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Historical K-Drama: Crash Landing on You, Reply 1988, and More Popular Historical K-Dramas for You

Historical Kdrama featuring BLACKPINK Jisoo in Snowdrop

After all the starts and stops, the JTBC drama Snowdrop was highly anticipated among BLINKs who couldn’t wait to see the real acting debut of BLACKPINK Jisoo,  sharing the small screen with one of K-drama world’s hottest leading men, Jung Haein. But then, thousands have also protested the show, accusing it of historical revisionism, with Jung Haein’s character coming under fire as it has been reported that the actor will play a North Korean spy disguising as a student protestor in the 1987 university protests. 

If you binged Snowdrop already, here are four dramas based on modern Korean history. Trust us, these shows are good!

The Hymn of Death

Initial TV run: November 27 to December 4, 2018, for 6 episodes on SBS, currently available on Netflix

Cast: Shin Hye‑sun as Yun Simdeok, Lee Jongsuk as Kim Woojin, Park Seonim (as Woojin’s wife), Ko Bo‑Gyeol (as Simdeok’s younger sister)

What’s it about: When Korea was under Japanese occupation, a love story blossomed – drama writer Kim Woojin (played excellently by Lee Jongsuk of W and While You Were Sleeping fame) falls in love with Yun Simdeok (played by Shin Hyesun of Mr. Queen fame) when they met in Waseda University in Japan as participants of a play. They start off as two people who don’t really get each other’s vibes, but as with any other K-drama couple, they started getting to know each other more and eventually liking each other, and then fall in love. 

Sounds like your typical k-drama, right? But wait; there’s a catch: Simdeok discovers that Kim Woojin is already married. So, Simdeok decides to avoid Woojin and nip their relationship in the bud. 

To add to the love story’s complications, Woojin’s wife is not your typical female antagonist everyone loves to hate. So, instead of people fully rooting for the Woojin-Sindeok couple, the audience may also feel slightly guilty. 

Fast forward to a few years, the two led sort of compromised lives, with Woojin foregoing writing to attend to the family business and Simdeok shifting from classical to pop music to cater to the masses. They meet again and rekindle their romance, as Simdeok cannot help but fall for Woojin’s advances while Woojin thinks Simdeok’s rags to riches story of perseverance makes her the ideal woman for him.   But with still quite conservative 1920’s Korean and Japanese societies they had to contend with, their story had an inevitably tragic ending. 

Trigger warning: Viewers triggered by the topic of suicide are advised to skip this drama. 

How is it related to real-life events: The characters and the circumstances of the drama are all based on real-life characters and events. In 1920’s Japanese-invaded Korea, esteemed playwright Kim Woojin and soprano Yun Simdeok actually lived! The song Simdeok recorded that was inspired by their doomed romance, Praise of Death (of the Hymn of Death, to which the show got its title from) is considered the first Korean pop song in 1926.

 

Reply 1988

Initial TV run: 20 episodes running from November 2015 to January 2016 on tvN

Cast: Hyeri as Sung Dukseon/Sung Sooyeon, Ryu Junyeol as Kim Junghwan, Go Kyungpyo as Sung Sunwoo, Park Bogum as Choi Taek, and Lee Donghwi as Ryu Dongryong

What’s it about: From a very heavy melodramatic show, let’s move to one that just spells feel-good all around. I’m sure all of us K-pop and K-drama fans may have heard of, if not binge-watched the entire Reply series, particularly Reply 1988. This family show tells the story of five families living in the same neighborhood. The kids practically all grew up together and are in the same school. 

There’s a bit of a conflict with the kids as they grew up when naturally, they started to experience adulthood, particularly falling in love. This starts off with Deoksun (played by Girl’s Day Hyeri) expressing her attraction to Sunwoo (played by Go Kyungpyo of Strongest Deliveryman and SNL Korea fame), who as it turns out, is actually attracted to her older sister Bora (played by Law School’s Ryu Hyeyoung). After we see Deoksun getting rejected and Sunwoo trying his best to muster the courage to tell the rather stern character Bora how he feels, we discover that it is Junghwan (played by Lost’s Ryu Junyeol, who has been Hyeri’s boyfriend IRL since 2017) who likes Deoksun. 

BUT WAIT! Deoksun develops feelings for quiet and dedicated Taek (played to perfection by Park Bogum), who hasn’t regularly hung out with them since he is a professional Baduk player and doesn’t even go to school because he goes on these international tournaments. 

Warning: The scene where Junghwan sees Deoksun and Taek outside a concert venue while he was stuck inside his car with the red traffic light is the biggest mood in the world. He goes, “But fate and timing aren’t just coincidences that find you. They are miraculous moments made from numerous choices arising out of earnestness. Surrender and decision, without hesitation, that is what makes timing. He (Taek) was more ardent. And I should have been more courageous. It was not the traffic light’s fault. It was not timing. It was my many hesitations.” 

TELL ME YOU DIDN’T FEEL THAT? 

(Well, we did say that Reply 1988 is more of a feel-good show than The Hymn of Death. It is a tearjerker, all right, but not a tragedy like the first show we mentioned.) 

How is it related to real-life events: The families in the series weren’t really real people who lived in Ssangmu-dong. But there are two things in the series that were based and inspired by real life. One, there’s is really a Ssangmu-dong neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Seoul. Two, the character of Taek is based on Lee Chang Ho, a professional Baduk player known in South Korea for starting a professional career in the sport at the young age of 16. So, there, Choi Taek is based on a real-life Baduk prodigy. 

 

Crash Landing on You

Initial TV run: 16 episodes from December 2019 to February 2020 

Cast: Son Yejin as Yoon Seri, Hyun Bin as Ri Jeonghyeok, Seo Jihye as Seo Dan, and Kim Junghyun as Gu Seungjun / Alberto Gu

What’s it about: Yoon Seri (played by Son Yejin) is a South Korean chaebol heiress who is hated by her family, namely her half elder brothers and her stepmother. So, instead of being involved in the family business, she creates her own fashion and beauty company. Before the launch of her brand’s latest line of extreme sportswear, she tests it herself by going paragliding and unfortunately gets caught in a sudden tornado, which blows her over the Korean Demilitarized Zone and into North Korea, where she encounters the impossibly handsome Captain Ri Jeonghyeok (played by Hyun Bin).

So throughout the drama, we see Seri trying her darned best to go back to South Korea, Captain Ri and his four patrol officers trying to help her, and Seri’s evil stepbrothers scheming to replace her while she is still nowhere to be found. On their first attempt, they failed as they were spotted by the coast guard, only to escape by pretending to make out. On their second try, Seri joins a North Korean sports team that was going to Europe for a tournament. In between these efforts, she makes friends with the people in Captain Ri’s village who thought she was his new fiancee from Pyongyang.  She also starts to be more appreciative of the simple way people in Captain Ri’s village lives, which was a far cry from the overly sophisticated hustle and bustle of her lifestyle as a CEO in Seoul.

But then, the second plan also gets foiled, so Capt. Ri’s dad helps him (also to appease the family of Capt. Ri’s real fiancee) by staging a fake border patrol search for a deserter, which actually served as a cover for Seri to cross the DMZ. 

But even if Seri has already successfully left North Korea, the show doesn’t end there as Cho Cheolgang, an intelligence officer who has always been at odds with Capt. Ri discovered the entire operation, so he managed to sneak into Seoul to find Seri, knowing that he may extort money from her. Upon knowing this, Capt. Ri and his four loyal officers went to Seoul to find Seri and protect him from Cheolgang. Everyone eventually finds everybody and Cheolgang’s plan to kill Seri and her stepbothers’ schemes to take control of her company by merging it with the family’s conglomerate were all foiled. 

How is it related to real-life events: No, there’s really no Captain Ri or Seri in real life. Even North Korean defectors who were interviewed later by South Korean media to vouch for the show’s veracity were the first to admit that unfortunately, you would be hard-pressed to find a military man in Pyongyang as handsome as Hyun Bin. Moreover, a lot of them commented on how Hyun Bin’s accent was not North Korean at all, but that’s not the issue here. 

Park Jieun, the writer for Crash Landing on You, did reveal that she actually drew inspiration for the show, particularly on Seri’s quirky North Korean adventure, from a real-life event involving the South Korean actress Jung Yang.

Jung Yang made the news in 2008 when she and her friends rode a leisure ferry boat and sail across the shores of Incheon and were led astray by inclement weather to crossing the Northern Limit Line that separates South Korea and North Korea. 

However, unlike the events in the series where Seri actually landed in North Korean territory, Jung Yang and her friends turned their boat around upon hearing North Korean fishermen speaking in a North Korean accent. Panicking, she sent an emergency message to the South Korean coast guard who went on to rescue her boat. She got away with paying a fine of 400,000 won for sailing beyond five miles without a report, though the actress’ party denied deliberately trying to cross over while asserting that they actually got lost in the fog that enveloped their boat. 

 

Youth of May

Initial TV run: 12 episodes from May to June 2021 on KBS

Cast: Lee Dohyun as Hwang Heetae, Go Minsi as Kim Myeong-hee, Keum Saerok as Lee Sooryeon, and Lee Sanyi as Lee Soochan

https://youtu.be/afW9W0FI5vc

What’s it about: Youth of May is a romantic drama about a fateful meeting between medical student Hwang Heetae (played by 18 Again’s Lee Dohyun) and nurse Kim Myunghee (Go Minsi of Love Alarm fame), who fall in love during the political upheavals of May 1980, a historically significant time period in South Korea. Though those protests became rampant throughout the entire country, the one that became the biggest and most prominent was the Gwangju Uprising, when initially, there were student protests that later morphed into a violent armed uprising that involved other sectors of society that clashed with the military that was on the side of the government. Amidst this rather tumultuous setting, the show’s characters get entangled in a complicated relationship.

Our female lead, Kim Myeonghee is a nurse who was bound for Germany to complete further education. However, she lacked the money to purchase her plane ticket to go abroad. Enter Lee Sooryeon (Keum Saerok, best known for her performance in The Fiery Priest), her best friend who comes to the rescue by lending her some money in exchange for Myeonghee’s agreement that she replaces Sooryeon on a blind date. 

