Famous K-drama actors who landed failed web dramas in 2022: Ji Chang Wook, Kim Go Eun, and more
Web dramas can be extremely popular and successful for certain Korean actors and actresses, but these names weren’t so lucky.
The appearance of Jung Ho Yeon in “Squid Game”, Cho Yi Hyun in “All of Us Are Dead”, Lee Min Ho in “Pachinko” and most recently, Suzy in “Anna” are all held with high regards, receiving both commercial successes and critical acclaims. However, some other actors and actresses are not so lucky in the web-drama realms, and below are some noticeable names.
Kim Go Eun – “Yumi’s Cells 2”
While Kim Go Eun continues to show off her convincing acting skills and talents in the drama adaptation “Yumi’s Cells 2”, the web-drama failed to impress with its second season, and received criticisms for changing details compared to the original webtoon.
In addition, while season 1 of “Yumi’s Cells” was broadcasted simultaneously on the streaming platform TVING and the cable channel tvN, the 2nd season is aired exclusively on TVING, leading many viewers being unable to access the drama and an eventual decline in popularity.
Seo Ji Hye – “Kiss Sixth Sense”
Seo Ji Hye, who once went viral as the 2nd female lead of “Crash Landing On You”, starred in the Disney+ series “Kiss Sixth Sense” earlier this year. However, this web drama failed to impress both the audience and the critics.
In particular, despite having an interesting premise and good acting, the script of “Kiss Sixth Sense” was poorly written and the details are weirdly fragmented. As a result, viewers get bored of the series super quickly.
After “Kiss Sixth Sense”, Seo Ji Hye is also appearing in the newly-aired tvN series “Adamas”, and is expected to rebound via this project. However, “Adamas” have been performing under expectations with not-so-impressive viewership ratings, and we can only hope for the series to be more well-received in the future.
Shin Hyun Bin – “Monstrous”
The “Hospital Playlist” star Shin Hyun Bin is yet another “victim” of failed web-dramas. In particular, the actress recently appeared in the highly-anticipated fantasy drama “Monstrous”, which was gripping from the very first minute.
However, the series did not live up to its interesting pilot episode, and the later half was filled with plot holes, unresolved questions, and poor character developments. As a result, “Monstrous”, along with Shin Hyun Bin’s role, has been deemed as “unremarkable” by the general public.
Ji Chang Wook – “The Sound Of Magic”
While the Netflix original series “The Sound of Magic” is largely well-produced, it did not achieve a result worthy of its hype. The series boasted an impressive cinematography, graphics, and a gorgeous soundtrack comparable to a highly-invested cinematic work.
However, the series is rather uneventful, and its musical format does not click with most K-drama lovers. In addition, Ji Chang Wook, while wonderful as ever with his acting, did not show any novelty from his previous characters. All of these elements lead to “The Sound of Magic” gaining little recognition and discussion, and seemed to have faded to the background against other 2022 works.
Hopefully, the series’ rerun on KBS2 will gather a larger audience and earn Ji Chang Wook and “The Sound Of Magic” better reception.
Kim Hee Sun – Remarriage & Desires
2022 is not the most fortunate and accommodating year for Kim Hee Sun. Both of the drama projects namely MBC’s “Tomorrow” and Netflix series “Remarriage & Desires” do not garner considerable successes. While her television series is on gradual decline towards the end, her web drama is criticized for bad acting and terrible plots.
While it is clear that Kim Hee Sun has both the looks and the abilities, she cannot perform her best without a good script. In web drama “Remarriage & Desires”, the actress is under criticism for forced acting to appeal to the upper-class powerful woman image. After this, Kim Hee Sun may have to reconsider her choice of script.
Joo Won – Carter
Joo Won, Kim Hee Sun’s “Alice” co-star, is making his return in web drama series named “Carter”, now showing on Netflix. After his military discharge, while his popularity is declining, his excellent acting performance is still able to captivate the audiences like the old days.
However, his acting alone cannot salvage the series with so many plot holes and half-baked attempts in production, such as the failed one-shot filming.
Korean viewers commented that his acting went to waste in a drama dotted with errors. If he continued to pick out exotic scripts with half-baked execution that failed to attract public attention, the actor would soon be forgotten in the competitive Korean industry.
Web drama is a growing trend in the Kroean film scene to compete against well-known broadcasters. However the ensuing success is not always guaranteed, if not with acute consideration and a bit of luck.
