This Korean actor turned down hit K-drama “The Penthouse”, causing the script to change drastically

The role of Logan Lee in “The Penthouse” almost belonged to another actor, who is better than Park Eun Seok and “married” Lee Ji Ah before?

Logan Lee, played by Park Eun Seok, is probably one of the fans’ most favorite characters in “Penthouse”. The role had greatly improved Park Eun Seok’s popularity, earning him leading roles after ages of playing minor characters in not-so-popular K-dramas.

Park Eun Seok was a perfect fit to play Logan Lee, leading many viewers to believe he’s the first choice for this character. However, according to the screenwriter Kim Soon Ok, the offer originally went to Ha Suk Jin, who was more popular and acclaimed at the time. In addition, the writer also revealed that Logan Lee was supposed to be a central character in “The Penthouse”, only for this to change after Ha Suk Jin’s refusal.

Interestingly, Ha Suk Jin previously co-starred with actress Lee Ji Ah, who played the female lead Shim Su Ryeon of “The Penthouse”. In fact, he was the on-screen husband of the actress in the past, and it was perhaps their overflowing chemistry in this previous work that caused Kim Soon Ok to write a story focused on Logan Lee and Shim Su Ryeon. Fortunately, the romance between these two characters stays, despite the character and story of Logan Lee being adjusted completely.

Ha Suk Jin was from the same generation as Lee Ji Ah, having debuted with a minor role in the 2005 K-drama “Sad Love Story”. After 4 years of hard work, the talented actor earned his first major role in “What’s for Dinner?” (also known as “Give Me Food”), and has since continuously grown in popularity. Despite missing out on the major hit “Penthouse”, Ha Suk Jin has starred in 4 K-drama projects since 2020, including “When I Was the Most Beautiful”, where he co-starred alongside actress Im Soo Hyang.