Myeonghee does stand in for her friend on the date and meets Hwang Heetae, a medical student. What started off as a blind date ended up with the two falling in love with each other. However, their budding romance will be challenged by the brewing destabilization of Korean society as students started expressing their dissatisfaction at the military-backed political regime. 

Myeonghee started having second thoughts about pursuing her studies abroad because she wants to spend more time with Taehee and the unstable peace and order situation in Gwangju, and as their city is being taken over by the military, she may regret her decision of staying as she died from a gunshot wound from a martial law soldier. 

Or did she? The drama then shifts to fast forwards to present-day Gwangju and flashbacks as Heetae, now forty years older in present-day Gwangju, continues to look for Myunghee, who he still believes survived the encounter. 

How is it related to real-life events: The characters may not be based on real-life personalities, but the entire drama was based on one of the most historical events in contemporary Korea – the Gwangju Uprising, which as mentioned earlier, happened in the city of Gwangju. It actually only happened in nine days, but the effects were shattering and have up to this day, continued to affect the fiber of Korean culture. It may be because ordinary citizens, who were initially university students opposing the martial law government were pitted against soldiers and police of the Korean Government. 

When the dust settled, the government downplayed the casualties to around 170, although other reports range between 600 to 2,300 deaths. During the presidency of Chun Doohwan, which the protestors were demonstrating against, the incident was described as a rebellion that was initiated by Communist sympathizers who may even have been linked to the North Korean government. However, investigations conducted decades later proved that it may have not exactly mattered if those who protested were communist sympathizers or may have gotten support from the North Korean government, as it was proven that the South Korean military and police really committed major atrocities and used excessive force to control the uprising. 

 

Move to Heaven

Initial TV run: 10 episodes released on May 14 this year on Netflix

Cast: Lee Jehoon as Cho Sanggu, Tang Joonsang as Han Geuru, Ji Jinhee as Han Jeongwoo, and Kim Juyeon as Min Jiwon

What’s it about:This show is about Han Gaeru (who was in Crash landing on You, playing one of the Capt. Ri’s allies in Company Five) whose father suddenly died and was left under the care of his estranged uncle Sanggu (played by Taxi Driver’s Lee Jehoon) to be part of this company called Move to Heaven. Their job was to clean up houses of those who died only recently and in the process they discover how they lived and they further understood their stories. 

The duo started out as a very odd couple, as Gaeru has difficulty understanding the world around him, having been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. On the other hand, Sanggu, who has had brushes with the law as an ex-convict and also living as an underground MMA fighter, isn’t really comfortable with the responsibility of restoring order and cleanliness in people’s lives and prefers chaos and lack of order. 

The drama packs a lot of heart-wrenching scenes guaranteed to make even the hardened fan get teary-eyed in almost every episode. Although the first few episodes can be a bit dry as they lay the entire storyline and the characters, the audience gets the opportunity to know the nature of their work better before getting further attached to them as their shadowed pasts get revealed slowly. 

How is it related to real-life events: The show Move To Heaven is actually based on a nonfiction essay Kim Sae Byul, a real-life trauma cleaner entitled Things Left Behind. Thus, most, if not all stories in the episodes are based on the real lives of the people who have passed away and the living spaces Kim has cleaned. Viewers will relate to a llot of the scenarios, like one story where a janitor and his wife died without anybody attending the funeral since they don’t have any living family left, so the Move to Heaven guys figured a way to give the couple a proper, not too depressing sendoff. 

Another episode showed Geuru’s dad being present in Sampoong Department Store when it collapsed, which actually happened, causing hundreds to lose their lives and be injured. This incident was also shown in an episode of Reply 1994. 

Did these dramas whet your appetite after Snowdrop binge? We have more suggestions for historical dramas of a different period here

Featured image: Historical Kdrama featuring BLACKPINK Jisoo in Snowdrop. Photo: JTBC Drama/YouTube
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K-pop Actors: 5 Kpop Idols Who Now Own the Camera

Kpop idol turned Kpop actor Park Hyung Sik with Wooga Squad

We’ve seen them own the stage as idols, but now it seems they’re focusing on honing their thespian skills. Here are five K-pop celebrities who we now know more as Kpop actors:  

1. Baro

Who can ever forget the super adorable Binggrae in the second installment of the Reply Series, Reply 1994? Whether it was because we all somewhat related to his struggles of keeping a positive, cheerful appearance despite his inner struggles or because he’s just adorable, or because the character feels so far from the tough, fast-rapping image of the actor who played him when he is in his idol group, Baro’s debut as an actor was quite a success. Considering that the Reply series also successfully launched the acting careers of Apink’s Eunji and Hoya, who was then with INFINITE, it was inevitable that Baro would also fare well in his first foray into acting. 

But then, aside from having the right project, people did notice Baro’s exceptional abilities in acting, which at that time was considered special as people have been quick to classify idols who get acting jobs as undeserving. They were usually believed to be hired so that the dramas can bank on their built-in popularity to also raise the public’s awareness of the show. Moreover, there were (and actually, there are still) critics who claim that idols only serve visuals and don’t really have the skills to act. 

But with Reply 1994 under his belt, a film debut in the short film Misaeng: Prequel (that also featured an idol-actor we will talk about later) the same year, and another critically-acclaimed drama God’s Gift: 14 Days with Cho Seungwoo, Baro proved himself as a very capable actor. For God’s Gift: 14 Days, he was nominated in various award-giving bodies for the Best New Actor award. 

Aside from lending his voice to an animated movie and appearing in another short film in 2015, Baro finally appeared in a  full-length feature, the teenage horror-thriller Close Your Eyes in 2017 with Seol Inah. As for his TV roles, he booked regular acting jobs with Angry Mom, Loss: Time: Life, and The Master of Revenge before leaving WM Entertainment in 2018. Though he declined to re-sign a new contract with the agency of his idol group B1A4, he claimed that he wasn’t leaving the group and would be open to working with them in the future. 

Since leaving WM Entertainment, Baro has mostly focused on his acting career, bagging more roles in dramas like Less Than Evil in 2018 and Two Hearts, Level Up, and Melting Me Softly in 2019, which was also the year he started his conscription in the military. He only finished his mandatory service in February, and he has since then been busy with new acting projects. 

Last Kpop idol activity: 2017’s Rollin’ with B1A4

Latest Kpop acting activities: Fearsome, a horror thriller movie based on the true story of a band getting lost, and Disney+’s Grid, a mystery thriller with Seo Kangjoon to be released in 2022.  

2. Jung Jin-young

Speaking of B1A4, the group did not only “lose” Baro in 2018 as all of the members’ contracts were up for negotiation. Sandeul, CNU, and Gongchan re-signed with WM Entertainment, while Baro didn’t. But leader Jinyoung didn’t as well, although it was said that the two were open to working with the group for a reunion project in the future. Thus, B1A4 is still supposed to be five members, although the group has had two comebacks that only had the three remaining WM members. But we digress.

Jinyoung, like Baro, also started his acting career in 2013, with the tvN drama, She is Wow, where he played the troubled son of an actress who has also been struggling because she was losing roles to younger actresses. The following year, he made a splash with his movie debut in Miss Granny, where he shared the screen with industry veterans Na Moonhee, Sung Dongil, and Shim Eunkyung. He continued appearing in more TV dramas like Persevere, Goo Hae-ra (where Baro also made a cameo appearance), Warm and Cozy, and Love Detective Sherlock K. In 2016, he appeared in what has been his biggest TV drama so far, Love in the Moonlight, where he worked with Park Bogum and Kim Yoojung and won numerous awards. 

Jinyoung also started his mandatory military service in 2019 and was discharged in April 2021. He immediately went back to work, starring in Police University with Krystal Jung and Cha Taehyun. The drama ran from August to October and was considered very successful for KBS, as the drama peaked at an 8.5% audience share, whereas its predecessors were only averaging 2% audience share weekly. 

Last Kpop idol activity: Jinyoung has not been holding promotional activities as an idol since his departure from B1A4 apart from the occasional OST contributions, including a song he recorded for the webtoon Morning Kiss at Tiffany’s OST. However, he is still very active in the music industry as a songwriter and producer, having started with producing songs for B1A4. He has penned numerous songs for his former group and for other artists as well. 

Latest Kpop acting activities: No news yet of any drama or movie Jinyoung has signed up for after Police University. 

3. Seo Inguk

Here is one actor who not a lot of people know actually started out as a legit singer. Seo Inguk did not only compete in the inaugural season of Mnet’s singing competition Superstar K in 2019 – he actually won the whole thing. His subsequent albums and singles sold well and charted high, although rumors and criticism followed him as he steadily rose in popularity, including claims that he had too much plastic surgery done on his face and getting cold shoulder treatment from SBS, KBS, and MBC because he was a product of a cable TV reality competition. The rumors were downplayed though as he started his acting career with a supporting role in the KBS drama Love Rain, which has Girl’s Generation YoonA and Jang Geunseuk. 

His first starring role though was in the first Reply installment, Reply 1997, in 2012, which also had other idols – Eunji, Hoya, and Sech Kies’ Eun Jiwon. He has since appeared in dramas for the three free public channels – 2012’s The Sons and 2016’s Shopahlic King Louis for MBC, 2014’s The King’s Face and 2015’s Hello, Monster with KBS, and 2013’s Master’s Sun for SBS.  However, he is still quite known for appearing in a lot of dramas shown on tvN, such as High School King of Savvy, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, and Doom at Your Service (with Park Boyoung).

Seo Inguk was supposed to start his mandatory military service in 2017. But as he was diagnosed with Osteochondritis dissecans, a bone and cartilage condition, he was exempted from military duty. 

Last Kpop idol activity: Seo Inguk’s last album was released in 2014, after which he has released a single every year until 2017. The song Distant Fate for the Doom at Your Service OST was his first music-related activity in three years. 

