By Xu Aiying
Photos = Lee Jeongwoo
Video = Paramount Korea's official YouTube channel

"As a kid, I dreamed of coming to Korea. So to say it's my 12th time being here, bringing a film here, it's really amazing to me."

Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise said this in his latest visit to Korea to promote the domestic premiere of the eighth installment of the Mission Impossible franchise: "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning."

At a news conference on May 8 at Lotte Cinema within Lotte World Tower in Seoul's Songpa-gu District, he said coming to Korea is always fun for him and that he was happy to return to promote his latest film.

In addition to Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie attended the event as well as fellow cast members Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Pom Klementieff and Greg Tarzan Davis.

First coming to Korea in 1994 for "Interview with the Vampire," Cruise on May 8 made his latest visit, his 12th to Korea and the most by a Hollywood actor to the country.

Whenever he goes somewhere new, he said, he tries to immerse himself in that culture, work and accept it instead of merely traveling, calling Korea a "beautiful" country and mentioning the welcome he receives.

Klementieff, who plays Paris in the movie, said returning to Korea is more meaningful for her as her mother is Korean.

Cruise is known for traveling throughout Seoul whenever he visits. This time, he was spotted with McQuarrie at a fried chicken eatery and a cafe in the Gongdeok-dong neighborhood of the city's Mapo-gu District, going viral on social media.

After the news conference, Cruise stayed three hours at a red carpet event at Lotte World's ice rink to greet his fans.

Cruise began filming the Mission Impossible series in his 30s and is still at it in his 60s, reaching the peak as both an actor and producer. His tremendous energy also allows him to perform his high-intensity action stunts instead of using a stuntman, something evident in his latest work.

Cruise faced constant challenges in making this movie like winds of 225 kph while dangling 2,438 m on the wing of a plane in Africa. He also dived deep into the sea with no equipment and completed his underwater mission, as well as filming in freezing temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius on location in Svalbard, the northernmost island of Norway in the Arctic Ocean.

The actor's career spans over 40 years, but he said he still feels like "warming up." He pledged to continue applying things he has learned and mentioned that he has individual goals and many films to make, saying his career is never ending.

In Cruise's latest film, the hero Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and other agents from Impossible Missions Force risk their lives to complete a mission to save humanity from a major crisis. Korea on May 17 will be the first country to release the film in theaters.

xuaiy@korea.kr