide to get married and have children. I don’t see myself as an idol, but I am someone who loves singing and performing and I feel that having a life with another person in my life is very important.
How dramatic was the news about premarital pregnancy back then? What was your view on this?
Bie KPN: At that time, there was a lot of drama about couples getting pregnant before marriage. But for me, I didn’t feel that there was anything bad. I didn’t see any difference from getting married first and having a child. I felt that we would take care of this child together. Even though there were some things that we didn’t agree on, we both had to accept them. But we would hold hands and get through it together. I promised Gubgib that we would love each other like this for this child and for our love. (Gubgib said) Gubgib loves Rugby. I feel lucky to have met Bie and I think that Bie would be a good father. At that time, I cried because I had never met anyone who accepted me this much. We traveled together until today.
Currently still in the music industry
Bie KPN: Yes, during the 2-3 months that I come back, I will open a dance, singing, and acting school called ‘Next Idol’ to develop children who love acting and singing to be good at it and be able to send them to big labels, whether in China, Korea, or Thailand.
Now, Phi Bie is making music. What’s the name of the song?
Bie KPN: I’m making music. I just released the song ‘Del’ which means Delete, and the second song is ‘Klin Fon’. The new album and project is called ‘After the Rain’. I intend to finish it within this year. There are 6 songs in total. The first song that has already been released is ‘Del’, and the other is ‘Klin Fon’. The next song is called ‘After the Rain’, which matches the name of the album. It’s a fast song that emphasizes dancing. I really intended to make the music video. Every music video in this project I made myself.