Latest Kpop acting activities: After his latest series Doom at Your Service premiered on May 10, his latest movie Pipeline also opened in theaters on May 26 up in June. His next movie is Wolf Hunting with School 2017 star Jang Dong Yoon, which has yet to have a release date. Rumors in June claimed that has also been offered a role in a TV adaptation of the webtoon ‘Minamdang: Case Note’ (literal title), but nothing has been confirmed yet.  

4. Im Siwan

Siwan’s road to acting was quite long, as he had to train for three years after getting recruited by a talent scout of entertainment company Star Empire. After those three long years as a trainee, he finally debited with eight fellow members that would make up his group, ZE:A in 2010. After debuting with his group, it took another four years before he would be tapped as an actor. For those two years, he had a number of cameo appearances in a couple of dramas before finally appearing in a more substantial role. But his debut television role happened to be the young Master Ho Yeom in the historical drama Moon Embracing the Sun (which also starred Kin Soohyun, Han Gain, Kim Minseo, and Yeo Jingoo)  that up to now still holds records for audience share, ratings, and viewership, making it one of the country’s most popular dramas in history. Thus, while ZE:A may not have become one of the country’s most popular groups, but Siwan’s participation in Moon Embracing the Sun did propel his celebrity to household name status almost overnight. 

Siwan’s impressive TV debut was followed up with another career highlight in Man from the Equator, which premiered the week after Moon Embracing the Sun’s final episode. Siwan’s second drama was also his second appearance as the teenage version of one of the show’s main character, as this time, he played the teenage version of the eventual antagonist of the drama. Unlike Moon Embracing the Sun, though, Man from the Equator started out a bit weak in the ratings and generated less buzz compared to its competitors Rooftop Prince and The King 2 Hearts (which replaced Moon Embracing the Sun on its Wednesday – Thursday 9:55 timeslot), although through good word of mouth, it eventually beat the competition in some weeks throughout its run.

Siwan’s film debut was also as impressive the following year. He first movie was The Attorney, a contemporary historical drama inspired by the Burm Case of the 1980s starring Song Kangho and Oh Dalsu. This high-profile debut actually won Siwan a number of New Actor awards, cementing him as an actor so effectively that a lot of people tended to forget that he was still actually promoting with ZE:A. 

Siwan has not looked back on his successful acting career, even if his activities as an idol have altogether stopped since 2015. He still continues to sing by contributing songs on his dramas’ OSTs once in a while. 

Last Kpop idol activity: Singing I and You, a song part of the Run On OST, while his last activity with ZE:A was in 2016 with the compilation album Continue.

Latest Kpop acting activities: Siwan’s latest movie project, Emergency Declaration, which stars Song Kangho, Jeon Doyeon, and Lee Byunghun, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival last July. TV-wise, his last drama was Run On with Girl’s Generations Sooyoung, which ran from December 2020 to February this year, and the soon-to-be-released Tracer with Ko Ahsung. 

5. Park Hyungsik

Another ZE:A member who has also been bitten by the acting bug is the group’s other visual, Hyungsik.  Actually, like the rest of ZE:A (something which we failed to mention earlier with Siwan, the entire group had their film “debut” with the movie Ronin Pop, a Korean and Japanese collaboration project which revolves around the power struggle between youths in the aftermath of a nuclear war. Well, I bet most, if not all members of ZE:A, are not particularly proud of this movie, as most of them would attribute their acting debuts with other projects. In the case of Hyungsik, the SBS drama special I Remember You in 2012 is commonly referred to as his acting debut. This was followed months later by a supporting role in another SBS drama, Dummy Mommy, which starred Ha Heera and Kim Hyunjoo. Many more acting roles followed for Hyunsik, such as tvN’s Nine, SBS’ The Heirs, and KBS’ What’s With This Family. 

There has been no stopping Hyungsik with his TV career then, as he has bagged leading roles in dramas such as High Society (which also starred idol-actress Uee), the idol-filled Hwarang with Shinee’s Minho, and his fellow Wooga Squad members BTS’ V plus Park Seojun,  Strong Girl Bong-soon with Jisoo and Park Boyoung, and the Korean adaptation of the US drama Suits with Jang Donggun. 

As for movies, aside from the very forgettable ROnin Pop, Hyungsik has done voice roles for animated features like Justin and the Knights of Valor and Trolls before starring in the short film Two Lights: Relumino and finally, his first major film role in 2019’s Juror 8. 

As for his idol career, he has also contributed to OSTs of some of the shows he has starred in, but he hasn’t debuted as a solo artist like his bandmate Siwan. Come to think of it, the only ZE:A member who has had an active career as a soloist is Dongjun, who also happens to be the third member who has also established an acting career. 

Last Kpop idol activity: Two Lights, part of the OST to his short film Two Light: Relumino and Because of You, a song he sang for the OST of Strong Girl Bong-soon and charted in the Gaon Download Charts. 

Latest Kpop acting activities: Happiness, an apocalyptic thriller on tvN that marks Hyungsik’s return to TV since his military discharge on January 4 and premiered on November 5. In support of his bandmate, Siwan brought a coffee cart to the drama’s filming location.  

Of course, there are still idols who are successfully balancing their singing and acting careers. But for these five, here’s hoping we can see them on stage again in the near future. 

Featured image: Kpop idol turned Kpop actor Park Hyung Sik with fellow Wooga Squad members V and Park Seo Joon. Photo: 씩꾸릿Kharictye/YouTube.
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5 Female Idols Who Turned Into Full-Fledged Actresses

Krystal Jung of f(x) fame plays snob but kind-hearted Lee Bona in the SBS K-Drama, The Heirs. Photo: SBS Drama/YouTube

For us K-pop fans, being in a girl group and maybe graduating into a soloist would be the be-all-end-all for our favorites’ careers. But as a lot of idols have proven time and again, there are enticing opportunities awaiting them in the field of acting, whether it’s on television or the movies. Yes, a good number of them have been harshly criticized because of their sub-par thespian skills, and sometimes they get called out for being hired as actors only to raise the popularity of the show they are a part of. But then, there are quite a number of female idols who have proven their acting mettle, so much so they have already successfully transitioned into focusing on their careers as actresses rather than as idols. Here are five of them:

Hyeri

Any K-drama fan would remember Dukseon, the most adorable picket girl for Madagascar in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and her neighborhood gang. With that one drama, Reply 1988, Hyeri became a household name.  But K-pop fans would argue that Hyeri was already popular thanks to her girl group, Girl’s Day and that she had already starred in a couple of TV dramas (Jekyll, Hyde, Me and Tasty Life) before Reply 1988 started. Both are true, but it so happens that Reply 1988 just became a phenomenon. And as what Reply 1997 and 1994 did to Apink Eunji and Go Ara’s popularity respectively, Reply 1988 cemented Hyeri’s star status as well, not to mention that it became more popular than the previous Reply versions. 

Alas, although the members of Girl’s Day decided not to renew their contracts with the group’s agency, Dream T Entertainment, it has been years since the group’s last comeback – I’ll Be Yours in 2017. Moreover, Hyeri hasn’t gotten involved in solo projects when it comes to music. So, suffice to say that until a Girl’s Day reunion comeback truly materializes, we may not see the return of idol Hyeri. 

Last singing activity: The 2017 EP Girl’s Day Everyday #5, with the single I’ll Be Yours

Latest acting activities: KBS’ When Flowers Bloom, I Think of the Moon with Yoo Seungho and Kang Mina has finished and is slated to be released soon. 

More idols like EXID’s Hani and Jeonghwa, SISTAR’s Dasom, I.O.I and Pristin’s Lim Nayoung, and AOA’s Seolhyun have expressed intentions of focusing on acting. For the first four mentioned, this means signing with new agencies as actors – Hani and Nayoung actually share an agency, Sublime Artist Agency, Jeonghwa is with J-Wide Company, and Dasom is with Story-J.  As for Seolhyun, with MIna’s erratic behavior and Jimin’s departure from the entertainment industry, her group AOA’s future is most uncertain. But then again, AOA’s agency, FNC Entertainment, is quite experienced in having idols who straddle between singing and acting careers.

Seohyun

Now, this is one weird career shift. Seo Juhyun, known to all of us as Seohyun, Girl’s Generation‘s golden maknae and one of the group’s main vocalists (anyone still holding out hope for a TaTiSeo comeback?), has turned her back completely on singing. Which is quite weird considering other GG members who have ventured into acting still have dabbled into recording. For example, Sooyoung, famously known for saying she never considered herself the best singer after being with a better vocalist during her time with the group, still recorded a single in 2020. Yoona and Yuri, who are also more known in their careers as sub-vocalists, have still recorded singles and contributed to OSTs.

Not Seohyun, though. Her last activity related to singing was her 2017 EP Don’t Say No, and that was when she was still with SM. No promotional singles, no OST contributions, not even a single musical theater role. Not that we’re complaining about our girl’s three lead role performances on TV since 2018 and two upcoming movies, but it has to be said, not hearing our SONE maknae‘s singing voice ever again is one sad thought.

Last singing activity: 2017’s EP Don’t Say No

Latest acting activities: Two movies slated for 2022 release: Netflix’s webtoon-based Love and Leashes and Holy Night: Demon Hunters with Ma Dongseok.   

Uee

While not necessarily one of the pioneers of the legendary group that during their peak was dubbed the “Pussycat Dolls of K-Pop,” Uee’s time with After School was quite remarkable. She was seen as a replacement of Soyoung, who although was still there when she joined the group, was actually the first AS member to “graduate” and pursue acting. But then, Soyoung only stayed with the group for 10 months, while Uee stayed with and was very prominent in almost all of the group’s most iconic comebacks, including Bang!, Diva, First Love, and Flashback. After eight years with the group, Pledis Entertainment announced that Uee has graduated from the group with the expiration of her contract with the company. 

But Uee’s shift to acting did not really come all of a sudden. Long known for her beauty, she was already appearing in several dramas even as she started with the group in 2009. She debuted earlier as an actress, playing the young Mishil in MBC’s popular historical drama Queen Seondeok, which was shown in May, a clear four months before her idol debut. She regularly appeared in dramas throughout her career as a girl group idol, and when she finally left Pledis for Yuleum Entertainment in 2017, she practically focused on her acting career. She has not sung for anything since 2014 when After School was last promoted as a group. As of this year, she has again signed to a different agency, Lucky Entertainment, making her current agency her 4th in her entire career. 

