Both are idol-turned actresses who are top visuals of Kpop. How are Jisoo and Irene’s first time playing the lead?
BLACKPINK’s Jisoo and Red Velvet’s Irene not only stand out among 3rd generation girl group members, but they are also among the top visuals of K-pop today.
Having the same visual position, Jisoo and Irene also share similarities in their acting careers. Therefore, they are often pitted against each other by netizens. However, there is a major difference between them.
Irene
Usually, idols who enter acting will start in TV shows first and then move on to movies. However, Irene made a bold yet risky decision to make her acting debut in a theatrical film.
As expected, Irene‘s first female lead role in a movie did not receive good reviews. Her first film Double Patty could not become a hit. Irene‘s image when the film premiered was affected by her attitude controversy, but even without it, Double Patty would have still drawn negative reviews due to Irene’s lacking performance. Although Irene looks pretty from every angle on screen, her acting feels like she was filming a CF instead of a movie, making the viewers uncomfortable.
At the end of 2021, Irene even ranked 2nd on the list of idol-turned actors with poor acting, as voted by a Korean media outlet. Irene’s acting makes netizens realize one thing: being pretty and being good at acting are two completely different things.
Jisoo
After several cameo appearances, BLACKPINK’s Jisoo finally has her first female lead role in the drama Snowdrop. Not taking on supporting characters first is also considered a risky move by Jisoo. Controversy over historical distortion has caused Snowdrop to be one of the most mentioned dramas in Korea and internationally these weeks. Therefore, fans felt worried that Jisoo’s first acting gig as the leading lady would not end well.
Fortunately, the controversy has somewhat subsided and Snowdrop is beginning to air peacefully. In recent episodes with more suspenseful developments, Jisoo‘s acting has received praise for exceeding expectations. Her performance is not exceptional, but she has immersed to the character Young Ro and delivered the emotions well.
Jisoo’s biggest problem is her pronunciation and intonation, but these are the mistakes that rookies often make, so Jisoo promises to show her improvement in upcoming roles.
Both are top visuals of K-pop, both had their first drama/movie as the female lead affected by external controversies, but Jisoo has partly drawn sympathy from viewers with her commendable acting, while Irene faced mixed reactions. Overall, to succeed as actors in Korea’s entertainment industry, visuals are not enough, acting is still the key factor that helps actors gain the support of viewers.
