Many first-time parents are excited to share their newfound parenting experiences and show off photos of their newborn, and it is no different for South Korean actor Song Joong-ki.

After being in Rome for the past seven months, the 38-year-old returned to South Korea recently to promote his new neo-noir thriller film Hopeless, and spoke to the media about his feelings as a new father.

At the press conference on Sept 22, Joong-ki was congratulated by the media on his son, who was born in June this year.

"The baby is growing healthily and well," he said, thanking the media for the well-wishes.

He added that as he and his wife, British former actress Katy Louise Saunders, are new parents, there are still many things that they have to learn.

Joong-ki added: "I didn't know the baby would grow so fast."

According to a report by South Korean publication Starnews Korea, Joong-ki revealed more about his parenting experience in an interview published yesterday (Sept 25).

He said: "My child has just passed 100 days old. Even as I'm feeding him milk, I still think, 'Did I really become a father?'"

Joong-ki also shared that becoming a father made him vow to "live a better life and become a good person" for his son.

Based on a report by Taiwanese publication Next Apple, at some point during the same interview, Joong-ki excitedly asked the reporters: "Do you want to see my son?"

He proceeded to show them a video from his mobile phone of his son babbling. The child is said to be very adorable, with deep eyelids, big bright eyes and a cheerful smile.

Joong-ki revealed that his son has both English and Korean names and he would speak to the latter in a combination of Korean and English.

"It's just that my English is not very good yet," he added.

When asked if he would show his films and dramas to his son when the latter grows up, Joong-ki said that he would, adding: "When he grows up, he can watch them if he finds them interesting."

As for whether he and Katy have any plans for their son to enter showbiz in the future, Joong-ki shared: "Our views are the same, we would let him decide for himself."

In Hopeless, Joong-ki plays ruthless gang boss Chi-geon, who recruits 17-year-old Yeon-gyu (Hong Xa-bin) into his gang after helping him pay the settlement money to protect the latter's sister Ha-yan (Bibi).

As Yeon-gyu learns to survive as a member of the gang with Chi-geon's help, he also falls into more dangerous circumstances.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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