Last idol activity: Japanese promotion for Best, After School’s 2nd compilation album that featured a new song, Shine.

Latest acting activity: Will be seen in tvN’s Ghost Doctor, slated for a 2022 release.      

Nana

Well, since we have already mentioned Uee, why not go ahead and mention the other After School actress Nana? Nana, of striking visuals and Orange Caramel fame, did not actually start acting until late in her idol career. She debuted in After School in late 2009 and started off her acting career with cameo appearances in a couple of movies, White and Fashion King in 2011 and 2014, respectively. Her first main role was in a 2015 Chinese film entitled Go Lala Go 2, which starred Taiwanese actors Ariel Lin, Vic Zhou, and Chern Bolin. Her first TV role was also in the Chinese drama Love Weaves Through a Millennium, which was shown on Hunan Television in 2015 as well. 

Nana’s acting career has a number of hits and misses, with performances in the Korean remake of The Good Wife (she played the equivalent of Archie Panjabi’s role and shared screen time with Jeon Doyeon, who played the Korean version of Julianna Marguilles’ part), Justice, and Into the Ring earning her praise, while her 2021 drama Oh My Landlord is considered by media observers as the start of drama powerhouse MBC’s downfall. But not to worry, fans, as Nana will continue with her acting career, with shows such as Netflix’s Glitch with Lee Donghwi and Jeon Yeobeen. Also, unlike the idol we mentioned before her, she is still quite close with After School members and cheered them on when some of the members reunited in MMTG to perform Bang! and Diva earlier this year. Also, she is the only member of After School who hasn’t really graduated, and is still with Pledis Entertainment, which technically, is now under HYBE.    

Last idol activity: Contributed a song to the OST of her own show, Into the Ring in 2020. Not promoted, so this doesn’t really count as an “idol activity”, but rather a singing one. 

Latest acting activity: Netflix’s Glitch, which was slated for release in 2021, but now that it’s early 2022 with no confirmed date in sight.

Krystal Jung

Who could forget snob yet kind-hearted rich kid Lee Bona in K-drama The Heirs/Inheritors?

Here is another idol who has managed to combine her idol and acting career seamlessly, until unfortunately, one of the two sort of waned. Just like the Pledis group After School, Krystal’s group in SM, f(x), also debuted in 2009. The next year, Krystal first appeared on the small screen with a supporting role in More Charming By the Day, and since then, both her idol and acting careers flourished. But as she got more recognition for playing snobbish ice queen types on TV to perfection, f(x) activities became scant. In fact, so scant that the group’s last legitimate comeback was in 2015. They contributed a track to SM Station, All Mine, in 2016, but that wasn’t promoted at all and it was practically the group’s last activities. 

https://youtu.be/C0SSU8U87I4

Krystal’s fans were not left in the cold with the acting jobs, though, as even without her group, she has steadily been part of popular programs such as The Bride of Habaek and Prison Playbook. With the possibility of an f(x) reunion practically non-existent since all members are now with different companies (Krystal is now with H& Entertainment since her official departure from SM in October 2020), we can only hope to see Krystal go full speed ahead with her acting career. 

Last singing activity: I Don’t Wanna Love You, a 2017 single 

Latest acting activities: KBS’s Police University with former B1A4 Jinyoung and a Chinese film Unexpected Love, which doesn’t have a release date yet. 

Well, the idol world’s loss can be TV and films’ gain and we fans can’t really complain. 

Featured Image: Krystal Jung of f(x) fame plays snob but kind-hearted Lee Bona in the SBS K-Drama, The Heirs. Photo: SBS Drama/YouTube
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Check Out These Top 5 Real-Life Historical K-dramas

Have you seen Korean period dramas and wondered if there are ones that are based on real-life characters? Here are five historical dramas that draw inspiration from, if not reflect, events and personalities that really happened in Korea’s very colorful history:

Empress Ki

Initial TV run: a whopping 51 episodes from October 2013 to April 2014 on MBC

Cast: Ha Jiwon as Ki Seungnyang / Ki Nyang who later becomes the titular Empress Ki, Joo Jinmo as Wang Yoo / King Choonghye, Ji Changwook as Toghon Temür / Ta Hwan, and Baek Jinhee as Tanashiri, daughter of Yeon-Chul

What’s it about: Seungnyang (played by Ha Jiwon) was born a girl in a family of low-ranking palace officials. She did not have any affections towards the job of her parents, so to avoid being a palace maidservant, she disguised herself as a boy. As a man, she was assigned to watch over Yuan crown prince To Gon, who was exiled to Koryo (Korea) from the Yuan/Mongol empire. Eventually, Seungnyang secret was discovered, and she now has to help To Gon get back to his rightful place in the Yuan empire, which was taken from him by his half-brother who was the one responsible for his exile in Koryo.

In his return to Yuan, he employs Seungnyang’s assistance, who then posed as a royal maidservant. Together, they rose to the highest positions of power in Yuan, as To Gon later decides to marry Seungnyang. Seungyang becomes empress, but she still remembers her first love who she left in Koryo, Wang Yoo (played by Joo Jinmo).     

How is it related to real-life events: The events and characters of Empress Ki were based on real-life people. Seungnyang who was then 16 in the year 1331, was sent to Khanbaliq (what is now known as Beijing) from Koryo as part of a tribute to the Yuan empire that also included the return of the crown prince To Gon from exile.  With her tenacity and intelligence, she eventually became the first  Korean empress of the Yuan Dynasty and became the ruler of close to 60 million people who inhabited Mongol-controlled China at that time. 

The drama, although successful among Korean and Chinese television viewers, was criticized by Koreans as too sympathetic, as she was (and still is) seen as a traitor who chose to rise to power in the Yuan dynasty rather than in her native Koryo. On the other hand, Ming Dynasty historians did not look favorably upon her reign as she was considered a corrupting influence. 

Finally, it should be noted that when her son, Biligtu Khan, succeeded his father (and in actuality, her, as Empress Ki did more of the ruling compared to her husband To Gon) to the throne when he died, Empress Ki actually faded and disappeared. There were no records of her in her twilight years when her son took over as emperor of the Northern Yuan dynasty. 

Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth

Initial TV run: 20 episodes plus four specials from December 2016 to February 2017 on KBS

Cast: Park Seojoon as Moomyung / Kim Sunwoo / Kim Isabu / Dog-bird, Go Ara as Kim Ahro, Park Hyungsik as Sammaekjong / Kim Jidwi / Jinheung of Silla, Shinee’s Choi Minho as Kim Sooho, and BTS’ V (Kim Taehyung) as Seok Hansung

What’s it about: This is a story set in the ancient Silla dynasty about a group of young men called Hwarang who lived 1,500 years ago and their passion, love, friendship. After the death of King Beopheung died, Jiso ruled the kingdom as regent while keeping her son Sammaekjong (played as an adult by Park Hyunsik) hidden outside of the capital to protect him from court intrigue and drama. As the years roll by, everybody is anticipating who shall replace Jiso. There’s Sammaekjong who’s now of age, and nobles, citizens, and officials who now want power for themselves. For fear of the restless nobility who want the throne to themselves, Jiso created a new called the Hwarang, that will protect the throne for Sammaekjong and ward off other interested parties. Leading the Hwarang is Moo Myung (played by Park Seojoon), a young man who despite not being a part of the nobility, became a legendary warrior.

Other members of the Hwarang are Kim Ahro (played by Reply 1994’s Go Ara), a half-breed with an aristocrat father and a peasant servant mother, who becomes the physician of the Hwarang and the love interest of Moomyung.

Kimsammaekjong secretly becomes a Hwarang warrior himself who vowed to eliminate the nobles making his quest for the throne difficult. Other Hwarang members include Kim Suho (SHINee’s Choi Minho) who became known to be flirtatious, Park Banryu (Do Jihan from Basketball) known as the cold-blooded Hwarang, Kim Yeowool (Jo Yoonwoo from Mask) who is described as the most charming Hwarang who doesn’t have designs for the throne despite having royal lineage, and Suk Hansung (BTS’ V aka Kim Taehyung) known as the maknae of the Hwarang warriors.

Bonus: BTS’s Kim Tae Hyung and Jin sang Hwarang’s OST Even if I Die, It’s You

How is it related to real-life events: In the history of the Silla dynasty, Hwarang actually existed. Known as Flowering Knights, they were an elite warrior group of male youth in Silla, They originally bonded to study arts and culture as well as religious teachings stemming mainly from Korean Buddhism. The youths who were chosen by the Silla Kingdom became the knights and warriors for the Silla Dynasty within the age of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. 

Haechi

Initial TV run: 48 episodes running from February to April 2019 on SBS

Cast: Jung Ilwoo as Yi Geum / Prince Yeoning, Go Ara as Chun Yeoji, Kwon Yul as Bak Munsu, Park Hoon as Dalmoon, Lee Geungyoung as Min Jinwon, Jung Moonsung as Yi Tan / Prince Milpung, and Bae Junghwa as Chun Yoonyoung / Bokdan

What’s it about: Haechi is a legal drama set in the period of the Joseon Dynasty. At the beginning of the drama, Minister Min Jinwon (played by Lee Gyeungyoung) explains that justice and truth are unattainable, like that legendary animal. “In real life, it is impossible to judge right from evil.” For him, politics is not about justice, but about power. And when you lose power is tantamount to death.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, a group of people working in Saheonbu (practically the Office of the Inspector General that administered inspections in the capital Hanyang (now Seoul), and the periphery) who actually believes in true justice. With Head Inspector Han Jeongseok (played by Lee Pilmo), they start digging into a murder case that gets them in the crosshairs of the royal court. 

Enter Yi Geum (played by Jung Ilwoo), a good for nothing prince who accidentally gets himself involved in this crime-solving mystery. Although a prince, there are some people who look down on him as his mother was a maid, so he was seen as a low-born royal. He also wasn’t being taken seriously because he spends his days drinking and womanizing, which is a waste of his smarts. But then, because of the involvement of the royals in the murder, he needs to establish his position and slowly but surely flex his political muscle as a prince. While he doesn’t have any political capital at the start, he was joined by some friends and advisers, and soon he has people supporting him. 

While it can be argued that we already know the ending and that he will become king, his journey to the top is quite an exciting and thrilling ride that we as viewers can join. Alas, with the other officers in the Saheonbu on his side – Inspector Park Moonsoo (played by Kwon Yul), Assistant Inspector Yeoji (Go Ara), and ring leader of beggars Dalmoon (Park Hoon), among others, his rise to the top and their crusade for justice combined splendidly.

 

By the end of the drama, we also see the shift in the attitude of the Minister who opens the show. While he still believes true justice is unattainable, he was given more hope as he recalls his youth, when was also an idealistic dreamer

How is it related to real-life events: This drama is actually based on the real-life story of Yi Geum, who was later known as Prince Yeoning, during his early years of reign. He becomes King Yeongjo, the 21st king of Joseon in 1724 who reigned for 52 years. However, he would also be subject to a rather depressing episode of Joseon history in relation to his son, Prince Sado, who died of starvation after his father (yes, Prince Yeoning aka King Yeongjo) locked him up in a rice closet for seven days. This father-son tragedy was the subject of the 2015 movie The Throne which stars Song Kangho (Parasite) as King Yeongjo and Yoo Ahin (Chicago Typewriter, Burning, and the soon-to-be-released Hellbound) as Prince Sado. 

So now, you may ask, where does the drama’s title come from? Haechi is actually a Korean mythological creature whose likeness is found in front of the Saheonbu building. Haechi looks like a lion with scales and represents a righteous judge of justice and truth. Saheonbu, the Joseon office that is also responsible for carrying out investigations and justice, was meant to be like the righteous and honorable Haechi.

Dae Jang Geum

Initial TV run: 54 episodes that ran on MBC from September 2003 to March 2004

Cast: Lee Youngae as Seo Janggeum, Ji Jinhee as Min Jungho, Hong Rina as Choi Geumyoung, Im Ho as King Jungjong, and Yang Mikyung as Court Lady Han Baekyoung (Jang Geum’s teacher)

What’s it about: For international audiences, this drama is more known as Jewel in the Palace, while in Korea, the drama bears the name of its lead character. Set in 16th century Korea, the series is about Jang Geum whose mother was killed and whose father was arrested and disappeared (we’re not sure if he was killed or was put in exile until his death), when she was still not more than five years old. While his dad was arrested and exiled or killed or no one knows really, her mom came out of hiding to find out what happened to her husband, but alas, was hit by an arrow. Before she died, she told her daughter that her dying wish was for her (the daughter) to enter the palace and become the highest-ranking kitchen lady so that she can somehow avenge her from the palace personalities against whom she fought. 

Jang Geum eventually became successful in both entering the palace and getting a training spot as a court lady. This did not sit well with the other court ladies in training and even with the other palace staff, as she is not known for her strong family background. In fact, her parents are a mystery to the rest of the palace, which increased their suspicion and dislikes for our girl, while she obviously cannot divulge the identity of her parents because they still pretty much had unfavorable reputations, even in their death. 

Despite her innate intelligence and perseverance, she finds herself in trouble many times. The intrigues she was involved with, combined with her sketchy background, led her to be convicted of treason for which she was sent to Jeju Island to be exiled. There, she met a lady physician who taught her the tricks of her trade and gave her another way of getting back to the palace – by practicing medicine. So, even if she already built her culinary skills as a court lady, she also had to learn medicine from the lady so she can get back to the palace as a physician.  

So, does she get back to the palace and avenge her parents? You’ll have to watch the drama to find out!

How is it related to real-life events: The stories and characters are pretty much based on real life. Jang Geum was a real-life physician of the palace, and the title of the series Dae (meaning great) Jang Geum was also bestowed upon her because of her achievements. The first mention of her in the palace records was in the spring of 1515 when King Jungjong’s second wife, Queen Janggyeong, died from complications of childbirth. While court officers tried to convince the king to punish the medical women, including Jang Geum, for the queen’s demise, the king refused, saying, 

“Jang Geum deserves big credit for her role in the safe childbirth of palace ladies, but I have never awarded her for her actions until now, because of other affairs. Now you (the court officers) are telling me to punish her because the Queen is dead, but I won’t do that as well as I won’t reward her. That’s enough.”

Jang Geum’s position as the king’s physician continued until his death in November 1544. In the Yi dynasty Medical Officer’s Journal, she was also mentioned in this passage:

“Medical Lady Jang Geum, whose origins cannot be traced, received the right to be called ‘Dae Jang Geum” under an edict issued by the 11th King of Korea, Jungjong, in the 18th year of his reign [1524-1525]. At that time, there was no precedent of a Medical Lady treating a King, but the Emperor trusted in Jang Geum’s method of treating illness with food. Jang Geum, with the granting of the right to use ‘Dae’ in her name, is certainly an epic lady whose name will be recorded in the history books.”

So, yes, by now we’ve spoiled the drama for you. She pretty much had an awesome career as a doctor and continues to be the only female physician in history to serve the highest officer of the land. Even now, the Korean president’s personal physician is male. But to know if Jang Geum’s family background was eventually exposed, that you will have to find out ion the drama. It seems that we didn’t spoil everything, after all!

Empress Myeongseong

Initial TV run: 124 episodes that ran from May 2001 to July 2002 on KBS

Cast: Lee Miyeon (episodes 1, 10-81) and Choi Myunggil as Empress Myeongseong, Lee Jinwoo as King Gojong, and Yoo Donggeun as Heungseon Daewongun

What’s it about: If you come across the song If I Leave being sung in singing contests and programs in Korea like Immortal Songs, Yesterday, and King of Masked Singer, then you may have had a brush with this historical drama. That OST was originally sung by world-renowned Korean soprano Jo Somi for the historical drama Empress Myeongsong. This is one historical drama that was so successful that decades after it was first shown, people still remember it, including the timeless theme song. It even had two actresses playing the same role – the titular Empress for its run that lasted a year and two months and 124 episodes!

The issue with the two actresses is not really a real issue as it just happened that the original actress was not ready for the eventual success of the show. The contract that the “original” Empress Myeongseong, Lee Miyeon, signed with KBS was only for 100 episodes. However, due to the success of the program, the TV station wanted to extend it to more than 100 episodes. However, Lee Miyeon wanted to adhere to the original contract, so she refused to do more than 100 episodes. Not to worry though, as the station just had to hire a new actress, Choi Myunggil, to play the empress from Episode 82 onwards. 

So, for K-drama fans who are used to a 16-episode show, be prepared for a very long ride. 

How is it related to real-life events: Although there may be some scenes where the show’s creators exercised some creative freedoms, the characters of the drama are based on real-life historical figures. There’s Empress Myeongseong, who was the wife of the country’s first Emperor, Gojong, and the 26th King of Joseon. Her presence was felt when the First Sino-Japanese War broke out and was a driving force in modernizing Korea. 

Empress Myeongseong was known for her liberal ways such as wanting girls to be educated and employing a modern army for the country. She was Korea’s first queen to rule the country—next to her husband—and was politically more active than the emperor. Due to her immense power and influence, the Empress’ rule did not sit well with foreigners, particularly the Japanese, who sent agents to assassinate her.

There are still more historical dramas that are actually based on real life. Even if you can’t relate to the traditions or you may not recognize your favorite actors because of the hair and make-up, get ready to be dazzled by the high production values! 

Featured Image: BTS’s V/Kim Tae Hyung as the ever loyal and innocent Hansung in Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, along with lead actor and fellow Wooga Squad member Park Seo Joon. Photo: BANGTANTV/YouTube
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Squid Game and Korean-Culture Hot Items Through the Years

South Korean Netflix series “Squid Game” has been the hottest thing on TV (rather, OTT [over-the-top] media services, geez this thing about Netflix and streaming platforms has everybody confused on what to call their content) these days. Imagine, a drama that is not in English has been topping Netflix’s most-watched show list. Even the streaming platform’s earlier breakout hits that are not in the English language – Spanish programs “Money Heist” and “Elite,” the French Japanese manga-inspired “Lupin,” and the German Yiddish-language “Unorthodox” cannot claim that distinction!

Just when we thought that South Korean soft power is showing signs of plateauing, our Hallyu content creatives somehow manage to churn out something that has the entire world lapping anything they produce. Like every year,  most of us Korean culture otakus who speculate that maybe this year will be the year that the Korean Wave will recede and start to decline in popularity, it is not the case at all. The thing is, I have been anticipating this since 2014, when so many scandals have hit a lot of our well-loved Korean celebrities. Not to mention that the Sewol Ferry tragedy felt like it did a huge number of the collective South Korean national psyche. But year after year, I have been proven wrong.

2015 had K-pop reawakening with a vengeance with JYP and YG debuting Twice, iKon, and Day 6, SM Entertainment finally debuted Girl’s Generation’s Taeyeon as a solo artist, and who can forget the iconic MAMA performance of 2NE1 in December of that year?

In 2016, it was Korean cinema’s turn to keep Hallyu on top with Train to Busan, A Violent Prosecutor, and The Age of Shadows establishing astronomic box office figures and Park Chanwook’s The Handmaiden and Na Hingjin’s The Wailing killing it in international film festivals and giving Korean movies more global recognition.

The age of cinema and drama

And before 2016 ended, ageless Gong Yoo, who already had a banner year starring in two of the three highest-grossing films of the year (#1 Train to Busan and #3 The Age of Shadows) and also starring in A Man and a Woman with Cannes darling Jeon Doeyeon, gifted the world with Goblin – The Lonely Shining God (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God in other countries), a TV show that would further Korean TV already-stellar year. The year was dotted with worldwide hits such as Descendants of the Sun, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bokjoo, and Love in the Moonlight.

Since 2016 was also a banner year for TV dramas, it was also a great year for its OSTs. OST songs really dominated the Korean charts for most of the year, not just in their separate OST category, but in the main top single streaming and downloading charts as well.

The Song couple-led Descendants of the Sun was everywhere with not one, not two, not three, but FIVE songs charting high when they were released – Gummy’s “You are My Everything“, Davichi’s “This Love“, Chen and Punch’s “Everytime”, K.Will’s “Talk Love“, and Yoo Mirae’s “Always“.

Who could forget Jung Seung Kwan’s addictive ballad “If It is You“, included in the OST of Another Miss Oh which has been used countless times in singing reality competitions? We’re not even counting Goblin’s three impressive songs that were released early the following year – Soyou’s “I Miss You“, Chanyeol’s “Stay With Me“, and of course, Ailee’s modern-day classic “I Will Go to You Like the First Snow“.

One word: BTS

And what can we say about 2017 than to keep it in three letters – BTS. Out of nowhere, the group that has been considered as a nugu group with flash in the pan success internationally proved that they can also sell domestically when they released a repackaged version of Wings entitled You’ll Never Walk Alone that had songs “Spring Day” and “Not Today“. This was followed up by the group getting international exposure for the rest of the year and not looking back since then.

But we simply can’t rely on BTS to raise the flag for Korean pop culture every year, yes? Doing that will only allow people to believe that Korean soft power is a fluke since it only relies on a single entity to keep it afloat.

Once the popularity of our Bangtan Boys will wane (which of course we will never accept but, just for academic discourse, say it might be a possibility), international audiences will quickly revert to asking, “Why are there Chinese shows on TV?” when we watch K-dramas or “Is that Japanese?” when we listen to K-pop.

2018 proved that Korean pop culture is right back at the center of the world’s stage as 2NE1’s CL and EXO performed in the closing ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. On the TV front, the year cemented the arrival of two actor-dols in Astro’s Cha Eunwoo (My ID is Gangnam Beauty) and EXO’s D.O (100 Days My Prince) and yet another oppa who has shown promise in the past but broke out in 2018 with What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? – Park Seojun.

In 2019, the world renewed its appreciation for Korean movies when Bong Joonho’s Parasite took every award there was, including American ones, which has had a history of being reluctant when it comes to recognizing films that are not in the English language.

It started with 2018’s Burning, directed by Lee Changdong and starring premiere character actor Yoo Ahin who has also proven his abilities as a lead star, and Steven Yeun, who was at that time most known as Glenn in the US TV show The Walking Dead. Burning was heaped with praises by film critics and award-winning bodies, managing to win the FIPRESCI Prize and Vulcan Award in the 2018 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. However, when it came to the biggest event, the Academy Awards aka the Oscars, the movie only managed to crack the final nine-film shortlist, but was eventually dropped off the final five nominees.

Thus, that Parasite didn’t just win the following year in the Cannes’ Palm d’Or and the Oscars’ Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture gave the Korean film industry another full year to take the world’s center stage. The movie exposed the class divide between the haves and the have nots, with no clear protagonist or antagonist. It therefore leaves the decision on who are the heroes and villains of the movie to the audience  – the poor Kims who have managed to leech off their subsistence from a wealthy family, or the rich Parks, who seem to be distanced from the harsh realities of the world and not really caring for their employees?

As critics opined, the movie solidified the creation of a unique genre by the movie’s director Bong Joonho: not quite a drama, not quite a suspense thriller, not quite a legit black comedy, but a balanced mixture of all three elements.

The year where everyone was home

When 2020 had people thinking, this will be the year that Korean culture’s popularity will finally begin its decline, they were disappointed again. How can movies and dramas possibly be popular this year when people are not allowed to go out and watch movies in a cinema? That’s where Netflix and other online streaming platforms barged in with their promises of binge-watch-worthy content. Thus, everybody got to know the gallant North Korean soldier Captain Ri (Hyun Bin) and self-made tycoon Seri (Son Yejin) in Crash Landing on You, as well as the wronged wife Dr Ji (Kim Heeae), the philandering Lee Taeoh (Park Haejoon) and the blindingly beautiful Dakyung (Han Sohee) in The World of the Married. Both showed broke domestic and international records in terms of viewership and made household names of their actors. Both shows have also been (and still are) available on Netflix.

2020 also brought us another gem in the film world – the Korean-American co-production Minari. Although it can be argued that the movie slants more towards the American sensibilities of its director Lee Isaac Chung, the scenes and emotional tug are distinctly Korean. It even won an Oscar for Korean acting icon Youn Yuhjung, the first for any Korean actor.

This brings us to 2021, when the popularity of Korean TV shows has been further established with Squid Game’s phenomenal run. Before Squid Game, the most popular Korean export is the history zombie thriller Kingdom, which stars Ju Jihoon. With Kingdom only releasing a special episode this July and another one in the works that won’t be released until 2023, it’s safe to say that it was Squid Game that really reinforced South Korean soft power, something we fans can be happy with because this definitely means that we will be having more Korean dramas, k-pop music, and Korean movies for more years to come!

Featured image: Squid Game besties HoYeon Jung (Kang Sae Byeok) and Lee Yoo-mi (Ji Yeong). Photo: Still Watching Netflix/YouTube

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Why Has Squid Game Invaded the World?

Still from behind the scenes of Squid Game. Picture credit: Screengrab from Netflix

As of the moment, it seems that the world has gotten addicted to the Korean Netflix show Squid Game. Not that anyone’s complaining though, because the show is really something. Plagiarism claims aside, the show manages to captivate everyone’s attention, not just those who have gotten bitten by the K-drama bug. And that’s good since the show’s universal appeal means that nobody can argue that its popularity only stems from K-drama fans crazily streaming the show non-stop.

A still from the shoot of Squid Game. Picture credit: Screengrab from Netflix Youtube

Netflix has actually not just shown a lot of K-dramas, but has actually broken through the Korean market in 2013 by being the sole distributor of Kingdom, a show produced by Korean production company AStory, but was solely shown on the streaming platform and not on any Korean TV channel, free-to-air or cable. It then struck a deal with producers NEW (Next Entertainment World) and JTBC to release the Lee Jungjae-headlined Chief of Staff on the same day as its premiere on the cable channel. Since then, Netflix has not only distributed K-dramas and movies but has also dabbled into producing content that would make up the company’s Korean-language original programming.


But even with the original content they produced, it always felt like Netflix’s Korean original programs catered to a niche audience. True, a good number of the shows they produced and distributed had become famous even internationally, but as mentioned earlier, most of them, even Kingdom, were still confined to an audience with an affinity for Korean-language content. 

So, even if there are a lot of people overseas who have watched Kingdom, it was assumed that these viewers were Korean-Americans or those who have already liked Korean dramas in the past. It seemed that the audience the show connected with continued to be limited to Korean drama fans, unlike other foreign Netflix shows like Lupin, Elite, and Money Heist, which have amassed huge followings from countries that aren’t French or Spanish speaking, plus haven’t had any particular loyalty to French or Spanish language content. 

That is until Squid Game came along. 

The website FlixPatrol, which analyzes streaming figures on the world’s leading online streaming platform, claims that Squid Game topped global charts on Friday, September 27, only a week since its release on September 17. It has since then kept the top position. As of press time,it still holds the top position, keeping other Netflix shows such as Sex Education, Maid, and Lucifer at bay. The fact that it has dislodged English-language shows on top of the charts and is keeping its #1 placement even in countries with very particular audiences such as the USA shows that it has really won over a huge audience, especially those that are not particularly fond of content not in English. 

 

In fact, the show has now gone down #2 in markets that are known to consume a lot of Korean language content such as Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines because of the weekly episodes of the Kim Seonho drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (which coincidentally also has Shin Mina, who was also part of the aforementioned Chief of Staff), while maintaining the top position in other countries that are not that keen on following the shows of Hallyu stars.    

So, what is it exactly about Squid Game that has audiences from all corners of the planet wanting more? Everyone, from armchair TV critics to cultural researchers, has had their opinions amplified on mainstream and social media, and it seems to boil down to three factors: 

 

The storytelling is unique yet universal.

A lot of concepts of the show’s story may be distinctly Korean but they are exactly the same elements that hit foreign audiences hard in their feels. For one, Squid Game is about people who are psychologically and financially desperate – something so many of us can definitely identify with since the start of the pandemic, with job losses and mental health struggles abound. 

While it may not be true that the rest of us outside Korea get hounded by gangsters working for loan sharks when we run away from paying our debt (though according to Koreans themselves, that actually happens, but is not an everyday occurrence), we can relate to the desperation Gihun (Lee Jungjae) and the other 455 players feel when they are willing to risk life and limb to take home some serious money. We can relate to how Gihun’s feelings toward childhood friend Sangwoo (Park Haesoo) turned from idolization to disappointment after the former realized throughout the game how morally iffy some of his hometown hero’s decisions were. 

Finally, we can all relate to the sense of nostalgia playing those childhood games brought to the participants, particularly to mastermind player 001 Ilnam (Oh Yeongsu). Although we have resumed a lot of our activities, we have to admit that things have not been the same as they used to be, so it is inevitable that we long to remember simpler and more comfortable times when we did things such as playing just for the fun of it and not because there are consequences to our every move.

The show tapped into people’s psyche. 

Speaking of relatability, the show works not only because we can relate to the plight of Gihun and the 454  other players in terms of their desperation and police officer Junho’s (played by Wi Hajoon) urgent attempt to fight his brother, but we can also relate to the foreign VIPs, The Front Man (played by Lee Byunghun) and beloved old man with a twist Ilnam. 

Wait, what? Are you saying we have things in common with the game’s disconnected spectators?   

Of course, as the audience, we occupy a similar position to the VIPs as spectators of the game, as we satisfy our base instincts of voyeurism in finding out who survives in the rounds and who ultimately wins. It’s like an unfortunate accident happening right before your eyes that you’re telling yourself to look away, but you simply cannot. 

Allowing us to sympathize with the players and yet having a safe distance from them as we watch their activities from the comforts of home has given the show’s producers a perfect formula on how it can get us audiences hooked to the social message of the story while not making us too uncomfortable. 

With Squid Game, while we sympathize with the characters, the line between them and us is very clear, as they are the ones playing the games. We have the option to sympathize with them and at the same time be guiltless spectators just like the VIPs. After all, the VIPs are only spectators just like us; they are not the ones running the game – the workers in pink jumpsuits are actually the ones rolling out the games and dealing with all the dirty work. 

In horror movies, even those set in a game theme like Battle Royale or the Saw series, there are no spectators, so we cannot help but actually have 100% of our sympathies to the players. And it is only later when the games are through when we start to really consider if we could carve the perfect shape out of the honeycomb cookies or if we can distinguish which glass can hold human weight and which will break. In Squid Game, we are constantly reminded that we can also be detached spectators just like the VIPs. Squid Game is escapist entertainment masterfully done.

The production values are off the charts.

It cannot be denied that the production of Squid Game is just fantastic. From the secluded island where the players were confined to the playground where they played the first couple of games, the sleeping quarters that looked like a storage facility, there was nothing that was spared to make the series believable and exciting.  What’s great about the sets they used for the show is that there were some easter eggs hidden in them that keen-eyed viewers may have noticed while watching the episodes. 

The fact that most of us have seen something like Squid Games’ premise in Hunger Games and Battle Royale has not deterred us from watching the show because the scenes have been filmed in such an attention-grabbing manner.  

For example, while the sequence of games was told in advance to the Doctor (Yoo Sungjoo) the evening before the game as they helped them harvest organs of the players who were killed, there were actually murals on the walls of the players’ sleeping quarters that show the major points of the games. So, players who were more aware of their surroundings should have noticed that. But then, since they were constantly tired and paranoid of their fellow players who may attack them when the lights go out, they may not have the energy to be that sharp.

For most of the past year, we have been confined to our movements and activities, so watching shows and movies from other countries may give us some sort of comfort and pleasure that we can experience the cultures, places, and ways of living of people far away from us. We may be awed at how we have actually a lot of things more in common with people from other countries, but since they have different customs and environments, there are also interesting twists and differences that we should look out for. So for now, we just need to enjoy the show while learning some lessons from it.

Featured Image credit: Still Watching Netflix Youtube

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K-DRAMA LATEST STORIES

BLACKPINK’s Jennie Visits IRL Friend Jung Ho Yeon on “Squid Game” Set

BLACKPINK Jennie visits "Squid Game" for friend Hoyeon. Photo: hoooooyeony/Instagram

BLINKs already know that Jennie is one of the coolest people in the world. In addition to being a true all-rounder, the BLACKPINK member knows how to treat her fans right. So it’s no surprise that “Squid Game” star Jung Ho Yeon is saying that her friend is a true angel.

The friendship between Jennie and Hoyeon is truly adorable. The two celebrities have been very supportive of each other’s careers, and Hoyeon admits that she is still surprised by the BLACKPINK member’s generosity.

Jung Ho Yeon was recently interviewed by Herald POP where she spoke about “Squid Game”. At one point, the model also opened up about how her friend Jennie Kim reacted when Hoyeon was cast in the Netflix show.

“Jennie was happy for me ever since I told her I was cast in ‘Squid Game.’ She sent me a coffee truck, and she actively cheered me on by even uploading to her social media,” Hoyeon said.

BLACKPINK Jennie visits “Squid Game” set for Hoyeon

That’s not the only thing that Jennie has done to support her friend. Jung Ho Yeon had previously shared a photo of the two on the set of Squid Game. This confirms that the Solo singer visited Hoyeon while the latter was filming to give her full support for her friend.

The generous act is something that always impresses Jung Ho Yeon to the point that she compares Jennie to a real angel.

“Jennie is always there on the list of people I’m grateful for while acting in ‘Squid Game.’ She congratulated me so happily, as if my joys were also her own, that I wondered how such an angel could exist,” Hoyeon said

It’s great to know that Jennie is truly supportive of her friends despite her busy schedule. There is little doubt that her friendship with Jung Ho Yeon will continue to stay strong

“Squid Game” is currently streaming on Netflix.

Featured image: BLACKPINK Jennie visits “Squid Game” for friend Hoyeon. Photo: hoooooyeony/Instagram
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K-DRAMA LATEST STORIES VARIETY

You Need To Check Out Three New Dramas Featuring Your Favorite Idols

We may have heard a lot of news about these dramas, including casting updates, the dropping of stills and teasers, but for the longest time, we have not been informed of confirmed dates for their release. 

Now, we have gathered the latest updates about three web and TV shows that will feature some of your favorite idols, so without further ado, here they are:

Heartbeat Broadcasting Accident

Scheduled to premiere on October 27 on Naver TV Cast

What’s it about: A lot of us K-drama followers are surely hard to please! We constantly complain that a majority of the content we see is not that relatable. If most dramas are about fantastical characters with superpowers like Goblin or A Korean Odyssey, we complain. If we get a suspense drama about how the 1% of society live, such as the Penthouse series or SKY Castle, we still complain. When we have period dramas like 100 Days My Prince or Mr. Queen, we still have something to say about the content being too foreign and irrelevant. Finally, when we have shows about celebrities like The Producers or Touch Your Heart, we still have an issue or two. 

So alas, we are starting off this list with something most of us can surely relate to – an office drama! Heartbeat Broadcasting Accident is a web drama set in an office that will surely be relatable to a lot of us since it is about unrequited love (who can’t relate to fluttering hearts the first time we meet an attractive officemate?), influencer rivals (there’s always competition on who gets the boss’ approval, after all), and a love triangle (because it is sometimes inevitable that attraction breeds in the small circle of office teams)

Who’s in it? The web drama features SF9’s ZuHo, Lim Nayoung, Lee Hyunjoo, and Jung Mingyu.  ZuHo proves that all (or at least, a majority of SF9) members can act and pursue careers outside of their group. So, it’s not just Rowon and Chani who get to display their acting chops, as in this show, he will essay the role of Cha Seonwoo, a first planning team leader at “Sherry Shop” and has good looks and top skills and competes with a male colleague for the affections of a female officemate.

Lim Nayoung, former I.O.I and Pristin leader, seems to be intent on proving herself as an actress since her group’s disbandment and leaving her former talent agency, Pledis Entertainment. Debuting in the acting world with the acclaimed drama Flower of Evil, she has since appeared in the web drama Summer Guys with bandmate Kang Mina and the KBS idol drama Imitation, which also starred ZuHo’s bandmate Chani. Nayoung will be the leading lady of the drama, playing Yoon Yiseo, a social media influencer who has to keep an office job to make ends meet. She meets childhood friend Seonwoo in Sherry Shop, though she has also noticed another male officemate.

Second leads include Lee Hyunjoo, formerly of the girl group April, who plays Yura, Yiseo’s rival in many aspects – online, in Sherry Shop, and for Seonwoo’s affections. There’s also model-turned-actor Jung Mingyu, who as Kwon Hyuck, also works in Sherry Shop and will battle it out with Seonwoo for Yoon Yiseo’s heart. 

 

Idol: The Coup

Scheduled to premiere on November 8 on JTBC

 

Speaking of Lim Nayoung, after Pristin was disbanded, she moved to Sublime Artist Agency, where she is now pursuing an acting career. The agency is also home to former idols who have opted to diversify or shift their careers to include acting, such as Yerin formerly of GFriend, Youngjae of GOT7, and Ahn Heeyeon, or more known to us as Hani of EXID. Hani has dabbled a lot in acting since leaving Banana Culture, EXID’s agency, having bagged roles in web and TV dramas such as XX, The Spies Who Loved Me, SF8, Not Yet 30, and You Raise Me Up. Next for her is this idol drama, Idol: The Coup, which coincidentally is also similar to Nayoung’s previous drama, Imitation, in the sense that both are shows about the triumphs and struggles of idol groups. 

Idol: the Coup is a story of an idol group that is on the brink of disbandment because of its unpopularity. Just like most idol groups these days, the fate of the band ultimately depends on a breakout hit that may possibly save them and bring them back to public attention. Us fans are too familiar with this scenario, as we’ve witnessed groups that have been on the brink of getting dismissed and it just took one viral hit to change public perception. There’s Brave Girls with Rollin’, LABOUM with Journey to Atlantis, and EXID with that viral Up and Down fancam that featured none other than Hani!

Alas, this drama’s story is also quite familiar with its actors because aside from Hani, who plays the leader of the fictional struggling group Cotton Candy, the other members include Exy of the Cosmic Girls (WJSN) and Solbin of LABOUM. Suffice to say these actor-idols will be acting from experience, indeed. The drama also includes Han Soeun and Green (of the group REDSQUARE) as the other members of Cotton Candy, Produce X 101 alumnus Kim Minkyu as Seo Jihan, the leader and main vocalist of Mars, a popular K-pop boy group that has an opposite fate as their labelmates Cotton Candy. There also may be a love angle between the leaders of the two groups. 

Other members of the cast include Kwak Siyang as Cha Jaehyeok, the CEO of Starpeace Entertainment, the agency of both Mars and Cotton Candy, Lee Youjin as Piyon, a genius producer who exclusively provides songs to Starpeace Entertainment talents, and the other members of Mars, which also include real-life idols such as Hong Eunki (formerly of RAINZ and also a Produce 101 X contestant), Lee Eunsang (who was also with Eunki and Minkyu in PD101X and became a member of X1), and actors Baek Seohoo and Jo Joonyoung. 

Teasers of the drama have already been released on JTBC’s YouTube channel, which show a lot of the cast members in heavy drama scenes. Looks like the idol actors don’t have to work that hard to be reminded of the struggles they had in their careers as idol group members. 

School 2021

Premiering on November 17 on KBS2

I’m sure most, if not all of us, have at the very least heard of an installment of the School drama series. After all, there have been eight (you read that right, e-i-g-h-t) of them released, with the first one coming out in 1999. A lot of established actors have been a part of the franchise, including Bae Doona (School 1), Lee Dongwook (School 2 and 3), Jo Insung (School 3), Gong Yoo (School 4), Kim Woobin (School 2013), Kim Sohyun (School 2015), Nam Joohyuk (School 2015), and Kum Junghyun (School 2017). BtoB’s Sungjae and former Gugudan center and I.O.I main vocalist Kim Sejeong also have School 2015 and 2017, respectively, as part of their acting credentials. 

A new batch of relative acting rookies will be introduced in this year’s School 2021, which was actually supposed to be School 2020 had the pandemic not delayed production of the show.  As with the other earlier editions of the drama, this 2021 version still follows the life and growth of students, with a twist. This time, the show will be set in a vocational high school and will star feature ex-X1 center Kim Yohan, Choo Youngwoo, and Cho Yihyun.  

Gong Kijoon (Yohan) used to be a taekwondo player and has played in national compet9tiojn when he suddenly had incurred a serious ankle injury. With his father’s business going bankrupt, Kijoon wanted to reverse his family’s misfortunes by quitting taekwondo and entering a vocational high school so he could be employed fast. Enter Jin Jiwon, his first love, who wants to become a carpenter and is already enrolled in the vocational school. There’s also Jung Youngjoo, a transfer student who has a connection to Kijoon’s past.

The other students in the drama include Kim Kangmin who plays Ji Hosung, a student who is always changing his plans on what he wants to become in the future and becomes Kijoon’s friend. There’s also Hwang Boreum Byeol who plays Kang Seoyoung, a high achieving student focused on making it to one of the five top universities in Korea and maybe cold and uncaring because of her ambition. 

What do you think of these dramas?

Featured Image: Still from School 2021 trailer; Photo: Viki Global TV Viki Global TV

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FEATURES K-DRAMA LATEST STORIES

Memorable Cameos of K-pop Girl Groups and Actresses in K-Dramas

Hyeri and Lee Sungkyung in Record of Youth with Park Bo Gum. Photo: tvN DRAMA/YouTube

In our obsessive consumption of Korean dramas, I am sure you’ve come across an episode where you saw someone and asked yourself, “That store manager sure looks familiar” or “”Isn’t that (name) of (name of girl group)?” and there’s a huge chance you’re right. There are quite a lot of people who want to be in the Korean entertainment industry, but (unfortunately), the work is mostly concentrated with a few people. Directors and writers love working with the people they have had great experiences with, celebrities love to have their friends (from those in their birth year-lines to their agency-mates) and former colleagues appear in their shows. Finally, agencies of actors in the main cast would sometimes request the show’s producers to have other talents on their stable to stage an appearance or two.

Here are some cameos from ladies in recent k-drama history that have proven to be more popular than their  five seconds promised:

Red Velvet performs in Descendants of the Sun 

I’m sure a lot of us who watched this Red Velvet cameo wondered if we were still watching the last episode of the Song-Song couple’s drama or if we’ve stumbled upon a never-before-seen episode of Real Men. Alas, Irene and the girls were included in the story, performing their 2015 hit Dumb Dumb for the Special Forces to boost their morale, which does happen to real girl groups who are regular visitors of military camps (think Brave Girls who esperienced a career renaisance after years of performing in front of enlisted personnel). The thing about RV’s stint is that Capt. Yoo (Song Joong Ki) somehow thought it would be a great idea to tell his girlfriend by that time, Dr. Kang (Song Hyekyo) that he will be in a confidential “operation.” Alas, Resident Lee Chi-hoon (Shinee’s Onew) saw him and and Sgt. Seo (Jin Goo) in a fancam video, with the captain proudly carrying a sign that reads, “Red Velvet over my girlfriend.” Dr. Kang went on full denial mode, saying “That’s not Yoo Si Jin” while crushing the water bottle she had in her hand.

Blackpink Jisoo in Arthdal Chronicles

Speaking of Song Joong Ki, another idol made an appearance in the next series he starred in after DoTS. In Episode 7 of Arthdal Chronicles, Blackpink’s visual appeared in a flashback scene as Sae Na Rae, Sa Ya’s (Joong Ki’s character) love interest. Though Jisoo didn’t have any lines, the appearance that didn’t even last for more than 10 seconds went viral, with Blinks going full throttle by making the hashtag #JisooOnArthdalChrinicles top worldwide Twitter trends when the episode aired on June 30, 2019. It should also be noted that before Jisoo debuted to join Lisa, Jennie, and Rose in 2016, she had some speaking lines in her debut cameo in The Producers, where she played a trainee who was given the chance to appear on Two Days, One Night with the show’s main character Cindy (played by IU) and her fellow YG idols Seungyoon of WINNER and Dara of the legendary 2NE1. 

Bae Suzy in My Love from the Star

By the time Suzy appeared in the 2014 hit drama My Love from a Star, she was already an established career, both in singing as a member of miss A and in acting with credits such as the massive hits Architecture 101, Dream High, and Gu Family Book. In My Love from a Star, which reunited her with her Dream High co-star Kim Soohyun, she also introduced herself as alien Do Minjoo’s student… wait for it… Go Hyemi! She takes things further by claiming that the professor looks like her ex-boyfriend named Sam Dong. Dream High fans were instantly sent down memory lane when the mini-reunion was interrupted by a jealous Songyi who was wearing ahjumma gear to mask her identity. It was sweet and just perfect respite that sustained us for another three years, before Suzy made another cameo, this time in Soohyun’s movie, Real.  

Go Ara in Hospital Playlist 

Fans of the writing-directing tandem of Lee Woojung and Shin Wonho are always on the lookout for actors they have worked with in their past projects to appear in their current series. That has happened multiple times with eternal Reply father Sung Dongil as a different sort of “father” (a Catholic priest) in Hospital Playlist and Taek and Sunwoo’s parents in Reply 1988 as Ikjun’s (Jo Jung Suk) patient and her husband in this new show. Another notable cameo in Hospital Playlist was Reply 1994′s Go Ara playing Dr. Ikjun’s ex-girlfriend who eventually became the top actress… Go Ara! One thing’s for sure: The number of actors and actresses making cameo appearances in shows connected with the Lee-Shin partnership is testament to how well-loved the tandem is by everyone who has worked with them. 

Hyeri and Lee Sungkyung in Record of Youth

Speaking of shows by the Lee-Shin tandem, who could forget the adorable Dukseon-Taek team-up of Reply 1988? Shippers of the love team got excited when it was revealed that Hyrei will have a cameo appearance in Bogum’s drama Record of Youth, where he was paired with Park So-dam. Alas, fans were a bit disappointed as Hyeri, who played an actress, did not appear in any scenes with Bogum and instead only had dialogue with Sodam’s character Jeongha, whom she hired as her makeup artist on special occasions. It was weightlifting fairy Lee Sungkyung who played the role of Jin Seowoo, a model-turned-actress who has known Sa Hyejun (Bogum’s character) in their modelling days and was working with him again, this time with both of them as actors. It wasn’t really something Jeongha was supposed to be jealous of, and it is actually lawyer Ji-ah (played by Seol Inah) who has had a tumultuous romantic past with Hyejun.

Featured image: Hyeri and Lee Sungkyung in Record of Youth with Park Bo Gum. Photo: tvN DRAMA/YouTube
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K-DRAMA LATEST STORIES

5 K-dramas (and a movie!) Starring Super Junior

Choi Siwon in She Was Pretty. Photo: MBCdrama/YouTube

OG K-pop idol group Super Junior has been a consistent music chart-topper in the last 15 years. They’ve also changed the K-pop scene in many other ways: they’re the first group to have more than 5 or 6 members—they had 13 (15 including Super Junior-M members Henry and Zhou Mi) members at their peak—and they introduced the concept of sub-units. 

Their talents are not limited to music, however. The men of Super Junior have since branched out to star in variety shows, musicals, movies, and K-dramas. Check out these K-dramas (and a movie!) that feature Super Junior members in main or supporting roles. 

1. Quiz of God Season 4 (2014)

Starring: Donghae 

The plot: Quiz of God is a medical and forensic drama franchise that tackles unusual cases and suspicious deaths. Donghae stars in the fourth season of the series as one of the people in the team of investigators. 

Where to watch: See info on the OCN Channel website

2. She Was Pretty (2015) 

Starring: Siwon

The plot: Childhood sweethearts—a pretty girl from a rich family and an unattractive boy—meet again as adults after a reversal of fortunes and appearances. The pretty girl lost her good looks after experiencing hardships, while the boy grew up handsome and successful. 

Siwon gave viewers major second lead syndrome in this drama with his cheeky and lovable character Kim Shin Hyuk. 

Where to watch: Netflix

3. Voice Season 1 (2017) 

Starring: Yesung

The plot: The crime thriller drama Voice follows the lives of emergency call center and dispatch team members. The team, led by a policewoman with a talent for voice profiling, solves cases together. Yesung was cast in the first season as one of the members of the emergency call center’s Golden Time Team. 

Where to watch: Netflix, Rakuten Viki 

4. Revolutionary Love (2017) 

Starring: Siwon 

The plot: In this society drama, Siwon stars as an unemployed third-generation chaebol who hides his identity to live life as a regular person. In the drama, his character meets people from all walks of life and helps him see the struggles of the working class. 

Where to watch: Netflix 

5. My Fellow Citizens! (2019) 

Starring: Siwon 

The plot: The drama follows the story of a talented con man (Siwon) who is married to a police detective. He hides his identity from his wife as he continues to live life as a swindler. But after a series of unfortunate incidents, he suddenly finds himself in the running for a seat at South Korea’s National Assembly. 

Where to watch: Netflix, Viu 

Bonus: Movie featuring SuJu

Attack on the Pin-Up Boys (2007) 

Starring: All Super Junior members except Kyuhyun, with cameos by Super Junior-M’s Henry, SHINee’s Key, and EXO’s Suho 

The plot: Mysterious attacks on high school flower boys prompt amateur high school detectives to investigate who may be behind these incidents and speculate who the next victim will be. The movie stars all of the Super Junior members except Kyuhyun, who was then recovering from his car accident. The story is campy and hilarious—and all the members played their exaggerated high school characters in their signature Super Junior style. 

Where to watch: Amazon Prime

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